Hype5 Docs

Updating and troubleshooting

Back up first, update one product at a time, then check System Status and a few public pages.

On this page

Before any update

  1. Back up the database and the wp-content folder.
  2. Read the product's entry in the changelogs and the compatibility matrix.
  3. If you use both products, check that the new versions are listed as compatible with each other.

Updating Hype5 Theater

The plugin declares the Hype5 update service as its update source. When a new version is published there, it appears on the WordPress Plugins and Dashboard → Updates screens like any other plugin update.

You can also update manually: upload the new ZIP in Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin and confirm that WordPress should replace the installed version.

After an update:

  • Database changes required by the new version run automatically on the next admin page load by a user with the manage_options capability (normally an administrator). A migration is marked complete only when every step has succeeded; otherwise administrators see Hype5 Theater database setup is incomplete and it is retried.
  • Capabilities are refreshed in the same way, so the Administrator and Theater Manager roles receive any new ones.
  • Open Hype5 Theater → Settings → Advanced (or Continue in WordPress: System status there): check the plugin and database versions, and that every table is Ready.
  • If your theme overrides plugin templates, System Status reports each override as Current, Review recommended (outdated) or Missing or malformed version. Compare outdated overrides with the new plugin templates. See Template overrides.

Updating Hype5 Stage

Hype5 Stage 1.0.2 has no automatic update channel. Update it manually:

  1. Go to Appearance → Themes → Add New Theme → Upload Theme.
  2. Upload the new ZIP and confirm that WordPress should replace the installed theme.
  3. Your Stage settings are stored as theme modifications and are kept.

Moving both products to the documented builds

Hype5 Stage 1.0.2 needs Hype5 Theater's Phase 5K build, and Stage 1.0.1 should not be used with the Phase 5K build (see Known limitations). If you update both, we recommend updating Stage first, ideally in the same maintenance window. With an earlier 0.6.17 build of the plugin, Stage 1.0.2 switches its theatre templates off and runs as a plain theme (the theme's tests checked that pages still load without errors), so for that short time the plugin presents productions with its own templates. Once the plugin is updated, Stage's theatre templates switch on again. Updating the plugin first instead leaves Stage 1.0.1 running with the Phase 5K build until Stage is updated. This order is a recommendation; it has not been rehearsed as a combined procedure.

If a Hype5 Theater update changes a template contract to a new major version, Stage automatically uses the plugin's own template for that part instead of its override until Stage is updated. Other changes in the plugin are caught so that a failing home-page section is left out rather than breaking the page — but test Stage after every Theater update. See Hype5 Theater integration.

If something goes wrong

Problem Where to look
Pages of productions or people return not found Permalinks: save Settings → Permalinks once, and check the permalink bases. See Theater troubleshooting.
A production or its performances do not appear on the website Publication status and password. See Security and content visibility.
Hype5 Theater shows the old submenu instead of the app The app is not enabled for you; a site administrator enables it. See The Hype5 app.
Hype5 Theater database setup is incomplete Database permissions. See Theater troubleshooting.
Stage shows plain pages for productions The Theater version gate. See Stage troubleshooting.

More answers: Troubleshooting and Frequently asked questions.

Rolling back

To return to an earlier version, restore your backup, or install the earlier ZIP over the current one. Hype5 Theater's database changes are designed to keep existing data, but an older plugin version may not understand data written by a newer one — restoring the database backup taken before the update is the safe way back.