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The Manage Updates feature lets you run WordPress core, plugin, theme, and translation updates across all your child sites from your Dashboard. Configure automatic updates for trusted items, ignore updates you want to skip, and take advantage of the built-in rollback feature to recover from failed updates.

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What You’ll Accomplish

  • Update WordPress core, plugins, themes, and translations individually or in bulk
  • Configure automatic updates for trusted plugins, themes, and translations
  • Ignore specific updates globally or per site, including translation updates
  • Use the rollback feature to recover from failed updates

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Prerequisites

  • MainWP Dashboard installed and activated
  • At least one child site connected to your Dashboard
  • Sites synced recently to have current update data
Before running updates, synchronize your child sites to ensure all available updates are displayed.

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WordPress Core Updates

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Update All WordPress Installations

1

Navigate to WordPress Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > WordPress Updates.
2

Update all sites

Click Update All Sites in the table header.WordPress Updates page showing Update All Sites button in the table header
3

Confirm

Confirm when prompted.

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Update a Single WordPress Installation

1

Navigate to WordPress Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > WordPress Updates.
2

Locate site

Find the WordPress installation in the table.
3

Update

Click Update Now in its row.

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Auto Update WordPress Core

Enable automatic WordPress core updates in two steps: enable the feature, then enable it for individual sites.

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Enable Auto Updates Feature

1

Navigate to Settings

Go to MainWP > Settings.
2

Find Update Settings

Locate the Update Settings section.
3

Enable

Set WP Core auto-updates to Install updates.Update Settings section showing WP Core auto-updates dropdown with Install updates option
4

Save

Click Save Settings.

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Enable Auto Update for a Site

1

Navigate to Manage Sites

Go to MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites.
2

Edit site

Find the site and click Edit from the actions menu.
3

Enable auto update

Set Auto Update Core to YES.Child Site Edit page showing Auto Update Core option set to Yes
4

Save

Click Save Settings.
MainWP Auto Update is independent from WordPress native auto-updates. It uses WP Cron and may take up to 24 hours after detecting an update. Use Uptime Robot to ping your Dashboard for reliable cron execution.

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Ignore WordPress Core Updates

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Ignore Core Update for a Site

1

Navigate to Manage Sites

Go to MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites.
2

Edit site

Find the site and click Edit from the actions menu.
3

Enable ignore

Set Ignore Core Update to YES.
4

Save

Click Save Settings.

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Un-ignore Core Update

Follow the same steps and set Ignore Core Updates to NO.

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Plugin Updates

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Update All Plugins on All Sites

1

Navigate to Plugin Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Plugins.
2

Update all

Click Update All Plugins (Update All Sites).Update All Plugins button in the Plugins Updates page header
3

Confirm

Confirm when prompted.

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Update a Single Plugin on All Sites

1

Navigate to Plugin Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Plugins Updates.
2

Select view

Set Show updates per to Item.
3

Locate plugin

Find the plugin you want to update.Plugins Updates table showing available plugin updates per item view
4

Update

Click Update All in the plugin row.

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Update All Plugins on a Single Site

1

Navigate to Plugin Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Plugins Updates.
2

Select view

Set Show updates per to Site.
3

Locate site

Find the child site.Plugins Updates table in per-site view showing child sites with available updates
4

Update

Click Update All in the site row.

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Update a Single Plugin on a Single Site

1

Navigate to Plugin Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Plugins Updates.
2

Select view

Set View updates per to Site.
3

Locate site

Find the child site and expand its row.
4

Update plugin

Find the plugin and click Update Now.Expanded site row showing individual plugins available for update with Update Now buttons

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View Plugin History

The plugin update rows include a History action so you can review recent change activity before or after updates.
1

Open a plugin row with History

Go to MainWP > Updates > Plugins Updates and use the Site, Item, or Tag view. You can also use History in plugin rows in individual site update tables.
2

Open the history modal

Click History in the plugin row.
3

Review activity details

Review the action timeline with actor, source (Dashboard or WP Admin), timestamp, and version change when available.
4

Switch history views

Use Day History to group actions by date, then use Plugin History to switch to plugin-grouped actions for that day.
5

Load older records

Click Load More in the modal to display earlier activity.
If you see “This plugin has no recorded activity in Dashboard Insights,” check Network Activity and Dashboard Insights settings to confirm logging and retention are configured.

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Plugin Auto Updates

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Enable Auto Updates

1

Navigate to Settings

Go to MainWP > Settings.
2

Find Update Settings

Locate the Updates Settings section.
3

Enable

Set Plugin automatic updates to Install Updates.
4

Save

Click Save Settings.

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Mark Plugins as Trusted

1

Navigate to Auto Updates

Go to MainWP > Plugins > Auto Updates.
2

Filter plugins

Use Status, Trust Status, and Keyword filters to find plugins.
3

Search

Click Show Plugins.
4

Select and trust

Check the plugins to trust, select Trust from Bulk Actions, and click Apply.Plugins Auto Updates page showing plugin list with checkboxes and Bulk Actions dropdown

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Ignore Plugin Updates

Ignore TypeScope
Ignore GloballyAll versions, all sites
Ignore this versionThis version, this site only
Ignore this version globallyThis version, all sites
Ignore all versionsAll versions, this site only
1

Navigate to Plugin Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Plugins Updates.
2

Select view

Set Show updates per to Item.
3

Ignore

Find the plugin and select your ignore option.Plugin ignore options dropdown showing Ignore Globally, Ignore this version, and other options

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Un-ignore a Plugin

1

Navigate to Ignored Updates

Go to MainWP > Plugins > Ignored Updates.
2

Un-ignore

Find the plugin and click Unignore.Plugins Ignored Updates table showing Unignore button in a plugin row

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Theme Updates

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Update All Themes on All Sites

1

Navigate to Theme Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates.
2

Update all

Click Update All Sites (Update All Themes).MainWP Themes Updates page with Update All Sites button highlighted
3

Confirm

Confirm when prompted.

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Update a Single Theme on All Sites

1

Navigate to Theme Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates.
2

Select view

Set Show updates per to Plugin/Theme.
3

Locate theme

Find the theme you want to update.Theme Updates table with Update All button for updating a single theme across all sites
4

Update

Click Update All in the theme row.

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Update All Themes on a Single Site

1

Navigate to Theme Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates.
2

Select view

Set Show updates per to Site.
3

Locate site

Find the child site.Theme Updates table showing Update All button for a single child site
4

Update

Click Update All in the site row.

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Update a Single Theme on a Single Site

1

Navigate to Theme Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates.
2

Select view

Set Show updates per to Site.
3

Locate site

Find the child site and expand its row.
4

Update theme

Find the theme and click Update Now.Themes Updates per-site view showing expanded row with individual theme Update Now button

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View Theme History

The theme update rows include a History action so you can review recent change activity before or after updates.
1

Open a theme row with History

Go to MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates and use the Site, Item, or Tag view. You can also use History in theme rows in individual site update tables.
2

Open the history modal

Click History in the theme row.
3

Review activity details

Review the action timeline with actor, source (Dashboard or WP Admin), timestamp, and version change when available.
4

Switch history views

Use Day History to group actions by date, then use Theme History to switch to theme-grouped actions for that day.
5

Load older records

Click Load More in the modal to display earlier activity.
If you see “This theme has no recorded activity in Dashboard Insights,” check Network Activity and Dashboard Insights settings to confirm logging and retention are configured.

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Theme Auto Updates

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Enable Auto Updates

1

Navigate to Settings

Go to MainWP > Settings.
2

Find Update Settings

Locate the Update Settings section.
3

Enable

Enable Theme Automatic Updates.Update Settings section showing Theme Automatic Updates toggle enabled
4

Save

Click Save Settings.

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Mark Themes as Trusted

1

Navigate to Auto Updates

Go to MainWP > Themes > Auto Updates.
2

Filter themes

Use Status, Trust Status, and Keyword filters to find themes.
3

Search

Click Show Themes.
4

Select and trust

Check the themes to trust, select Trust from Bulk Actions, and click Confirm.Themes Auto Updates page showing theme list with checkboxes and Bulk Actions dropdown

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Ignore Theme Updates

Ignore TypeScope
Ignore GloballyAll versions, all sites
Ignore this versionThis version, this site only
Ignore this version globallyThis version, all sites
Ignore all versionsAll versions, this site only
1

Navigate to Theme Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Themes Updates.
2

Select view

Set Show updates per to Item.
3

Ignore

Find the theme and select your ignore option.Theme ignore options dropdown showing Ignore Globally, Ignore this version, and other options

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Un-ignore a Theme

1

Navigate to Ignored Updates

Go to MainWP > Themes > Ignored Updates.
2

Un-ignore

Find the theme and click Unignore.Themes Ignored Updates table showing Unignore button in a theme row

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Translation Updates

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Update All Translations on All Sites

1

Navigate to Translation Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Translation Updates.
2

Update all

Click Update All to run all available translation updates.

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Update Translations on a Single Site

1

Navigate to Translation Updates

Go to MainWP > Updates > Translation Updates.
2

Switch to Site view

Set Show updates per to Site.
3

Update the site

Find the child site and run the available translation updates for that site.

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Translation Auto Updates

Configure translation auto-updates globally in MainWP > Settings, under the Updates Settings section.
1

Navigate to Settings

Go to MainWP > Settings.
2

Find Updates Settings

Locate the Updates Settings section.
3

Enable translation auto updates

Set Translation advanced automatic updates to Install Trusted Updates.
4

Save

Click Save Settings.
Translation auto-updates use trusted plugin and theme context. Per-site translation control is available through Ignore translation updates in MainWP > Sites > Manage Sites > Settings.

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Safe Updates / Rollback

MainWP 5.1 introduced a rollback feature that integrates with the WordPress core rollback feature from WordPress 6.3.
Child sites must run WordPress 6.3 or above for the rollback feature to work.

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How Rollback Works

The rollback feature is active on all MainWP Dashboard pages where updates can be triggered, including the Updates page, Manage Plugins, Manage Themes, and extension pages. It works for both individual and bulk updates. Shows the rollback feature in action after a failed plugin update.

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Rollback Notices

When a rollback occurs, an orange icon with a tooltip appears. This notice persists on relevant Dashboard pages until the plugin or theme is successfully updated. Rollback icon signifying a rollback persisting throughout the Dashboard.

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Manual Rollback

During updates, WordPress stores the current version temporarily. If the update fails, that version is restored. There is no permanent storage for manual rollback to previous versions. To install a previous version of a WordPress.org plugin:
1

Visit plugin page

Navigate to the plugin page on wordpress.org (e.g., https://wordpress.org/plugins/mainwp/).
2

Open Advanced

Click Advanced in the sidebar.
3

Download version

Select the desired version from the dropdown and click Download.Downloading older versions of plugins from wordpress.org
4

Install

Upload and install the plugin via Install by Upload.
For premium plugins and themes not on wordpress.org, use the Favorites Extension to store versions for rollback.

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Self-Check Checklist

  • WordPress core updates complete successfully
  • Plugin updates work for individual and bulk operations
  • Theme updates work for individual and bulk operations
  • Auto updates are configured for trusted items
  • Ignored updates no longer appear in update lists
  • Rollback feature functions on WordPress 6.3+ sites