Introduction
This PHP error may appear multiple times at the top of the Themes page after you attempt to activate the theme. It is almost always accompanied by a chmod error and indicates the file permissions on your server are incorrect. This is usually caused by migrating data from a different host to a new one.
The Solution
If you are attempting to setup a local server using MAMP or XAMPP on OSX, please read the provider’s documentation on setting your folder permissions (in most cases, you need to give the admin user read and write to the entire folder tree.)
- Connect to your server using an FTP client or your host control panel
- Verify your WordPress file and folder permissions
- Under wp-content, ensure the uploads folder is set to 777 (full rights). If you are using a theme with the OCMX gallery, you must also ensure there is an ocmx-gallery folder inside set to 777.
- Under wp-content/themes, verify the theme folder is 755 and the theme’s functions/cache folder is 777. If the cache folder does not exist, create it.
- Reload the Themes page and the errors should disappear
- If the errors persist, go to Settings > Media and look for an Uploads Dir field. Ensure this is correct or remove the contents of the field and Save
- This field does not exist on WP 3.5+ and should disappear once saved.
