WordPress Daily Debug Log

A Must-Use (MU) WordPress plugin that creates daily error logs with detailed backtraces. This plugin loads before all other plugins to capture all PHP errors, warnings, notices, fatal errors, and exceptions.

Features

• Daily Log Files: Automatically creates separate log files for each day (format: debug-YYYY-MM-DD.log)
• Comprehensive Error Logging: Captures all PHP error types:
  • Errors (E_ERROR, E_CORE_ERROR, E_COMPILE_ERROR, etc.)
  • Warnings (E_WARNING, E_CORE_WARNING, E_COMPILE_WARNING, etc.)
  • Notices (E_NOTICE, E_USER_NOTICE, etc.)
  • Deprecated functions (E_DEPRECATED, E_USER_DEPRECATED)
  • Fatal errors
  • Uncaught exceptions
• Detailed Backtraces: Includes full stack traces for all errors to help identify the source
• English Error Messages: Forces all error messages to be logged in English, regardless of WordPress language settings
• Early Loading: As a Must-Use plugin, it loads before all other plugins to ensure no errors are missed
• Works with WP_DEBUG off: Logs errors even when WP_DEBUG is disabled
• Clean Error Format: Error types are displayed on separate lines for easy scanning

Installation

Manual Installation

1. Download or clone this repository
2. Copy the anony-wp-daily-debug-log.php file to your WordPress wp-content/mu-plugins/ directory
3. If the mu-plugins directory doesn't exist, create it
4. The plugin will be automatically loaded by WordPress

Important: This plugin must be placed in wp-content/mu-plugins/ directory (not in the regular plugins directory) for it to work as a Must-Use plugin.

Using Git

cd wp-content/mu-plugins/
git clone https://github.com/MakiOmar/WordPress-Daily-Debug-Log.git

Configuration

WordPress Debug Constants

Add the following constants to your wp-config.php file for optimal error logging:

define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', false);

Explanation:

• WP_DEBUG: Enables debug mode in WordPress
• WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY: Disables displaying errors on the frontend (errors won't be shown to visitors)
• WP_DEBUG_LOG: Disables WordPress default error logging to wp-content/debug.log (this plugin creates its own daily logs)

Note: The plugin will still log errors even if WP_DEBUG is set to false, but it's recommended to enable it for comprehensive error capture.

Log File Location

Log files are automatically created in:

wp-content/wp-logs/debug-YYYY-MM-DD.log

Example:

wp-content/wp-logs/debug-2025-11-14.log

The wp-logs directory is automatically created if it doesn't exist.

Usage

Once installed, the plugin automatically starts logging all errors. Simply check the log files in wp-content/wp-logs/ to review errors.

Log File Format

Each error entry includes:

• Timestamp
• Error type (on separate line)
• Error message with file and line number
• Full backtrace showing the call stack

Example log entry:

[2025-11-14 12:49:10] E_USER_NOTICE
Please check the prettyPhoto code. This notice was sent because of the handler.
in /path/to/file.php:123
-- Backtrace --
#0 /path/to/file.php:123 -> SomeClass::someMethod()
#1 /path/to/another-file.php:456 -> someFunction()

Requirements

• WordPress 5.0 or higher
• PHP 7.4 or higher
• Write permissions to wp-content/ directory

How It Works

1. Error Handler: Registers a custom error handler that captures all PHP errors
2. Shutdown Handler: Catches fatal errors that occur during script execution
3. Exception Handler: Logs all uncaught exceptions
4. Locale Switching: Temporarily switches to English locale when logging errors to ensure consistent language
5. Daily Log Rotation: Creates a new log file each day automatically

Compatibility

• Works with WP_DEBUG enabled or disabled
• Compatible with WP_DEBUG_LOG (won't conflict)
• Works regardless of WordPress language settings
• Compatible with all WordPress themes and plugins

Author

Mohammad Omar

• GitHub: @MakiOmar
• Repository: WordPress-Daily-Debug-Log

License

This plugin is released under the GPL v2 or later license.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Changelog

Version 1.0

• Initial release
• Daily log file creation
• Comprehensive error logging with backtraces
• English locale enforcement
• Support for all PHP error types
• Fatal error and exception handling

Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.

Notes

• This plugin is designed for development and debugging purposes
• Log files can grow large over time - consider setting up log rotation or periodic cleanup
• The plugin uses WordPress Coding Standards (WPCS) for code quality
• All error messages are forced to English for easier debugging and consistency