Title: [Plugin: Video Thumbnails] can't activate the plugin Last modified: August 20, 2016 --- # [Plugin: Video Thumbnails] can't activate the plugin * [christian70](https://wordpress.org/support/users/christian70/) * (@christian70) * [14 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/) * i apologize i’m pretty new about this plugin but once i downloaded it and installed it on my template there was no way to activated it and the following message allerted me: ‘Sorry, but this plugin requires libcurl to be activated on your server.’. what’s due for? is there any chance to use the plugin then? thanx. * [http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/video-thumbnails/](http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/video-thumbnails/) Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total) * Plugin Author [Sutherland Boswell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/sutherlandboswell/) * (@sutherlandboswell) * [14 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/#post-2596445) * cURL is the way the plugin gathers information from several outside video services, and how the plugin saves the thumbnails to your server. I’d talk to your hosting provider (or search Google for threads about your host and cURL) to see if it can be activated on your site. * Thread Starter [christian70](https://wordpress.org/support/users/christian70/) * (@christian70) * [14 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/#post-2596451) * thanx a lot. i’m working on the template locally so i’m trying to install cURL services on waamp local server to let the plugin work properly. if i manage to activate it, i’ll check on my online hosting provider then. thank you. * Thread Starter [christian70](https://wordpress.org/support/users/christian70/) * (@christian70) * [14 years, 3 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/#post-2596452) * pardon it’s xaamp not waaamp. * [Daedalon](https://wordpress.org/support/users/daedalon/) * (@daedalon) * [14 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/#post-2596725) * It is possible to get rid of the libcurl dependencies in the code. However libcurl makes the code more maintainable and is one of the most commonly installed libraries, so it’s a sensible dependency unless many people will encounter the same problem as above. * One of the reasons to use cURL in this plugin is that the possible error messages are more informative. * Plugin Author [Sutherland Boswell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/sutherlandboswell/) * (@sutherlandboswell) * [14 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/#post-2596726) * When I started this plugin I wasn’t very familiar with WordPress, but since then I’ve learned a lot. WordPress has an HTTP API with a handy function named `wp_remote_get` that I’m planning on using in place of cURL. This should make the plugin more friendly with more server setups because the function tries multiple PHP methods for making the HTTP request. * [Daedalon](https://wordpress.org/support/users/daedalon/) * (@daedalon) * [14 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/#post-2596727) * That’s a welcome change for those who haven’t yet gotten into the group of people enjoying Video Thumbnails 🙂 * [Paul Martin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/luminousspecter/) * (@luminousspecter) * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/#post-2596770) * Have you worked on the wp_remote_get function yet? My company has our own servers, and we don’t have libcurl activated. * [Daedalon](https://wordpress.org/support/users/daedalon/) * (@daedalon) * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/#post-2596771) * It’s been a while since I looked into the this plugin’s code. If I remember correctly, it should be pretty easy to do the switch to _wp\_remote\_get()_ and that I used it when making some of my first patches for the plugin before later converting the patches to use cURL to be more consistent with the rest of the plugin. * If you have a bit of PHP experience you might be able to do the switch to _wp\ _remote\_get()_ yourself. Activating libcurl should be equally easy depending on your server policies. * Before doing further tweaking it might be worth getting a copy of the 2.0 beta in case it has solved the issue already: [http://wordpress.org/support/topic/video-thumbnails-20-beta](http://wordpress.org/support/topic/video-thumbnails-20-beta) Giving a bit of feedback for that version should be most welcome too to get the final version out one day. * Plugin Author [Sutherland Boswell](https://wordpress.org/support/users/sutherlandboswell/) * (@sutherlandboswell) * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/#post-2596772) * I haven’t had much time to dedicate to this lately, but I believe I have already replaced any cURL specific code with `wp_remote_get` in 2.0, just haven’t had the time to tie up any loose ends for a release. * [Paul Martin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/luminousspecter/) * (@luminousspecter) * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/#post-2596773) * Okay.. I also tried to sign up for the Beta so I can use it, but haven’t yet gotten approved for that. Viewing 10 replies - 1 through 10 (of 10 total) The topic ‘[Plugin: Video Thumbnails] can't activate the plugin’ is closed to new replies. * ![](https://s.w.org/plugins/geopattern-icon/video-thumbnails_3e6f7f.svg) * [Video Thumbnails](https://wordpress.org/plugins/video-thumbnails/) * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://wordpress.org/plugins/video-thumbnails/#faq) * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/video-thumbnails/) * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/video-thumbnails/active/) * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/video-thumbnails/unresolved/) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/video-thumbnails/reviews/) * 10 replies * 4 participants * Last reply from: [Paul Martin](https://wordpress.org/support/users/luminousspecter/) * Last activity: [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/plugin-video-thumbnails-cant-activate-the-plugin/#post-2596773) * Status: not resolved