Auto Updates

Auto-Updates

MXRoute Mailer includes a GitHub-based auto-updater that checks for new releases and allows you to update directly from your WordPress dashboard.

How It Works

The plugin uses WordPress's built-in plugin update system with a custom updater that:

1. Checks the GitHub API for new releases periodically
2. Compares the latest release version with your installed version
3. Shows an update notification in your WordPress dashboard when a new version is available
4. Downloads and installs the update when you click "Update Now"

Checking for Updates

WordPress checks for plugin updates automatically (typically every 12 hours). To check manually:

1. Go to Dashboard > Updates
2. Scroll down to the Plugins section
3. MXRoute Mailer will appear if an update is available

Alternatively, go to Plugins and click Check for updates.

Installing Updates

Via WordPress Dashboard

1. When an update is available, you'll see a notification on the Plugins page
2. Click Update Now next to MXRoute Mailer
3. The update downloads from GitHub and installs automatically

Via WP-CLI

wp plugin update mxroute-mailer

Manual Update

If automatic updates don't work:

1. Download the latest release from GitHub Releases
2. Extract the zip file
3. Replace the mxroute-mailer folder in /wp-content/plugins/ with the new version
4. The update is complete - no database migration needed (it runs automatically)

Release Zip Layout

Starting with v1.2.13, release zips contain a single top-level folder named mxroute-mailer/. This ensures WordPress extracts the update into the existing plugin directory.

If you previously installed an update that created a folder like mxroute-mailer-v1.2.7/, the plugin was deactivated because WordPress could not find it in the expected location. To fix this:

1. Deactivate and delete the mxroute-mailer-v1.2.x/ folder from /wp-content/plugins/
2. Install the latest release zip normally
3. Activate MXRoute Mailer

Version Comparison

The updater uses WordPress's standard version comparison, which follows PHP's version_compare() rules:

• 1.2.4 is newer than 1.2.3
• 1.3.0 is newer than 1.2.4
• 2.0.0 is newer than 1.9.9

Release Tags

Releases use semantic versioning with a v prefix:

• v1.2.4 - Version 1.2.4
• v1.3.0 - Version 1.3.0 (new features)
• v2.0.0 - Version 2.0.0 (major release)

Troubleshooting

Update Not Showing

1. Clear transients: Go to Dashboard > Updates and click "Check again"
2. Check GitHub API: The updater caches results for 12 hours
3. Verify version: Make sure your installed version is older than the latest release

Update Fails

1. Check file permissions: The plugin directory must be writable by WordPress
2. Check GitHub access: Your server must be able to reach api.github.com
3. Manual update: Download and install the release zip manually

Plugin Deactivated After Update

This usually means the update was extracted into a versioned folder like mxroute-mailer-v1.2.x/ instead of mxroute-mailer/. See Release Zip Layout above for the fix.

"Error: Cannot fetch update" Message

This usually means:

• Your server can't reach GitHub (firewall, DNS issue)
• The GitHub API is rate-limited (rare)
• The repository is private (it should be public)

Check if your server can reach GitHub:

curl -I https://api.github.com/repos/richardkentgates/mxroute-mailer/releases/latest

Security

• Releases are built by GitHub Actions CI/CD
• Each push to dev runs PHP syntax lint, PHPUnit, zizmor workflow analysis, Semgrep PHP security scan, CodeQL analysis, and a pinned-Actions check
• The zip file is attached to the GitHub release, not hosted externally
• Version comparison prevents accidental downgrades
• Starting with v1.2.19, each release includes a SHA-256 checksum file; the plugin verifies the downloaded zip against this checksum before WordPress installs the update

Disabling Auto-Updates

If you prefer to update manually, you can disable WordPress auto-updates for this plugin:

1. Go to Plugins
2. Click Disable auto-updates next to MXRoute Mailer

Or add to wp-config.php:

add_filter( 'auto_update_plugin', function( $update, $item ) {
    if ( $item->slug === 'mxroute-mailer' ) {
        return false;
    }
    return $update;
}, 10, 2 );