Fix: Tmp Memory full with MAD and MAI Large Files

If you are seeing an error message saying that your tmp memory is full and that there are large MAD or MAI files present, it is likely that there is a problem with a plugin or theme on your WordPress site. These files are created by the “wp_major_update_auto_core” and “wp_automatic_updater” functions in WordPress, and are used to store information about updates that are being installed.

To fix this issue, you can try the following steps:

1. Increase the size of your tmp directory. By default, the tmp directory is usually set to a size of around 64MB, which may not be enough for some updates. You can increase the size of the tmp directory by adding the following line to your wp-config.php file:

define('WP_TEMP_DIR', '/path/to/custom/tmp/directory');

Replace “/path/to/custom/tmp/directory” with the path to a custom tmp directory that you have created and that has more space available.

2. Deactivate all plugins and themes. This will help you determine whether a plugin or theme is causing the issue. To deactivate all plugins, you can use the following SQL query:

UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'a:0:{}' WHERE option_name = 'active_plugins';

To deactivate all themes, you can use the following SQL query:

UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'twentytwenty' WHERE option_name = 'template' OR option_name = 'stylesheet';

Delete the MAD and MAI files from the tmp directory. These files are usually located in the /tmp or /wp-content/upgrade/tmp directories. You can delete them by using a file manager or FTP client, or by running the following command:

rm -f /tmp/mad* /tmp/mai*

Reactivate your plugins and themes one by one, testing your site after each activation to see if the issue persists. This will help you identify the plugin or theme that is causing the issue.