How to Prevent a WordPress Plugin from Updating

Written by Jean Galea
Written by Jean Galea
I've had a couple of cases where I downloaded a plugin, then needed to make some modifications and disable updating to make sure those changes are not overwritten when the next version came out. Ever wondered how plugin updates can be disabled? Here's how to do it.

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I’ve had a couple of cases where I downloaded a plugin, then needed to make some modifications and disable updating to make sure those changes are not overwritten when the next version came out. Ever wondered how plugin updates can be disabled? Here’s how to do it.

Add the following code to your plugin’s core PHP file:

add_filter( 'http_request_args', 'dm_prevent_update_check', 10, 2 );
function dm_prevent_update_check( $r, $url ) {
    if ( 0 === strpos( $url, 'http://api.wordpress.org/plugins/update-check/' ) ) {
        $my_plugin = plugin_basename( __FILE__ );
        $plugins = unserialize( $r['body']['plugins'] );
        unset( $plugins->plugins[$my_plugin] );
        unset( $plugins->active[array_search( $my_plugin, $plugins->active )] );
        $r['body']['plugins'] = serialize( $plugins );
    }
    return $r;
}

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This article was filed in our archives.
Written by Jean Galea
Jean Galea is an investor, entrepreneur, and blogger. He is the founder of WP Mayor, the plugins WP RSS Aggregator and Spotlight, as well as the Mastermind.fm podcast. His personal blog can be found at jeangalea.com.

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6 Responses

  1. Nice solution 🙂

    Another, less attractive way, is to simply increase the version number in the header of the main plugin file to something unthinkably high – like 100. That way WordPress will always think you’re using the latest version, even if you’re not.

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