Title: Required plugin in header issue
Last modified: August 17, 2026

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# Required plugin in header issue

 *  [jim5471](https://wordpress.org/support/users/jim5471/)
 * (@jim5471)
 * [2 weeks, 4 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/required-plugin-in-header-issue/)
 * I have a number of custom plugins that are not published in the WordPress.org
   plugin directory. These have “Required by” and “Requires” in the plugin headers
   that work correctly as far as I can see.
 * With the release of PCP 2.1.0 a new warning is showing.
 * Warning
   – plugin_header_requires_plugins_not_in_directory– The plugin declares“
   xxxx-xxx” as a required plugin, but it could not be found in the WordPress.org
   plugin directory
 * Whilst the statement is technicaly true it is misleading as it implies that there
   is an issue with the “Required by” action.
    1. Instead of “plugin_header_requires_plugins_not_in_directory” it would be better
       to report a new Warning Code of “plugin-not-found-in-WordPress.org-plugin-directory”
       for ALL custom plugins. The message could contain details such as “The plugin
       header declares “xxxx-xxx” as a required plugin”
    2. If the required plugin is not found within the WordPress server being tested
       then a Error Code of “plugin_header_requires_plugin_not_found” would be better
       to indicate an actual problem.
 * Maybe I have misunderstood what I am seeing and I do need to fix something – 
   so please let me know.

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)

 *  Plugin Support [Nilambar Sharma](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nilambar/)
 * (@nilambar)
 * [2 weeks, 4 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/required-plugin-in-header-issue/#post-18995397)
 * Hi,
 * When a plugin’s “Requires Plugins” header includes a non-existent plugin slug(
   in WordPress.org plugins directory), such as `non-existent-plugin-slug`, the 
   release of a new version of that plugin is blocked on WordPress.org. This dependency
   is therefore problematic and it is marked as ERROR in Plugin Check.
 * Thanks,

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)

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 * 1 reply
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [Nilambar Sharma](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nilambar/)
 * Last activity: [2 weeks, 4 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/required-plugin-in-header-issue/#post-18995397)
 * Status: not resolved