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My WordPress site is stuck on "Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance"

This message means WordPress got stuck in maintenance mode after an interrupted update. All you need to do is delete the .maintenance file at the site root to unblock it.


Why it happens


WordPress creates a .maintenance file at the root during an update, and deletes it once the update is finished. If the update is interrupted — timeout, error, closed tab — the file stays, and the site shows the maintenance message indefinitely.


Unblock the site


  1. Open the site, Access tab.
  2. In the File Editor section, click Show, then Access the file editor (or connect via SFTP).


The file editor, in the Access tab, to delete the .maintenance file.

  1. At the site root, delete the .maintenance file.
  2. Reload the site.


It's a hidden file: its name starts with a dot. Remember to turn on hidden-file display in your SFTP client.


Before handling any files, create a backup from the Backups tab.


What next?


The interrupted update probably didn't complete. Check the WordPress tab, Needs update filter, and run it again.

Updated on: 10/03/2026

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