Krom Automation installs like any standard WordPress plugin. The whole process takes less than five minutes.

This guide covers checking your server requirements, installing the free version from WordPress.org, and what to expect the first time you activate the plugin.

If you’ve purchased Krom Automation Pro, start with How to Install and Activate Krom Automation Pro after completing this guide.

Check your requirements first #

Before installing, confirm your hosting environment meets these minimums.

Requirement	Minimum version	How to check
WordPress	6.2 or higher	Dashboard > Updates, or the version shown in the footer of your admin
PHP	7.4 or higher	Dashboard > Tools > Site Health > Info > Server
MySQL	5.7+ or MariaDB 10.2+	Dashboard > Tools > Site Health > Info > Database

Most hosting providers running WordPress today meet all three requirements. If you’re on managed WordPress hosting (WP Engine, Kinsta, Cloudways, SiteGround), you’re almost certainly fine.

WooCommerce is not required. WooCommerce triggers and actions activate automatically if WooCommerce is already installed and active on your site.

Option 1: Install from the WordPress plugin repository #

This is the recommended method. It keeps automatic updates enabled and takes about 60 seconds.

1. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
2. Go to Plugins > Add New Plugin.
3. Search for Krom Automation.
4. Find Krom Automation by wpRigel and click Install Now.
5. Once installation finishes, click Activate Plugin.

That’s it. Krom Automation is installed and active.

Option 2: Upload a ZIP file manually #

Use this method if you downloaded the plugin from wprigel.com or need to install a specific version offline.

1. Download the krom-automation.zip file from WordPress.org or your wpRigel account.
2. In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Add New Plugin.
3. Click Upload Plugin at the top of the page.
4. Select the krom-automation.zip file, then click Install Now.
5. Click Activate Plugin once the upload finishes.

What happens on activation #

When you activate Krom Automation for the first time, the plugin automatically creates 8 custom database tables to store workflow configurations, execution history, analytics, and approval tokens. This happens silently and does not affect your existing WordPress tables or data.

Krom Automation also registers two background scheduled tasks using Action Scheduler: a daily log cleanup job and an hourly health check for stuck executions.

Finally, a Krom Automation menu item is added to your WordPress admin sidebar. No existing settings are changed during activation.

Finding your way around #

After activation, the Krom Automation menu in your sidebar has five sections.

Workflows is the main workspace where you create, edit, and manage all your automations. New installations start with zero workflows. Visit the Template Library to install pre-built ones in one click.

Templates gives you access to 20 pre-built workflow templates covering the most common automation scenarios. Click any template to preview it before installing.

Logs shows a searchable, filterable list of every workflow execution, including what fired, when, what happened at each step, and whether it succeeded or failed.

Analytics shows charts of execution volume over time, success rates, and per-workflow statistics.

Settings is where you configure logging, retention periods, performance options, AI provider API keys, and debug mode.

Setting up AI actions (optional) #

Krom Automation’s free AI actions (Generate Text, Content Moderation, and Auto-Tag) work with OpenAI, Google Gemini, or Groq. To use them, you need at least one API key in settings.

Go to Krom Automation > Settings > AI Settings and enter your key for any of these providers:

• OpenAI for GPT-4o Mini and GPT-4o. Get your key at platform.openai.com.
• Google Gemini for Gemini 2.0 Flash, Gemini 2.5 Flash, and Gemini 2.5 Pro. Get your key at aistudio.google.com.
• Groq for Llama 3.3 70B, Llama 3.1 8B, and Mixtral 8x7B. Get your key at console.groq.com.

You only need one provider. The Auto model setting will use the best available model based on which key is configured. If you don’t plan to use AI features right now, skip this step entirely.

Confirm everything is working #

Before building your first real workflow, do a quick check.

Run a Site Health check

Go to Tools > Site Health > Info and look for any PHP or database warnings. Krom Automation surfaces execution errors in the Logs section if something goes wrong at runtime.

Install the Welcome New User template

Go to Krom Automation > Templates and install this template. It’s a two-step workflow (user registers, email sends) that uses only core WordPress functionality, no configuration needed. It’s the fastest way to confirm the plugin is executing correctly end-to-end.

Check your email setup

Krom Automation sends emails through WordPress’s built-in wp_mail() function. On shared hosting, emails sent this way often land in spam or don’t arrive at all. Set up an SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP or FluentSMTP before building email-heavy workflows in production.

Troubleshooting common installation problems #

“Plugin could not be activated” error

This is almost always a PHP version issue. Go to Tools > Site Health > Info > Server and confirm you’re running PHP 7.4 or higher. Contact your host to upgrade if needed.

The Krom Automation menu doesn’t appear after activation

Try deactivating and reactivating the plugin. If the problem continues, temporarily deactivate all other plugins to rule out a conflict, then reactivate Krom Automation.

Workflows aren’t executing

Krom Automation uses WordPress Cron (via Action Scheduler) to run background jobs. If WP-Cron is disabled on your host, delayed actions won’t fire. Check Tools > Site Health for any cron warnings, or ask your host whether WP-Cron is enabled.

Database tables are missing

Deactivate and reactivate the plugin. Krom Automation recreates its tables on every activation. If the issue persists, confirm that your MySQL database user has CREATE TABLE permissions.