How to Solve PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT(-10): Unable to Find End of Central Dir Record Signature

While you are putting your efforts to manually install a plugin and theme from the WordPress admin dashboard, you might have observed the following message: The package could not be installed. PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT (-10) : Unable to find End of Central Dir Record signature or PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT (-10) : Invalid archive structure.

This error could emerge due to various reasons. However, the most common reasons for this error are:

The zip file that you are trying to upload has issues.
Unable to properly extract and upload the contents of Zip file due to shortage of server resources.
Plugin or script installed on your website is somehow breaking the structure of zip file.

This error isn’t a critical one, but if you don’t fix it on time, you won’t be able to update your installed WordPress themes and plugins. And, you know how important it is to regularly update the themes and plugins to maintain the security of the WordPress site.

How To Fix PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT (-10) WordPress Error?

As we have seen some of the reasons for the PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT error, let’s see how to fix it.

Problems with the Compressed Zip File

When you wish to install a theme or plugin on your WordPress site, you need to upload the compressed zip file to your WordPress admin dashboard. However, in a few cases, the zip file may be incomplete or corrupted.

There are several causes for file corruption, for instance, the file could have got corrupted because of internet issues during the file download or due to misconfigured file structure.

Additionally, if your compressed file has an extension other than .zip like (.7zip, .rar, .tar, etc), change it to .zip file extension as WordPress allows uploading of just .zip file.

Next, look for the compatibility of the theme. Check, if the theme is compatible with the current version or not. As a best practice, you should regularly update your WordPress website so as to ensure that your website is not vulnerable to security loopholes.

Regardless of the reason for the file getting corrupted, the easiest way to fix this issue is to re-download the file from a reliable source.

Solution:

Redownload the plugin and themes
Download the file from reliable source
Before uploading the zip file, make sure that you refresh that web page
Clear the WordPress cache

In the majority of cases, this solution will work out. However, if you are still getting this error, then try our next method.

Insufficient Server Resources

When you install a theme via the zip file, WordPress will first extract the file and then upload the contents inside the file to the root folder. Without the extraction, WordPress won’t move to the next step.

And, the PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT (-10) error explains that you don’t have sufficient storage space on the webserver for unzipping the content of the compressed file. To check if the issue with the storage space, you can try uploading any media files to the site. Now, if you are still receiving this error, it simply means that your server resources have been exhausted.

Additionally, you can see this article on How to Increase WordPress Maximum Upload File Size to solve the issues that restrict you from uploading the files in WordPress

Solution:

If you are receiving this error because the server resource got exhausted, you need to contact your web hosting provider and ask them to either upgrade your plan or add resources to your current plan.

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Conclusion

If you are still facing this issue, you can contact the original developers of the theme/ plugin to receive a more ideal solution.

The majority of these theme and plugin development company, have a dedicated forum and knowledge base where they try to resolve all the issues with their end-product.

Additionally, we believe that after reading our blog post you understood how to fix PCLZIP_ERR_BAD_FORMAT (-10) error on the WordPress site.

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