Title: /client-mu-plugins directory
Author: WordPress VIP Documentation
Published: September 14, 2020
Last modified: August 8, 2024

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 1. [WordPress VIP skeleton](https://docs.wpvip.com/wordpress-skeleton/)
 2. /client-mu-plugins directory

#  /client-mu-plugins directory

On the VIP Platform the `/mu-plugins` directory is not directly accessible, and 
will not appear in a site’s code repository. Instead, plugins can be loaded as [MU (“must use”) plugins](https://wordpress.org/support/article/must-use-plugins/)
by adding them to the `/client-mu-plugins` directory found in the root of a site’s
code repository. The `/client-mu-plugins` directory works similarly to `WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/
mu-plugins/'` in a self-hosted WordPress installation.

 * If a plugin consists only of one file, that file can be added to the root of `/
   client-mu-plugins` and it will load as an MU plugin automatically. For example:`/
   client-mu-plugins/plugin-name.php`.
 * Plugins that are added to `/client-mu-plugins` with their own subdirectory must
   be [loaded programmatically](https://docs.wpvip.com/activate-plugins-through-code/)
   with a [`plugin-loader.php`](https://github.com/Automattic/vip-go-skeleton/blob/master/client-mu-plugins/plugin-loader.php)
   file, placed within the `/client-mu-plugins` directory.
 * Only custom plugins with code that needs to be auto-loaded, or code that needs
   to run earlier in the WordPress load process, should be added to the `/client-
   mu-plugins` directory. 
 * Third-party plugins should be loaded from the [`/plugins`](https://docs.wpvip.com/wordpress-skeleton/plugins-directory/)_
   [ ](https://docs.wpvip.com/wordpress-skeleton/plugins-directory/)_[directory](https://docs.wpvip.com/wordpress-skeleton/plugins-directory/),
   as many of these plugins utilize the activation and deactivation hooks, neither
   of which are executed for MU plugins.
 * MU plugins behave differently than plugins installed in the `/plugins`  directory,
   and [the pros and cons of each method](https://wordpress.org/support/article/must-use-plugins/#caveats)
   should be reviewed and evaluated.

Last updated: August 08, 2024