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System Requirements

Before installing, verify your WordPress site meets these requirements:
RequirementMinimumRecommended
WordPress5.0+Latest version
PHP7.4+8.0+
MySQL5.6+8.0+
HTTPSNot required✅ Enabled
Permissionsmanage_options capabilityAdmin role
Network Requirements:
  • Outbound HTTPS connections allowed
  • Access to api.watchmantower.com (port 443)
  • Firewall allows WordPress plugin API calls
Most modern WordPress hosting environments meet these requirements by default.

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Installation Methods

There are three ways to install the Watchman Tower plugin:
  • WordPress Admin (Easiest)
  • Upload ZIP File
  • FTP / SSH Upload
  • WP-CLI (Developers)
Best for: Most users, no technical knowledge needed

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Step-by-Step

1

Access Plugins Page

  1. Log in to WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins → Add New
2

Search for Plugin

  1. In the search box (top right), type: “Watchman Tower”
  2. Press Enter or click search icon
3

Install

  1. Find the Watchman Tower plugin in results
  2. Click Install Now button
  3. Wait for installation to complete (5-10 seconds)
4

Activate

  1. Click Activate button that appears
  2. You’ll be redirected to the Plugins page
  3. Look for “Watchman Tower” in the active plugins list
[Screenshot: WordPress plugin search and install]✅ Installation complete! Proceed to Setup →

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Post-Installation Verification

After activation, verify the plugin is working:
1

Check Plugin is Active

Go to Plugins page - “Watchman Tower” should show “Deactivate” button
2

Look for Menu Item

In WordPress admin sidebar, you should see “Watchman Tower” menu item
3

Access Dashboard

Click Watchman Tower menu → should open plugin dashboard
4

Verify Entry Screen

You should see the connection entry screen with two options:
  • Connect with existing account
  • Create new account
If you don’t see the menu item or dashboard, try: - Hard refresh browser (Ctrl+Shift+R or Cmd+Shift+R) - Clear WordPress cache (if using caching plugin) - Check for JavaScript errors in browser console - Verify you have admin permissions

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Troubleshooting Installation

Error: The uploaded file exceeds the upload_max_filesize directive in php.iniSolution: Increase PHP upload limitsVia php.ini:
upload_max_filesize = 64M
post_max_size = 64M
Via .htaccess:
php_value upload_max_filesize 64M
php_value post_max_size 64M
Via wp-config.php:
@ini_set('upload_max_filesize', '64M');
@ini_set('post_max_size', '64M');
Then restart web server and retry.
Error: Could not create directory or Installation failedCause: WordPress doesn’t have write permissions to /wp-content/plugins/Solution (SSH):
# Fix permissions
chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/
chmod 755 /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/
Alternative: Use FTP upload method instead
Checks:
  1. Hard refresh browser (Ctrl+Shift+R)
  2. Clear WordPress cache
  3. Check if you have manage_options capability: 
    current_user_can('manage_options'); // Should be true
  4. Check for PHP errors in debug.log: 
    tail -f wp-content/debug.log
  5. Deactivate and reactivate plugin
Still not working? Check for plugin conflicts:
# Disable all other plugins
wp plugin deactivate --all --skip-plugins=watchman-tower

# Check if menu appears now
# If yes, reactivate one by one to find conflict
Cause: PHP fatal error (often memory limit or syntax)Solution:
  1. Deactivate via database: 
    UPDATE wp_options 
SET option_value = '' 
WHERE option_name = 'active_plugins';
  2. Check error logs: 
    tail -100 /var/log/apache2/error.log
# or
tail -100 /var/log/nginx/error.log
  3. Increase PHP memory: 
    // wp-config.php
define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');
  4. Retry activation
Error: bash: wp: command not foundSolution: Install WP-CLI
# Download
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar

# Make executable
chmod +x wp-cli.phar

# Move to system path
sudo mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp

# Verify
wp --info
Full WP-CLI installation guide →