YahnisElsts Plugin Update Checker

Recipe for managing plugins that use the YahnisElsts Plugin Update Checker library.

Configuration

Slug

• Label: Slug
• Required: Yes
• Type: Text

Source URL

• Label: Source URL
• Required: Yes
• Type: URL
• Placeholder: https://example.com
• Helper Text: The URL of the WordPress site where the license is active.

Metadata URL

• Label: Metadata URL
• Required: Yes
• Type: Text

License Key

• Required: Yes
• Type: Secret

Features

How to Obtain License Information

You'll need to find the following information in the plugin's code:

1. The metadata URL (where update information is fetched from)
2. Your license key (DLID - Download License ID)
3. The plugin slug
4. Your WordPress site URL

These are typically found in the plugin's update checker initialization code.

Notes

• Generic recipe for any plugin using the YahnisElsts Plugin Update Checker library
• Validates licenses by checking if a download URL is returned
• Uses wpaction=updatecheck to fetch package information
• Looks for error messages in response keys: upgrade_warning_notice, error
• License validation is based on whether a valid download URL is provided
• This is a common update mechanism used by many premium WordPress plugins
• The metadata URL is usually something like https://example.com/updates/metadata.json