Have you ever found a need to reset your WordPress database to default settings? If you have WordPress on a local server or online for testing purposes, you probably found yourself thinking of a way to reinitialize your WordPress database back to its default settings. A lot of folks simply reinstall WordPress, but there is an easier solution.
Video Tutorial
If you don’t like the video or need more instructions, then continue reading.
Let us introduce you to the plugin WordPress Database Reset. Once you install and activate this plugin, a new option will be added under the Tools section (Tools » Database Reset ).
As you can see in the image above, you can either choose to reset a specific database table, or the entire database to default settings. Once you select the tables you want to reset, you are required to type a randomly generated value into the text box. This is to confirm that you really want to do this. Once you hit the blue Reset Database button, its done.
If you want to reactivate current plugins after the reset, you can select the checkbox. Otherwise uncheck it. When you reset the database, all users will be deleted except for the first user. For example, if your first user was admin, then admin will be created. If the first user was ‘syed’, then syed will be recreated.
Note: This should only be used on test/dev installs. Not really meant for live sites!
Wow, thank you so much!
You saved the life of my fingernails and allot of frustration!
Glad our guide could help
hi there.. i see i face same issue as many others here.
since i resat it all..i have and error while trying to get to my wordpress page : “Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page.”
how to fix it up ???
thanks.
hey I wonder if I have a subdomain such as test.example.com and i reset the whole db with this tool. Will the DB for example.com stay untouched or will this also be resetted?
Want to reset just the testpage so I can check a new theme but want to leave the live page untouched…
thx
Hey Maurice,
They will remain untouched. But as a precaution you should always create complete database backups before performing any operations on your WordPress database. It is also recommended that you use different database for each WordPress website.
I used the database reset on my site , and now I can’t log in. I think it’s because I deleted the wP-users file. I tried to change passwords but didn’t receive an email. How do I fix this..
How to get rid of your problem.Bcoz still I’m facing that problem:(
My wordpress post didnt show date and time and cant change the site timezone, can it solve my problem?
We can’t say that it would. First, you should try to find out why you are unable to change the site timezone. Time settings can be found on Settings » General page inside WordPress admin area. You may also want to try these WordPress troubleshooting tips first.
I used this plugin-in and after I reset everything, my site no longer exist. How do I get it back? I can’t get into my admin permissions.
What option can i select so as to reset my WordPress without loosing my users, my plugins and my pages. Even if I loose my themes, I have no issue with it.
Thanks a lot
Your WordPress database contains all your data like posts, pages, comments, users, etc. Make sure you backup your WordPress database. You also need to backup your plugins folder.
Please guide me on the tables I can select using this plugging and reset large part of my data base without loosing my pages and plugins only.
Thanks
please guide me on which tables to select in the list of tables as the pluggin displays which when selected will reset large parts of my WordPress site without resetting my pages.
Will this delete original blog posts on WordPress? I want to get rid of my duplicates but I do not want to lose my work
It will delete all your blog posts. You will have an empty WordPress site with clean DB.
After reading reams of information which might as well have been written in a foreign language, I came across this and it solved my problem beautifully. Thank you.
Hi i have a problem that when i go to add new post my HTML and Text buttons are hidden and i cannot type my text so plz help me
Please see how to fix white text and missing buttons in WordPress visual editor.
I have reset the wordpress. But now i cant visit my site iam worried if i click on my site its coming white empty pls help
Apparently I am a complete idot and I just wiped my clients entire website. Nope, apparently not smart enough to create a back and it is due next week. First big project…I need help….ASAP!!!
Thank you for this tip, save me time and hassle.
Thank you
I have users reset with the plugin, now I can not login to wordpress.
I get message
“” You do not have enough rights for this page ‘
Who can help me please
thanx
for me is unable to login, what did i do wrong
it worked .. but once signed out ..unable to login its nt accepting my current password or the 1st one
..
How did you resolve this
If this works you’re a lifesaver! Thanks.
Is there a plugin/way to delete all content on a site but keep themes and plugins intact?
Thanks.
You can go to phpmyAdmin and empty your database tables. Keep a backup in case you want to revert back.
Thanks a lot. I was doing my head in over my messed up site. Time to start again!
Big help
Any chance this can be run from a cron job so it’s automated? I’m trying to setup a demo site and would like the content to be reset once an hour.
On that note, any ideas on how to get the wordpress site to also delete any new images that were uploaded during that time?
Thanks for your help!
Hi, really cool post but I do have a question…will this affect my themes? I have some premium themes i don’t want to lose.
Yes it will.
AMAZING, thank you so much, solved my problem when i pretty much ruined my wp.
Thanks for this! All the times before I used to make changes to the db and make anew install of wordpress…No more from now on
Useful plugin for me, I’m using WordPress on localhost so It’ll help me to reset database to default settings.