README

A simple and lightweight updater for WordPress plugins hosted on AutomagicWP. It hooks into WordPress's built-in update mechanism to check for new versions and display the standard update notice in the admin area.

Important

This updater requires your plugin to be hosted on AutomagicWP.com. Your plugin header must include Update URI: https://www.automagicwp.com.

Minimum requirements

• PHP: 8.0 or later
• WordPress: 6.0 or later
• Access to your plugin's source code.
• Optional: Composer for managing PHP dependencies

Installation

Via Composer

composer require automagicwp/updater

Manual

Copy the file in src/ into your plugin and require it:

require_once 'path/to/PluginUpdater.php';

Usage

Instantiate PluginUpdater inside your plugin. The defaults point at automagicwp.com so you only need to provide file and id for the standard setup:

<?php
/**
 * Plugin Name: My Plugin
 * Version:     1.0.0
 * Update URI:  https://www.automagicwp.com
 */

if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) {
    exit;
}

require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use AutomagicWP\Updater\PluginUpdater;

add_action( 'init', function () {
    new PluginUpdater( array(
        'file'   => __FILE__,
        'id'     => 'plugin_abc123',   // Plugin ID from the AutomagicWP dashboard
        'secret' => 'your-api-key',    // Optional: required for private plugins
    ) );
} );

All options

Replace plugin_abc123 with the Plugin ID shown in your AutomagicWP dashboard under Settings.

White-label branding

Agencies distributing a single plugin to multiple client sites can create licenses in the AutomagicWP dashboard (Settings → White-label Licenses). Each license has:

• Its own API key (revocable per site)
• Client name — shown in the plugin admin UI instead of the canonical plugin name
• Primary colour / foreground colour — brand colours for the admin UI
• Metadata — free-form JSON for any extra fields (logo URL, support email, feature flags, etc.)

Fetching branding config

Pass the license key as the secret option, then call get_config() anywhere in your plugin:

$updater = new PluginUpdater( array(
    'file'   => __FILE__,
    'id'     => 'plugin_abc123',
    'secret' => get_option( 'my_plugin_license_key' ),
) );

$config = $updater->get_config();

if ( $config ) {
    $client_name   = $config->clientName            ?? 'My Plugin';
    $primary_color = $config->primaryColor          ?? '#2563eb';
    $fg_color      = $config->primaryForegroundColor ?? '#ffffff';

    // Access free-form metadata
    $logo_url      = $config->metadata->logo_url      ?? '';
    $support_email = $config->metadata->support_email ?? '';
    $report_from   = $config->metadata->report_from   ?? '';
    $report_footer = $config->metadata->report_footer ?? '';

    // Feature flags stored in metadata
    $features      = (array) ( $config->metadata->features ?? array() );
    $multi_country = $features['multi_country'] ?? false;
}

Response shape

{
  "clientName": "Acme Corp",
  "primaryColor": "#1A56DB",
  "primaryForegroundColor": "#ffffff",
  "metadata": {
    "logo_url": "https://acme.com/logo.svg",
    "support_email": "help@acme.com",
    "report_from": "Acme SEO <noreply@acme.com>",
    "report_footer": "Powered by Acme · acme.com",
    "features": {
      "multi_country": true,
      "vehicle_compatibility": false,
      "content_creation": false
    },
    "countries": {
      "NL": { "weight": 1.0, "frequency": "daily" },
      "DE": { "weight": 0.8, "frequency": "weekly" }
    }
  }
}

All fields are nullable — always provide defaults in your plugin code.

Caching

get_config() caches the response in a WordPress transient for 5 minutes to avoid a remote call on every admin page load. To force a fresh fetch (e.g. after saving a settings page):

$config = $updater->get_config( force: true );

Providing a license key settings field

Your plugin's settings page should let the site owner paste their license key:

add_action( 'admin_init', function () {
    register_setting( 'my_plugin_settings', 'my_plugin_license_key' );

    add_settings_field(
        'license_key',
        'License Key',
        function () {
            $key = get_option( 'my_plugin_license_key', '' );
            echo '<input type="password" name="my_plugin_license_key"
                         value="' . esc_attr( $key ) . '" class="regular-text">';
        },
        'my-plugin',
        'my_plugin_license_section'
    );
} );