How to fix WordPress "Another update is currently in progress"

Another update is currently in progress.

Common causes

• A previous core update was interrupted by a timeout or closed tab
• A background automatic update is genuinely running right now
• Two admins or a management tool (ManageWP, MainWP, host panel) triggered updates at the same time
• A persistent object cache is serving a stale copy of the lock option
• Database write errors prevented WordPress from removing the lock

How to fix it

1. Wait 15 minutes. The lock is considered stale after 15 minutes, after which WordPress lets a new update start. Do not repeatedly click Update in the meantime.
2. Delete the lock with WP-CLI. Run wp option delete core_updater.lock from the site root. This is the safest way because it goes through WordPress's own API and clears object cache entries.
3. Or delete it in phpMyAdmin. Open the wp_options table (your prefix may differ), find option_name = core_updater.lock and delete that single row. Do not delete other rows.
4. Flush the object cache. If you use Redis or Memcached, flush it (wp cache flush) so the old lock value is not returned from memory.
5. Check whether a management tool is updating. Look at your host's auto-update settings or remote management dashboard and pause scheduled updates while you update manually.
6. Retry the update and verify. Run the update from Dashboard > Updates or wp core update, then wp core verify-checksums to confirm the files are complete.

WP-CLI or SQL

wp option get core_updater.lock
wp option delete core_updater.lock
wp cache flush

-- SQL alternative (adjust prefix)
DELETE FROM wp_options WHERE option_name = 'core_updater.lock';

How to stop it happening again

• Let only one person or tool handle updates for a site
• Take a database backup before major core updates
• Make sure max_execution_time is high enough for core updates to finish