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Extension Updates

Keep your installed themes, plugins, and widgets up to date from the Updates panel.

TL;DR

Go to Admin → Updates → Addons. Check for updates with the "Check All" button, then update individually or all at once. Toggle auto-update per extension. Update checks run daily via cron or pageload as part of the Pubvana update chain.

Details

How Update Checks Work

Each extension declares an update_url in its manifest file (theme_info.json, widget_info.json, or plugin_info.json). AddonUpdateService polls this URL to get the latest available version and download link.

The update check endpoint is expected to return JSON in this format:

{
  "version": "1.4.2",
  "download_url": "https://pubvana.net/downloads/my-theme-1.4.2.zip",
  "changelog": "Fixed sidebar layout on mobile. Added dark mode option."
}

Update checks run as part of the pubvana-update-chain scheduled task, which fires daily (either on pageload or via cron — configured in Admin → Settings → Updates).

Admin UI

Admin → Updates → Addons lists every installed extension with:

  • Extension name and type (Theme / Plugin / Widget)
  • Current version — the version installed on your site
  • Latest version — the newest version available (from the last check)
  • Changelog — brief description of what changed in the latest version
  • Status — Up to date / Update Available

Actions:

  • Update — downloads the new version zip and extracts it in place, overriding the extension files. The installed version in marketplace_items is updated.
  • Update All — updates every extension that has an available update in one operation.
  • Check All — immediately polls all update_url endpoints regardless of the daily schedule.
  • Toggle Auto-Update — enables or disables automatic updating for that specific extension.

Auto-Update

When Auto-Update is toggled on for an extension AND App.autoUpdate is enabled in Admin → Settings → Updates, the extension is automatically downloaded and applied during the daily update chain — no manual action needed.

Disable auto-update for extensions you want to review manually before updating (e.g., extensions that require theme template changes).

Version Compatibility

Each extension's manifest declares:

  • min_pubvana_version — the minimum Pubvana core version required.
  • max_pubvana_version — the maximum Pubvana core version this extension is tested with.

If an available update's min_pubvana_version is higher than your installed Pubvana version, the update is skipped and a notice is shown explaining that a Pubvana core update is required first. Updates that would exceed max_pubvana_version are also skipped, with a notice to wait for a compatible extension release.

Rollback

Pubvana does not include a built-in rollback for extension updates. If an update causes a problem:

  1. Check writable/backups/ — if the backup system ran before the update, the old extension files may be archived there.
  2. Re-install the previous version manually by downloading it from pubvana.net and extracting it to the extension directory.
  3. If the extension was installed from the Marketplace, contact the publisher for a previous-version download.