SKILL.md
Troubleshoot a Hostinger WordPress site
When to use
- "My WordPress site is down / blank / showing a 500."
- "Admin is really slow."
- "I updated a plugin and now nothing works."
- "My changes aren't showing up."
What the API can and can't see
The WordPress and hosting MCP servers expose installations, plugins, themes, core version, caches, maintenance mode, and PHP configuration. They do not expose PHP error logs or shared-hosting backups. When the diagnosis genuinely needs an error log or a restore, say so and point the user to hPanel rather than calling a tool that doesn't exist.
Inputs to gather first
- Domain.
- Symptom: blank front-end, 500, 502/504, slow admin, login loop, stale content, failed update.
- What changed recently — plugin install or update, theme switch, PHP version bump, core update.
Steps
- Establish the baseline:
- hostinglistWordPressInstallationsV1 → which installations exist on the account. - hostingcheckIfWordPressInstallationsAreValidV1 → whether Hostinger considers the install healthy. Run hostingdetectWordPressInstallationsV1 first if the site isn't listed. - hostingshowWordPressCoreVersionV1 and hostinglistAvailableWordPressCoreUpdatesV1 → core version and pending updates. - hostinglistInstalledWordPressPluginsV1 and hostinglistInstalledWordPressThemesV1 → versions and active state. - hostinggetPHPDetailsV1 (and hosting_getPHPInfoV1 for the full dump) → PHP version, extensions, limits.
- Map the symptom using the table below.
- Propose one fix at a time, confirm, then apply.
Common issues
| Symptom | Likely cause | First check / fix |
|---|---|---|
| Blank front-end ("white screen of death") | Fatal PHP error, usually from a plugin or theme update | Compare hostinglistInstalledWordPressPluginsV1 against what the user just changed, then hostingdeactivateWordPressPluginV1 on the suspect. The fatal itself is only visible in the hPanel error log. |
| 500 site-wide | PHP fatal, or a PHP version/extension mismatch | hostinggetPHPDetailsV1 to confirm the version and loaded extensions; hostingupdatePHPExtensionsV1 if something required is missing |
| Admin extremely slow | Heavy plugin, or a low PHP memory limit / execution time | hosting_updatePHPOptionsV1 to raise the limits; deactivate non-essential plugins one at a time |
| "Requires PHP x.y" warning | Plugin needs a newer PHP than the site runs | Confirm theme and plugin compatibility, then hosting_updatePHPVersionV1 |
| Changes not appearing | LiteSpeed or website cache serving stale content | hostingshowLiteSpeedCacheStatusV1, then hostingpurgeLiteSpeedCacheV1; also hostingclearWebsiteCacheV1, and hostingtoggleCachelessModeV1 while actively debugging |
| Object cache errors after a plugin change | Memcached object cache out of sync | hostingshowMemcachedObjectCacheStatusV1, then hostingtoggleMemcachedObjectCacheV1 |
| Site stuck showing "briefly unavailable" | Maintenance mode left on | hostingshowMaintenanceStatusV1, then hostingtoggleMaintenanceModeV1 |
| Core auto-update failed | Version conflict or a blocking plugin | hostinglistAvailableWordPressCoreUpdatesV1, then hostingupdateWordPressCoreV1 |
| Can't reach wp-admin to verify a fix | Lost or broken admin session | hosting_createLoginLinksV1 for a one-time admin login link |
| Broken checkout on a shop | WooCommerce missing or inactive | hosting_checkIfWooCommerceIsInstalledV1 |
| Hostinger plugin features misbehaving | Outdated Hostinger plugin | hosting_updateHostingerWordPressPluginV1 |
Isolating a plugin conflict
Deactivate one plugin at a time with hostingdeactivateWordPressPluginV1, re-test, and reactivate with hostingactivateWordPressPluginV1 before moving to the next. Say which plugin you're about to disable and what user-facing feature might break. Do not bulk-deactivate a production site without explicit approval.
Confirm before
hosting_deleteWordPressInstallationV1— destroys the site.hostinguninstallWordPressPluginsV1,hostinguninstallWordPressThemesV1— may drop plugin data.hostingupdateWordPressCoreV1,hostingupdateWordPressPluginsV1,hosting_updateWordPressThemesV1— can introduce new breakage.hosting_updatePHPVersionV1— can break themes and plugins that don't support the new version.hosting_toggleMaintenanceModeV1on production — takes the site offline for visitors.
Do not
- Do not claim to have read an error log. Direct the user to hPanel for PHP error logs.
- Do not offer to restore a backup — shared-hosting backups aren't exposed by the API.
- Do not edit
wp-config.phpor.htaccessdirectly when a Hostinger MCP tool covers the same change.