Title: wp_shepherd_tec_tasks & shepherd_tec_process_task problems. Last modified: October 9, 2025 --- # wp_shepherd_tec_tasks & shepherd_tec_process_task problems. * Resolved [app1e5auce](https://wordpress.org/support/users/app1e5auce/) * (@app1e5auce) * [8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp_shepherd_tec_tasks-shepherd_tec_process_task-problems/) * Starting a month ago, a client of mine using The Events Calendar has had repeated issues with the wp_shepherd_tec_tasks database table running away to 100k+ rows and crippling their website. * Upon truncating the table and refreshing any page on their website, I would observe ~20 lines being added to the table on each refresh. * I identified that the shepherd_tec_process_task action was responsible for cleaning up this table (I think), so I dug into that more. It looks like this task typically runs each day to clean up the table, but between 2025-09-29 and 2025-10-06, the task stopped running and the database table inflated. * On 09-29, the last time the task ran successfully, the log was this: * ```wp-block-code 2025-09-28 22:41:31 +0000 action created 2025-09-28 22:41:31 +0000 shepherd_tec||53||created||info||{"message":"Task 53 created.","context":{"current_try":0}} 2025-09-29 04:42:42 +0000 action started via WP Cron 2025-09-29 04:42:42 +0000 shepherd_tec||53||started||info||{"message":"Task 53 starting.","context":{"current_try":0}} 2025-09-29 04:42:42 +0000 shepherd_tec||53||finished||info||{"message":"Task 53 finished.","context":{"current_try":0}} 2025-09-29 04:42:42 +0000 action complete via WP Cron ``` * So, it does not look like the task failed. It looks like the problem was that a new shepherd_tec_process_task was not scheduled after the previous task completed. * To resolve this problem (on 10-06), I truncated the table, and deactivated/reactivated the events calendar plugin. This resolved the issue. A new shepherd task was created by the plugin. However I cannot monitor this each day and go through these steps every time the task fails to reschedule itself. * What can I do on my end to resolve this? Even if I have to make my own cron task on the server, I can do that, I just need to know the most future-proof way to handle that. I thought about making my own task to truncate the table, but I’d really prefer some way to check if the plugin’s shepherd task was rescheduled correctly, and if not, manually reschedule it via code. * Or maybe it’s a known bug that could be resolved in a future plugin version. I do not know. Just looking for thoughts from other people in the community. Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total) * Plugin Author [Dimitris Pantazis](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dpantazis/) * (@dpantazis) * [8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp_shepherd_tec_tasks-shepherd_tec_process_task-problems/#post-18675049) * Hey [@app1e5auce](https://wordpress.org/support/users/app1e5auce/), This is a known issue. We are working towards resolving it within the shepherd library itself.Thank you for your report. Me or a colleague of mine is going to update this thread when the fix is out.Thank you,Dimi * Thread Starter [app1e5auce](https://wordpress.org/support/users/app1e5auce/) * (@app1e5auce) * [8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp_shepherd_tec_tasks-shepherd_tec_process_task-problems/#post-18675186) * Hey [@dpantazis](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dpantazis/), * Thank you for replying so quickly! Is there an ETA on this fix or anywhere online where I can track the issue progress? * Plugin Author [Dimitris Pantazis](https://wordpress.org/support/users/dpantazis/) * (@dpantazis) * [8 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp_shepherd_tec_tasks-shepherd_tec_process_task-problems/#post-18675375) * [@app1e5auce](https://wordpress.org/support/users/app1e5auce/) there is a release planned for them, but unfortunately we don’t have a definitive date. Here is a good place to follow along with the release of the fixes. * Plugin Support [Darian](https://wordpress.org/support/users/d0153/) * (@d0153) * [7 months, 3 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp_shepherd_tec_tasks-shepherd_tec_process_task-problems/#post-18678946) * Hi there, * It looks like this thread has been inactive for a while, so I’ll go ahead and close it for now. Rest assured, we will update this thread once the fix is out. * If you have any other questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reopen this thread or start a new one. * [rain321](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rain321/) * (@rain321) * [7 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp_shepherd_tec_tasks-shepherd_tec_process_task-problems/#post-18695780) * Same issue. High CPU utilization. Slow quering issue via query monitoring. Quering too many times – in the order of 7000. I am on shared server so unable to create any cron jobs based on comment above. Please advise for updated plugin. My website is suspended due to this. * 23083411 | my db name | localhost | my db name | Query | 0 | Statistics | SELECT* FROM `sqba_shepherd_tec_tasks` WHERE args_hash = ‘shepherd_tidy_0c5564376533f4104430960ec7 | 0.000 | * Plugin Support [Darian](https://wordpress.org/support/users/d0153/) * (@d0153) * [7 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp_shepherd_tec_tasks-shepherd_tec_process_task-problems/#post-18696764) * Hi [@app1e5auce](https://wordpress.org/support/users/app1e5auce/) * For us to follow the [WordPress Forum guidelines](https://wordpress.org/support/forum-user-guide/faq/#i-have-the-same-problem-can-i-just-reply-to-someone-elses-post-with-me-too), please **open a new support thread** and include all the relevant details about the issue, as you mentioned above. * Kindly **reference this thread** in your new post so we can easily track the context and continue assisting you there. We’ll address your concern from the new thread. Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total) The topic ‘wp_shepherd_tec_tasks & shepherd_tec_process_task problems.’ is closed to new replies. * ![](https://ps.w.org/the-events-calendar/assets/icon-256x256.gif?rev=2516440) * [The Events Calendar](https://wordpress.org/plugins/the-events-calendar/) * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://wordpress.org/plugins/the-events-calendar/#faq) * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/the-events-calendar/) * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/the-events-calendar/active/) * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/the-events-calendar/unresolved/) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/the-events-calendar/reviews/) * 6 replies * 6 participants * Last reply from: [Darian](https://wordpress.org/support/users/d0153/) * Last activity: [7 months, 1 week ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp_shepherd_tec_tasks-shepherd_tec_process_task-problems/#post-18696764) * Status: resolved