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Manage Updates
Updated over 2 months ago

The MainWP plugin allows you to run updates on your child sites. It will allow you to remotely trigger updates for WP Core, Plugins, Themes, and Translation.

You can also ignore certain updates when needed and for plugins and themes, you can also choose to ignore only specific versions.

Update WordPress Core

Before running updates, it is highly recommended to Synchronize your Child Sites so you can be sure that there is no cached data and all available updates are listed.

MainWP > Updates > WordPress Updates page is just one place where you can perform updates from. The same feature is provided in the Update Overview widget on the MainWP Global and Individual Overview page.

Update All WordPress Installations

  1. Login into your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > WordPress Updates page

  3. In the Updates table, in the last header column, click the Update All Sites button

    Update WordPress Core 1

A verification popup will appear and ask if you are sure you want to update everything. If you are sure, confirm, and the MainWP plugin will handle all updates.

Alternatively, you can use the Update All button, provided in the WordPress Updates section of the Updates Overview widget on the Overview page.

Update a Single WordPress Installation

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > WordPress Updates page

  3. In the Updates table, locate the WordPress installation (row) that you want to update and click the Update Now button

    Update WordPress Core 2

A verification popup will appear and ask if you are sure you want to proceed. If you are sure, confirm, and the MainWP plugin will handle the update.

Alternatively, you can use the Update All button provided in the WordPress Updates row of the Updates Overview widget on the Site Overview page.

Auto Update WordPress Core

MainWP Auto Updates feature is designed to provide you full control over automatic updates of WordPress Core files on your Child sites. The process of setting auto-updates requires two steps:

  1. Enabling the Auto Updates Feature

  2. Enabling the Auto Update for individual sites

Enable Auto Updates

  1. Login into your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Settings page

  3. Locate the Update Settings section

  4. Locate the WP Core auto-updates option

  5. Select the Install updates option

    Auto Update WordPress Core 1
  6. Click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page

Enable Auto Update for a Site

  1. Log in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage page

  3. Locate the site that you want to enable WP Core auto-update for

  4. Click the Edit action from the site actions menu

  5. On the Child Site Edit page

    Auto Update WordPress Core 2
    1. Locate the Auto Update Core option

    2. Set it to YES

    3. Click the Save Settings button

Important Notes

The MainWP Auto Update WP Core feature is not related to the native WordPress Auto-Update feature and does not impact whether your Host or any other system may automatically update WP Core.

Disabling this feature in the MainWP Dashboard doesn’t stop WordPress auto-updates if the feature is enabled in the actual WordPress installation or in any other system.

From the moment your MainWP Dashboard detects the available update, it can take up to 24 hours before the WP Core files get updated.

MainWP Auto Updates feature is a WP Cron driven feature, and it can work only if your WP Cron is triggered regularly.

If you want to make sure that WP Cron jobs are regularly triggered on your MainWP Dashboard, you can Authorize the Uptime Robot service and add your dashboard site as a monitor. The Uptime Robot will ping your dashboard site regularly and make sure that all scheduled events are occurring.

Ignore WordPress Core Update

MainWP Plugin allows you to “ignore” a WordPress Core update. This means that a WordPress Core update won’t show in the available updates list (Updates page and the Update Overview widget) nor the Status column of the Manage Sites table.

Ignore a WordPress Core Update for a Child Site

  1. Log in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites page

  3. Locate the site that you want to ignore WP Core update for

  4. Click the Edit action from the actions menu

  5. On the Child Site Edit page

  6. Locate the Ignore Core Update option

    1. Set it to YES

    2. Click the Save Settings button

Un-ignore a WordPress Core Update for a Child Site

  1. Log in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites page

  3. Locate the site that you want to un-ignore WP Core update for

  4. Click the Edit action from the actions menu

  5. On the Child Site Edit page

    1. Locate the Ignore Core Updates option

    2. Set it to NO

    3. Click the Save Settings button

Update Plugins

Before running updates, it is highly recommended to Synchronize your Child Sites so you can be sure that there is no cached data and all available updates are listed.

MainWP > Updates > Plugins Updates page is just one place where you can perform updates from. The same feature is provided in the Update Overview widget on the MainWP Global and Individual Overview page.

Update All Plugins on All Your Child Sites

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > Plugins page

  3. Click the Update All Plugins (Update All Sites) button

A verification popup will appear and ask if you are sure you want to update everything. If you are sure, confirm, and the MainWP plugin will handle all updates.

Update a Single Plugin on All Your Child Sites

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > Plugins Updates page

  3. Locate the Show updates per option and select “Item”

  4. Locate the plugin that you want to update on all your child sites

  5. Click the Update All button

A verification popup will appear and ask if you are sure you want to update everything. If you are sure, confirm, and the MainWP plugin will handle all updates.

Update All Plugins on a Single Child Site

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > Plugins Updates page

  3. Locate the Show updates per option and select “Site”

  4. Locate the Child Site that you want to update

  5. Click the Update All button that is placed in the corresponding row

A verification popup will appear and ask if you are sure you want to update everything. If you are sure, confirm, and the MainWP plugin will handle all updates.

Update a Single Plugin on a Single Child Site

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > Plugins Updates page

  3. Locate the View updates per option and select “Site.”

  4. Locate the Child Site where you need to update a Plugin

  5. Expand the row

  6. Locate the Plugin that you want to update

  7. Click the Update Now button

A verification popup will appear and ask if you are sure you want to update everything. If you are sure, confirm, and the MainWP Plugin will handle all updates.

Plugins Auto Updates

MainWP Auto Updates feature is designed to provide you full control over automatic updates of Plugins on your Child sites. The process of setting auto-updates requires two steps:

  1. Enabling the Auto Updates Feature

  2. Marking plugins as “Trusted.”

Enable Auto Updates

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Settings page

  3. Locate the Updates Settings section

  4. Set the Plugin automatic updates option to Install Updates

  5. Click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page

Mark a plugin as “Trusted.”

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Plugins > Auto Updates page

  3. Set the Status, Trust Status, and the Keyword search filters to find the wanted Plugin(s)

  4. Click the Show Plugins button

  5. Once the list of Plugins appear

    Locate the Plugin(s) that you want to mark as trusted

    1. Select it by checking the checkbox in front of the Plugin(s) name

    2. Select the Trust action in the Bulk Actions menu

    3. Click the Apply button

Important Notes

The MainWP Auto Update feature is not related to the native WordPress Auto-Update feature and does not impact whether your Host or any other system may automatically update plugins.

Disabling this feature in the MainWP Dashboard doesn’t stop plugin auto-updates if the feature is enabled in the actual WordPress installation or in any other system.

Setting a Plugin as Trusted means that you trust this Plugin and are choosing to allow MainWP to manage it for you.

From the moment your MainWP Dashboard detects the available update, it can take up to 24 hours before the trusted plugins get updated.

MainWP Auto Updates feature is a WP Cron driven feature, and it can work only if your WP Cron is triggered regularly.

If you want to make sure that WP Cron jobs are regularly triggered on your MainWP Dashboard, you can Authorize the Uptime Robot service and add your dashboard site as a monitor. The Uptime Robot will ping your dashboard site regularly and make sure that all scheduled events are occurring.

Ignore Plugin Updates

MainWP allows you to “ignore” an available update for a plugin, which can be for all versions or for specific versions. This means that a plugin update won’t show in the available updates list (Updates page and the Update Overview widget) nor the Status column of the Manage Sites table.

Plugins can be ignored in 2 ways:

  • Globally (All Versions or Specific Versions) – Ignoring a plugin globally means that the ignored plugin will be ignored on all connected Child Sites

  • Per Child Site (All Versions or Specific Versions) – a plugin can be ignored on just one or a couple of child sites

Ignoring a Plugin

  1. Login into your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > Plugins Updates page

  3. Locate the Show updates per item option in the dropdown

  4. Locate the plugin that you want to ignore

    1. Ignore Globally – Ignores updates for all versions, across all sites.

    2. Ignore this version – Ignores this version, only for this site.

    3. Ignore this version globally – Ignore this version, across all sites.

    4. Ignore all versions – Ignores all versions, only for this site.

Un-ignore a Plugin

  1. Login to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Plugins > Ignored Updates page

  3. Locate the plugin that you want to un-ignore

  4. Click the Unignore button in the corresponding row

Update Themes

Before running updates, it is highly recommended to Synchronize your Child Sites so you can be sure that there is no cached data and all available updates are listed.

MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates page is just one place where you can perform updates from. The same feature is provided in the Update Overview widget on the MainWP Global and Individual Overview page.

Update All Themes on All Your Child Sites

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates page

  3. Click The Update All Sites (Update All Themes)

A verification popup will appear and ask if you are sure you want to update everything. If you are sure, confirm, and the MainWP plugin will handle all updates.

Update a Single Theme on All Your Child Sites

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates page

  3. Locate the Show updates per option and select “Plugin/Theme.”

  4. Locate the theme that you want to update on all your child sites

  5. Click the Update All button that is placed in the corresponding row

A verification popup will appear and ask if you are sure you want to update everything. If you are sure, confirm, and the MainWP plugin will handle all updates.

Update All Themes on a Single Child Site

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates page

  3. Locate the Show updates per option and select “Site.”

  4. Locate the Child Site that you want to update

  5. Click the Update All button that is placed in the corresponding row

A verification popup will appear and ask if you are sure you want to update everything. If you are sure, confirm, and the MainWP plugin will handle all updates.

Update a Single Theme on a Single Child Site

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates page

  3. Locate the Show updates per option and select “Site.”

  4. Locate the Child Site that you want to update

  5. Expand the row and locate the Themes you want to update

  6. Click the Update Now button

A verification popup will appear and ask if you are sure you want to update everything. If you are sure, confirm, and the MainWP plugin will handle all updates.

Themes Auto Updates

MainWP Auto Updates feature is designed to provide you full control over automatic updates of Themes on your Child sites. The process of setting auto-updates requires two steps:

  1. Enabling the Auto Updates Feature

  2. Marking themes as “Trusted.”

Enable Auto Updates

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Settings page

  3. Locate the Update Settings section

  4. Enable the Theme Automatic Updates option

  5. Click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the page

Mark a theme as “Trusted”

  1. Login in to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Themes > Auto Updates page

  3. Locate the Search section

  4. Set the Status, Trust Status, and the Keyword search filters to find the wanted Theme(s)

  5. Click the Show Themes button

  6. Once the list of Themes appear

    1. Locate the Theme(s) that you want to mark as trusted

    2. Select it by checking the checkbox in front of the theme(s) name

    3. Select the Trust action in the Bulk Actions menu

    4. Click the Confirm button

Important Notes

The MainWP Auto Update feature is not related to the native WordPress Auto-Update feature and does not impact whether your Host or any other system may automatically update themes.

Disabling this feature in the MainWP Dashboard doesn’t stop theme auto-updates if the feature is enabled in the actual WordPress installation or in any other system.

Setting a Theme as Trusted means that you trust this Theme and are choosing to allow MainWP to manage it for you. The manage options are to either Auto Update the Theme(s) for you when the Theme author makes published updates.

From the moment your MainWP Dashboard detects the available update, it can take up to 24 hours before the trusted themes get updated.

MainWP Auto Updates feature is a WP Cron driven feature, and it can work only if your WP Cron is triggered regularly.

If you want to make sure that WP Cron jobs are regularly triggered on your MainWP Dashboard, you can Authorize the Uptime Robot service and add your dashboard site as a monitor. The Uptime Robot will ping your dashboard site regularly and make sure that all scheduled events are occurring.

Ignore Theme Updates

MainWP allows you to “ignore” an available update for a theme, which can be for all versions or for specific versions. This means that a theme update won’t show in the available updates list (Updates page and the Update Overview widget) nor the Status column of the Manage Sites table.

Themes can be ignored in 2 ways:

  • Globally (All Versions or Specific Versions) – Ignoring a theme globally means that the ignored plugin will be ignored on all connected Child Sites

  • Per Child Site (All Versions or Specific Versions) – a theme can be ignored on just one or a couple of child sites

Ignoring a Theme

  1. Login into your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates page

  3. Locate the Show updates per item option in the dropdown

  4. Locate the theme that you want to ignore

    1. Ignore Globally – Ignores updates for all versions, across all sites.

    2. Ignore this version – Ignores this version, only for this site.

    3. Ignore this version globally – Ignore this version, across all sites.

    4. Ignore all versions – Ignores all versions, only for this site.

Un-ignore a Theme

  1. Login to your MainWP Dashboard

  2. Go to the MainWP > Themes > Ignored Updates page

  3. Locate the theme that you want to un-ignore

  4. Click the Unignore button in the corresponding row

Safe Updates / Updates Rollback

In version 5.1, we have introduced the rollback feature for plugin and theme updates.

The rollback feature integrates with the WordPress core feature that was introduced in WordPress version 6.3. This means that your child sites must be running WordPress 6.3 and above for the MainWP rollback feature to work.

Where/when is the feature in effect?

It is active on all MainWP Dashboard pages – if an update can be triggered from a MainWP Dashboard page, the rollback feature is active. That includes the Updates page, Manage Plugins and Manage Themes pages, any Extensions pages, and so on.

Shows the rollback feature in action after a failed plugin update.

It also doesn’t matter if you are updating plugins and themes individually or in bulk. The rollback feature is always active.

Rollback notices

When a rollback occurs, you will be notified by the Dashboard with an orange icon which contains a tooltip with additional information.

This information about a failed previous update will be present on other relevant Dashboard pages, such as the Manage Plugins and Manage Themes pages.

The notice will persist until that plugin or theme is successfully updated.

Rollback icon signifying a rollback persisting throughout the Dashboard.

Can I manually roll back a plugin or a theme?

In short, no.

During the update process, WordPress stores the current version of a plugin or theme in a temporary folder, and if the process fails, that version is restored. There isn’t a permanent storage of older plugin and themes version that can be restored at will.

However, previous versions of a plugin can be downloaded from wordpress.org and installed via the MainWP Dashboard.

Downloading older versions of plugins from wordpress.org

  1. Navigate to the plugin page (e.g. https://wordpress.org/plugins/mainwp/)

  2. Click Advanced in the sidebar

  3. From the dropdown at the bottom of the page, choose the desired version and click Download

  4. Finally, install the plugin by following the steps in this help document

Premium plugins and themes that are not available on wordpress.org can be uploaded and stored in our Favorites extension for later rollback use.

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