wp-theme-switch

name	wp-theme-switch
description	Safely switch WordPress themes via SSH with automatic rollback if the site goes down. Records the previous theme for instant rollback. Verifies HTTP 200 before and after the switch.
triggers	["switch theme","change theme","activate theme","rollback theme","revert theme"]

Skill: wp-theme-switch

Switches the active WordPress theme via direct DB update, verifies the site responds after the switch, and auto-rolls back if it doesn't.

Usage

# List all installed themes
python scripts/management/wp-theme-switch.py --config config/config.yaml --list

# Switch to a theme (with site health check)
python scripts/management/wp-theme-switch.py --config config/config.yaml \
    --activate twentytwentyfour

# Preview the switch without making changes
python scripts/management/wp-theme-switch.py --config config/config.yaml \
    --activate mytheme --dry-run

# Rollback to the previous theme
python scripts/management/wp-theme-switch.py --config config/config.yaml \
    --rollback

What happens on switch

1. Records current theme slug as wp_arsenal_previous_theme option (for rollback)
2. Verifies target theme directory exists on filesystem
3. Checks site HTTP status before switching
4. Updates template, stylesheet, and current_theme in wp_options
5. Clears theme transients
6. Checks site HTTP status after switching
7. If site returns non-200 → auto-rollback to previous theme

Rollback

The previous theme is saved automatically on every switch. To rollback:

python scripts/management/wp-theme-switch.py --config config/config.yaml --rollback

Only one level of rollback is stored. Multiple consecutive switches: rollback always returns to the theme that was active immediately before the last switch.

When to use

• After an attack: Switch to a clean default theme to eliminate the theme as a persistence vector while you audit
• Before major theme updates: Switch to a default theme, update, switch back
• Testing: Switch to a default theme to isolate plugin vs. theme issues
• Emergency: Site is broken — quickly switch to a known-good theme

Emergency theme recovery without wp-admin

If wp-admin is inaccessible (blank page, infinite redirect, fatal error):

# Switch to a built-in safe theme
python scripts/management/wp-theme-switch.py --config config/config.yaml \
    --activate twentytwentyfour

# If that doesn't work, restore the theme files first:
python scripts/restoration/wp-restore-core.py --config config/config.yaml
# Then switch again