afragen/git-updater

Git Updater is a WordPress plugin that enables automatic updates for GitHub-hosted plugins, themes, and language packs, with additional support for Bitbucket, GitLab, Gitea, and Gist through optional API plugins.

The plugin solves the problem of manually updating WordPress plugins and themes hosted on Git repositories. It works by reading a URI header in your plugin's main file or theme's style.css that points to the repository location, then automatically checking for and installing updates from that source. The approach requires minimal configuration: you simply add a GitHub Plugin URI or GitHub Theme URI header in the format https://github.com/owner/repo, and the plugin handles the rest.

Git Updater suits developers and site administrators who host their WordPress plugins or themes on Git platforms and want to distribute updates without relying on the official WordPress.org repository. It is particularly valuable for private plugins, custom themes, or projects not yet ready for WordPress.org submission. The core plugin handles GitHub natively, while separate API plugins extend support to other platforms. For authenticated API requests beyond a free trial period, the tool requires a purchased license, which enables higher rate limits and more reliable update checks.

The project maintains active WordPress compatibility testing through automated workflows. The tool has a dedicated Slack community for support and discussion. Translation contributions are actively solicited through a dedicated translation platform, indicating ongoing localization efforts.