🧩 wp-permission-fixer

A secure, CLI-based utility for restoring and fixing WordPress file and directory permissions.

This script automatically ensures your WordPress installation uses the correct permission structure:

• Directories → 755
• Files → 644
• wp-config.php → 600

It includes safety checks, dry-run preview mode, ownership correction (--chown), and smart exclusion for .git, node_modules, and other non-core directories.

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⚙️ Features

✅ Safely fixes all WordPress file & directory permissions
✅ Compatible with Linux, macOS, and shared hosting
✅ Optional dry-run mode (--dry-run)
✅ Optional ownership correction (--chown=user:group)
✅ Protects against symbolic link issues
✅ Displays a full summary report and timing
✅ Cross-platform safe (POSIX + Windows support)

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🧠 Usage

1️⃣ Upload or Clone

Place the script in the root directory of your WordPress installation:

/var/www/html/
├── wp-admin/
├── wp-content/
├── wp-includes/
├── wp-config.php
└── wp-permission-fixer.php

2️⃣ Run via CLI

Dry-run (preview only):

php wp-permission-fixer.php --dry-run

Apply permission fixes:

php wp-permission-fixer.php

Apply permissions and fix ownership (requires sudo):

sudo php wp-permission-fixer.php --chown=www-data:www-data

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🔒 Recommended Permissions

Type	Path	Mode
WordPress Directories	/wp-content, /wp-admin, /wp-includes	755
WordPress Files	All .php, .js, .css, etc.	644
Configuration	/wp-config.php	600
.htaccess	Root .htaccess	644

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🧰 Example Output

🔧 Starting WordPress permission fixer
📁 Root: /var/www/html
🧪 Dry-run mode enabled (no actual changes)

📊 Summary
   🗂️  Directories fixed: 24
   📄  Files fixed: 157
   🚫  Skipped: 12
   ⚠️  Errors: 0
   ⏱️  Time: 0.81s

✅ Permissions successfully fixed.
   Directories: 755 | Files: 644 | wp-config.php: 600
💡 Delete this script after use for better security.

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⚡ Options

Flag	Description
--dry-run	Preview what changes would be made, without modifying anything
--chown=user:group	Set ownership recursively (e.g., --chown=www-data:www-data)

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🧩 Safety Notes

• Never run this script outside a WordPress root directory.
• Always back up your site before changing permissions.
• Delete this file after running it on production servers.
• Works best under CLI mode, not through a browser.

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🧑‍💻 Author

Seyyed Ali Mohammadiyeh (Max Base) 📍 Senior Software Engineer, Researcher, and Craftsman 🌐 GitHub: BaseMax

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📄 License

MIT License

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🌟 Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! If you find a bug or want to suggest an enhancement, feel free to open an issue.

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Made with 💻 & 🛠️ by Max Base “Secure WordPress, the right way.”