markmont

We’ve done the steps above and so far Hummingbird is working. We’ve gone from two files in wp-content/uploads/hummingbird-assets/ about an hour ago to xxx files right now, and the number is continuing to grow.

We originally had this problem with Hummingbird 3.5.0 and disabled the plugin until we could investigate. But then Hummingbird 3.6.0 came out, we upgraded, and everything worked fine for over two weeks, until we encountered the problem again and posted here in the forums. So although everything is looking better right now, we’re going to wait until the end of the month before considering the issue resolved on our end. Feel free to close this forum post in the meantime, if you like.

Thanks again for your time and work in taking a look at this for us and flagging FS_METHOD being set to ssh2 as an issue and suggesting that we reset Hummingbird Asset Optimization.

Hi, Adam — thanks for the very helpful reply. You are correct that the wp-content folder is not writable for security reasons, but within that folder, the uploads, wphb-cache, and wphb-logs folders are writable and within the uploads folder, the hummingbird-assets folder is also writable (114291149 below is the user ID that the web server runs as). The timestamp on the directory is from when we briefly re-enabled Hummingbird for testing yesterday, showing that Hummingbird did something there, but there are only two files in the directory (I expected many more) and the files were created more than a month ago.

$ pwd
/.../web/wp-content
$ ls -ld uploads/hummingbird-assets/
drwxr-xr-x. 2 114291149 apache 421888 Nov  6 12:36 uploads/hummingbird-assets/
$ ls -l uploads/hummingbird-assets/
total 161
-rw-r--r--. 1 114291149 apache  59152 Oct  6 12:58 0af8e64a2b79d2097b64333c762b8ad1.css
-rw-r--r--. 1 114291149 apache 104516 Oct  6 12:58 a0b6bdbec23ca11530095bba8b645ba2.css
$

When investigating today, I found that the total size of the website is 26 GB and there is only 3.6 GB space remaining in the filesystem quota. Just in case Hummingbird was trying to generate more than 3 GB of assets, I’m having the filesystem quota increased today (25 additional GB of space added, to give us 28 GB free space), we’ll reactivate Hummingbird, reset Asset Optimization, and then we’ll re-test things. We have not seen any out of disk space errors, though — just PHP memory limit exceeded errors.

FS_METHOD is set to ‘ssh2′ in wp-config.php. There are no credentials in that file, database, or elsewhere — the ssh-sftp-updater-support plugin prompts for credentials when updating plugins and themes (wp-content and the plugin and themes sub-folders are not writable by the web server for security reasons). Since we only need this for updating WordPress core, plugins, and themes (and we don’t need to do those things right now), we’ll comment out this line in wp-config.php so that WordPress’ get_filesystem_method function will return ‘direct’, and see if that helps.

Here are responses for the other things you listed:

• conflicts with other JS/CSS optimization tools/features (e.g. other similar plugisn) on site — there are no other optimization plugins installed. We did originally use WP Fastest Cache before we switched to Hummingbird, but WP Fastested cache was deactivated and removed.
• some unusual or misconfigured page builder — there is no page builder (such as Divi or Elementor) installed. We’re using Gutenberg.
• issues (related to access permissions or conflict with other plugins) with correct handling of data in DB — we’ll see if increasing disk quota, commenting out the FS_METHOD define, and resetting Hummingbird Asset Optimization fixes things. I’m not aware of any plugins that would conflict (you have a list from our Site Health report), but I’ll keep an eye out for the possibility and we may try temporarily disabling other plugins to see if the problem goes away.
• incorrectly functioning cron or action scheduler — wp cron test returns “Success: WP-Cron spawning is working as expected.” and things such as version checks, upgrade checks, and expired transient deletions are all things we have observed to be working.
• sometimes it may also be due to server-side cache that’s either malfunctioning or not fully/properly integrated with site itself — the only server-side cache is Hummingbird itself (no Varnish, no Redis or other object cache, and no other page cache plugin) although we do have the Cloudflare integration for Hummingbird configured and the site is behind Cloudflare.

To summarize, our plan for right now is to do the following later today:

1. Increase the disk quota substantially (add another 25 GB space so there will be 28 GB free space in total)
2. Temporarily comment out the FS_METHOD define in wp-config.php
3. Reactivate Hummingbird
4. Reset Hummingbird Asset Optimization
5. See if the problem happens again

If I missed anything, got something wrong, or there is something else you can think of, please let me know. Thanks again for all your help on this, we really appreciate it!

Hi, Patrick, thanks for your help!

Hummingbird > Assets Optimization shows 28,635 assets. But every time the team tried to switch it to Manual it would crash.

Orphan data in Hummingbird > Advanced Tools > Plugin health is only 35.

Here is the Site Health information, with some sensitive details replaced with “…”

### wp-core ###

version: 6.3.2
site_language: en_US
user_language: en_US
timezone: America/Detroit
permalink: /%year%/%monthnum%/%postname%/
https_status: true
multisite: false
user_registration: 0
blog_public: 1
default_comment_status: closed
environment_type: production
user_count: 9
dotorg_communication: true

### wp-paths-sizes ###

wordpress_path: /.../web
wordpress_size: 484.86 MB (508414756 bytes)
uploads_path: /.../web/wp-content/uploads
uploads_size: 6.24 GB (6703769157 bytes)
themes_path: /.../web/wp-content/themes
themes_size: 9.13 MB (9572105 bytes)
plugins_path: /.../web/wp-content/plugins
plugins_size: 45.35 MB (47556034 bytes)
database_size: 238.73 MB (250329660 bytes)
total_size: 7.00 GB (7519641712 bytes)

### wp-dropins (1) ###

advanced-cache.php: true

### wp-active-theme ###

name: Michigan Creative WP theme (creative-wp-theme)
version: 1.0
author: Michigan Creative
author_website: (undefined)
parent_theme: none
theme_features: menus, widgets-block-editor, custom-logo, title-tag, post-thumbnails
theme_path: /.../web/wp-content/themes/creative-wp-theme
auto_update: Disabled

### wp-plugins-active (14) ###

Advanced Custom Fields PRO: version: 6.2.1.1, author: WP Engine (latest version: 6.2.2), Auto-updates disabled
Broken Link Checker: version: 2.2.3, author: WPMU DEV, Auto-updates disabled
Enable Media Replace: version: 4.1.4, author: ShortPixel, Auto-updates disabled
GTranslate: version: 3.0.4, author: Translate AI Multilingual Solutions, Auto-updates disabled
Hummingbird: version: 3.6.0, author: WPMU DEV, Auto-updates disabled
Native PHP Sessions for WordPress: version: 1.4.1, author: Pantheon, Auto-updates disabled
Redirection: version: 5.3.10, author: John Godley, Auto-updates disabled
Site Kit by Google: version: 1.111.1, author: Google, Auto-updates enabled
SSH SFTP Updater Support: version: 0.8.5, author: TerraFrost, David Anderson + Team Updraft, Auto-updates disabled
UMich OIDC Login: version: 1.2.0, author: Regents of the University of Michigan, Auto-updates disabled
University of Michigan: Events: version: 1.3.2, author: U-M: Digital, Auto-updates disabled
User Login History: version: 2.1.2, author: Er Faiyaz Alam, Auto-updates disabled
WP All Import Pro: version: 4.8.5, author: Soflyy, Auto-updates disabled
Yoast Duplicate Post: version: 4.5, author: Enrico Battocchi & Team Yoast, Auto-updates disabled

### wp-media ###

image_editor: WP_Image_Editor_Imagick
imagick_module_version: 1692
imagemagick_version: ImageMagick 6.9.12-97 Q16 x86_64 18022 https://legacy.imagemagick.org
imagick_version: 3.7.0
file_uploads: File uploads is turned off
post_max_size: 16M
upload_max_filesize: 16M
max_effective_size: 16 MB
max_file_uploads: 20
imagick_limits:
	imagick::RESOURCETYPE_AREA: 125 GB
	imagick::RESOURCETYPE_DISK: 9.2233720368548E+18
	imagick::RESOURCETYPE_FILE: 3072
	imagick::RESOURCETYPE_MAP: 62 GB
	imagick::RESOURCETYPE_MEMORY: 31 GB
	imagick::RESOURCETYPE_THREAD: 1
	imagick::RESOURCETYPE_TIME: 9.2233720368548E+18
imagemagick_file_formats: 3FR, 3G2, 3GP, AAI, AI, APNG, ART, ARW, AVI, AVS, BGR, BGRA, BGRO, BIE, BMP, BMP2, BMP3, BRF, CAL, CALS, CANVAS, CAPTION, CIN, CIP, CLIP, CMYK, CMYKA, CR2, CR3, CRW, CUR, CUT, DATA, DCM, DCR, DCX, DDS, DFONT, DJVU, DNG, DOT, DPX, DXT1, DXT5, EPDF, EPI, EPS, EPS2, EPS3, EPSF, EPSI, EPT, EPT2, EPT3, ERF, EXR, FAX, FILE, FITS, FLV, FRACTAL, FTP, FTS, G3, G4, GIF, GIF87, GRADIENT, GRAY, GRAYA, GROUP4, GV, H, HALD, HDR, HISTOGRAM, HRZ, HTM, HTML, HTTP, HTTPS, ICB, ICO, ICON, IIQ, INFO, INLINE, IPL, ISOBRL, ISOBRL6, J2C, J2K, JBG, JBIG, JNG, JNX, JP2, JPC, JPE, JPEG, JPG, JPM, JPS, JPT, JSON, K25, KDC, LABEL, M2V, M4V, MAC, MAGICK, MAP, MASK, MAT, MATTE, MEF, MIFF, MKV, MNG, MONO, MOV, MP4, MPC, MPEG, MPG, MRW, MSL, MSVG, MTV, MVG, NEF, NRW, NULL, ORF, OTB, OTF, PAL, PALM, PAM, PANGO, PATTERN, PBM, PCD, PCDS, PCL, PCT, PCX, PDB, PDF, PDFA, PEF, PES, PFA, PFB, PFM, PGM, PGX, PICON, PICT, PIX, PJPEG, PLASMA, PNG, PNG00, PNG24, PNG32, PNG48, PNG64, PNG8, PNM, POCKETMOD, PPM, PREVIEW, PS, PS2, PS3, PSB, PSD, PTIF, PWP, RADIAL-GRADIENT, RAF, RAS, RAW, RGB, RGBA, RGBO, RGF, RLA, RLE, RMF, RW2, SCR, SCT, SFW, SGI, SHTML, SIX, SIXEL, SPARSE-COLOR, SR2, SRF, STEGANO, SUN, SVG, SVGZ, TEXT, TGA, THUMBNAIL, TIFF, TIFF64, TILE, TIM, TTC, TTF, TXT, UBRL, UBRL6, UIL, UYVY, VDA, VICAR, VID, VIDEO, VIFF, VIPS, VST, WBMP, WEBM, WEBP, WMF, WMV, WMZ, WPG, X, X3F, XBM, XC, XCF, XPM, XPS, XV, XWD, YCbCr, YCbCrA, YUV
gd_version: 2.3.3
gd_formats: GIF, JPEG, PNG, WebP, BMP, AVIF, XPM
ghostscript_version: not available

### wp-server ###

server_architecture: Linux 4.18.0-477.21.1.el8_8.x86_64 x86_64
httpd_software: Apache
php_version: 8.1.24 64bit
php_sapi: apache2handler
max_input_variables: 1000
time_limit: 30
memory_limit: 512M
max_input_time: 60
upload_max_filesize: 16M
php_post_max_size: 16M
curl_version: 7.61.1 OpenSSL/1.1.1k
suhosin: false
imagick_availability: true
pretty_permalinks: true
htaccess_extra_rules: true
current: 2023-11-06T17:28:49+00:00
utc-time: Monday, 06-Nov-23 17:28:49 UTC
server-time: 2023-11-06T12:28:48-05:00

### wp-database ###

extension: mysqli
server_version: 8.0.32
client_version: mysqlnd 8.1.24
max_allowed_packet: 268435456
max_connections: 700

### wp-constants ###

WP_HOME: undefined
WP_SITEURL: undefined
WP_CONTENT_DIR: /.../web/wp-content
WP_PLUGIN_DIR: /.../web/wp-content/plugins
WP_MEMORY_LIMIT: 40M
WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT: 512M
WP_DEBUG: false
WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY: true
WP_DEBUG_LOG: false
SCRIPT_DEBUG: false
WP_CACHE: true
CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS: undefined
COMPRESS_SCRIPTS: undefined
COMPRESS_CSS: undefined
WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE: Undefined
WP_DEVELOPMENT_MODE: undefined
DB_CHARSET: utf8
DB_COLLATE: undefined

### wp-filesystem ###

wordpress: not writable
wp-content: not writable
uploads: writable
plugins: not writable
themes: not writable

### google-site-kit ###

version: 1.111.1
php_version: 8.1.24
wp_version: 6.3.2
reference_url: https://diversity.umich.edu
amp_mode: no
site_status: connected-site
user_status: not authenticated
verification_status: not-verified
connected_user_count: 2
active_modules: site-verification, search-console, analytics, analytics-4, pagespeed-insights
recoverable_modules: none
required_scopes:
	openid: a?
	https://www.googleapis.com/auth/userinfo.profile: a?
	https://www.googleapis.com/auth/userinfo.email: a?
	https://www.googleapis.com/auth/siteverification: a?
	https://www.googleapis.com/auth/webmasters: a?
	https://www.googleapis.com/auth/analytics.readonly: a?
	https://www.googleapis.com/auth/tagmanager.readonly: a?
capabilities:
	googlesitekit_authenticate: a?…
	googlesitekit_setup: a?…
	googlesitekit_view_posts_insights: a?
	googlesitekit_view_dashboard: a?
	googlesitekit_manage_options: a?
	googlesitekit_update_plugins: a?
	googlesitekit_view_splash: a?…
	googlesitekit_view_authenticated_dashboard: a?
	googlesitekit_view_wp_dashboard_widget: a?
	googlesitekit_view_admin_bar_menu: a?
	googlesitekit_view_shared_dashboard: a?
	googlesitekit_read_shared_module_data::["search-console"]: a?
	googlesitekit_read_shared_module_data::["analytics-4"]: a?
	googlesitekit_read_shared_module_data::["pagespeed-insights"]: a?
	googlesitekit_manage_module_sharing_options::["search-console"]: a?
	googlesitekit_manage_module_sharing_options::["analytics-4"]: a?
	googlesitekit_manage_module_sharing_options::["pagespeed-insights"]: a?
	googlesitekit_delegate_module_sharing_management::["search-console"]: a?
	googlesitekit_delegate_module_sharing_management::["analytics-4"]: a?
	googlesitekit_delegate_module_sharing_management::["pagespeed-insights"]: a?
enabled_features:
	adsenseSetupV2: a?…
	enhancedMeasurement: a?
	ga4Reporting: a?…
	gm3Components: a?
	newsKeyMetrics: a?
	userInput: a?
search-console_shared_roles: none
search-console_management: owner
analytics-4_shared_roles: none
analytics-4_management: owner
pagespeed-insights_shared_roles: none
pagespeed-insights_management: all_admins
search_console_property: https://diversity.umich.edu/
analytics_account_id: 27...
analytics_property_id: none
analytics_profile_id: none
analytics_use_snippet: yes
analytics_4_property_id: 35...
analytics_4_web_data_stream_id: 46..
analytics_4_measurement_id: G-CT...
analytics_4_use_snippet: yes

Thanks for the reply Patrick! I will get this information from the website owner and post it here. It won’t be until later this week since they currently have Hummingbird deactivated — I’ll need to arrange a low-traffic time with them to re-activate the plugin and get this information.

This is still an issue with plugin version 1.3 when running WP 3.6-RC2 (which was released three days ago). Updating the plugin to the version in GitHub fixed the problem, without any changes to WP 3.6-RC2.