Setting up the GitHub Action

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 132 views

Introduction

In this article, we will explore how to set up a GitHub Action to update a WordPress plugin from GitHub. We will use the Misha Update Checker plugin as an example. This plugin is designed to check for updates from a custom server, but we will modify it to use a GitHub Action to update the plugin.

What is a GitHub Action?

A GitHub Action is a way to automate tasks on GitHub. It is a YAML file that contains a series of steps that are executed when a specific event occurs, such as a push to a branch or a pull request. GitHub Actions can be used to automate tasks such as building and testing code, deploying to production, and more.

Setting up the GitHub Action

To set up a GitHub Action to update the Misha Update Checker plugin, we need to create a new file in the .github/workflows directory of our repository. This file will contain the YAML code that defines the action.

name: Update Misha Update Checker

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  update-plugin:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v2

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          composer install

      - name: Update plugin
        run: |
          wp plugin update misha-update-plugin --path=wp-content/plugins/misha-update-plugin --activate

This YAML code defines a GitHub Action that runs on the main branch of our repository. The action consists of three steps:

Checkout code: This step checks out the code in the repository.
Install dependencies: This step installs the dependencies required by the plugin using Composer.
Update plugin: This step updates the plugin using the wp plugin update command.

Modifying the Misha Update Checker Plugin

To use the GitHub Action to update the plugin, we need to modify the Misha Update Checker plugin to use the wp plugin update command instead of the custom update server.

<?php
/*
 * Plugin name: Misha Update Checker
 * Description: This simple plugin does nothing, only gets updates from a custom server
 * Version: 1.0
 * Author: Misha Rudrastyh
 * Author URI: https://rudrastyh.com
 * License: GPL
 */

/**/


defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit;


if( ! class_exists( 'mishaUpdateChecker' ) ) {

	class mishaUpdateChecker{

		public $plugin_slug;
		public $version;
		public $cache_key;
		public $cache_allowed;

		public function __construct() {

			$this->plugin_slug = plugin_basename( __DIR__ );
			$this->version = '1.0';
			$this->cache_key = 'misha_custom_upd';
			$this->cache_allowed = false;

			add_filter( 'plugins_api', array( $this, 'info' ), 20, 3 );
			add_filter( 'site_transient_update_plugins', array( $this, 'update' ) );
			add_action( 'upgrader_process_complete', array( $this, 'purge' ), 10, 2 );

		}

		public function request(){

			$remote = get_transient( $this->cache_key );

			if( false === $remote || ! $this->cache_allowed ) {

				$remote = wp_remote_get(
					'https://github.com/mishrud/misha-update-plugin/archive/refs/heads/main.zip',
					array(
						'timeout' => 10,
						'headers' => array(
							'Accept' => 'application/json'
						)
					)
				);

				if(
					is_wp_error( $remote )
					|| 200 !== wp_remote_retrieve_response_code( $remote )
					|| empty( wp_remote_retrieve_body( $remote ) )
				) {
					return false;
				}

				set_transient( $this->cache_key, $remote, DAY_IN_SECONDS );

			}

			$remote = json_decode( wp_remote_retrieve_body( $remote ) );

			return $remote;

		}


		function info( $res, $action, $args ) {

			// print_r( $action );
			// print_r( $args );

			// do nothing if you're not getting plugin information right now
			if( 'plugin_information' !== $action ) {
				return $res;
			}

			// do nothing if it is not our plugin
			if( $this->plugin_slug !== $args->slug ) {
				return $res;
			}

			// get updates
			$remote = $this->request();

			if( ! $remote ) {
				return $res;
			}

			$res = new stdClass();

			$res->name = $remote->name;
			$res->slug = $remote->slug;
			$res->version = $remote->version;
			$res->tested = $remote->tested;
			$res->requires = $remote->requires;
			$res->author = $remote->author;
			$res->author_profile = $remote->author_profile;
			$res->download_link = $remote->download_url;
			$res->trunk = $remote->download_url;
			$res->requires_php = $remote->requires_php;
			$res->last_updated = $remote->last_updated;

			$res->sections = array(
				'description' => $remote->sections->description,
				'installation' => $remote->sections->installation,
				'changelog' => $remote->sections->changelog
			);

			if( ! empty( $remote->banners ) ) {
				$res->banners = array(
					'low' => $remote->banners->low,
					'high' => $remote->banners->high
				);
			}

			return $res;

		}

		public function update( $transient ) {

			if ( empty($transient->checked ) ) {
				return $transient;
			}

			$remote = $this->request();

			if(
				$remote
				&& version_compare( $this->version, $remote->version, '<' )
				&& version_compare( $remote->requires, get_bloginfo( 'version' ), '<=' )
				&& version_compare( $remote->requires_php, PHP_VERSION, '<' )
			) {
				$res = new stdClass();
				$res->slug = $this->plugin_slug;
				$res->plugin = plugin_basename( __FILE__ ); // misha-update-plugin/misha-update-plugin.php
				$res->new_version = $remote->version;
				$res->tested = $remote->tested;
				$res->package = $remote->download_url;

				$transient->response[ $res->plugin ] = $res;

	    }

			return $transient;

		}

		public function purge( $upgrader, $options ){

			if (
				$this->cache_allowed
				&& 'update' === $options['action']
				&& 'plugin' === $options[ 'type' ]
			) {
				// just clean the cache when new plugin version is installed
				delete_transient( $this->cache_key );
			}

		}


	}

	new mishaUpdateChecker();

}

This modified plugin uses the wp_remote_get function to download the latest version of the plugin from GitHub instead of the custom update server.

Conclusion

Q: What is a GitHub Action?

A: A GitHub Action is a way to automate tasks on GitHub. It is a YAML file that contains a series of steps that are executed when a specific event occurs, such as a push to a branch or a pull request.

Q: How do I set up a GitHub Action to update a plugin from GitHub?

A: To set up a GitHub Action to update a plugin from GitHub, you need to create a new file in the .github/workflows directory of your repository. This file will contain the YAML code that defines the action.

Q: What is the YAML code for a GitHub Action to update a plugin from GitHub?

A: The YAML code for a GitHub Action to update a plugin from GitHub is as follows:

name: Update Misha Update Checker

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  update-plugin:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v2

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          composer install

      - name: Update plugin
        run: |
          wp plugin update misha-update-plugin --path=wp-content/plugins/misha-update-plugin --activate

Q: How do I modify the plugin to use the GitHub Action to update it?

A: To modify the plugin to use the GitHub Action to update it, you need to modify the plugin's code to use the wp_remote_get function to download the latest version of the plugin from GitHub instead of the custom update server.

Q: What is the modified plugin code?

A: The modified plugin code is as follows:

<?php
/*
 * Plugin name: Misha Update Checker
 * Description: This simple plugin does nothing, only gets updates from a custom server
 * Version: 1.0
 * Author: Misha Rudrastyh
 * Author URI: https://rudrastyh.com
 * License: GPL
 */

/**/


defined( 'ABSPATH' ) || exit;


if( ! class_exists( 'mishaUpdateChecker' ) ) {

	class mishaUpdateChecker{

		public $plugin_slug;
		public $version;
		public $cache_key;
		public $cache_allowed;

		public function __construct() {

			$this->plugin_slug = plugin_basename( __DIR__ );
			$this->version = '1.0';
			$this->cache_key = 'misha_custom_upd';
			$this->cache_allowed = false;

			add_filter( 'plugins_api', array( $this, 'info' ), 20, 3 );
			add_filter( 'site_transient_update_plugins', array( $this, 'update' ) );
			add_action( 'upgrader_process_complete', array( $this, 'purge' ), 10, 2 );

		}

		public function request(){

			$remote = get_transient( $this->cache_key );

			if( false === $remote || ! $this->cache_allowed ) {

				$remote = wp_remote_get(
					'https://github.com/mishrud/misha-update-plugin/archive/refs/heads/main.zip',
					array(
						'timeout' => 10,
						'headers' => array(
							'Accept' => 'application/json'
						)
					)
				);

				if(
					is_wp_error( $remote )
					|| 200 !== wp_remote_retrieve_response_code( $remote )
					|| empty( wp_remote_retrieve_body( $remote ) )
				) {
					return false;
				}

				set_transient( $this->cache_key, $remote, DAY_IN_SECONDS );

			}

			$remote = json_decode( wp_remote_retrieve_body( $remote ) );

			return $remote;

		}


		function info( $res, $action, $args ) {

			// print_r( $action );
			// print_r( $args );

			// do nothing if you're not getting plugin information right now
			if( 'plugin_information' !== $action ) {
				return $res;
			}

			// do nothing if it is not our plugin
			if( $this->plugin_slug !== $args->slug ) {
				return $res;
			}

			// get updates
			$remote = $this->request();

			if( ! $remote ) {
				return $res;
			}

			$res = new stdClass();

			$res->name = $remote->name;
			$res->slug = $remote->slug;
			$res->version = $remote->version;
			$res->tested = $remote->tested;
			$res->requires = $remote->requires;
			$res->author = $remote->author;
			$res->author_profile = $remote->author_profile;
			$res->download_link = $remote->download_url;
			$res->trunk = $remote->download_url;
			$res->requires_php = $remote->requires_php;
			$res->last_updated = $remote->last_updated;

			$res->sections = array(
				'description' => $remote->sections->description,
				'installation' => $remote->sections->installation,
				'changelog' => $remote->sections->changelog
			);

			if( ! empty( $remote->banners ) ) {
				$res->banners = array(
					'low' => $remote->banners->low,
					'high' => $remote->banners->high
				);
			}

			return $res;

		}

		public function update( $transient ) {

			if ( empty($transient->checked ) ) {
				return $transient;
			}

			$remote = $this->request();

			if(
				$remote
				&& version_compare( $this->version, $remote->version, '<' )
				&& version_compare( $remote->requires, get_bloginfo( 'version' ), '<=' )
				&& version_compare( $remote->requires_php, PHP_VERSION, '<' )
			) {
				$res = new stdClass();
				$res->slug = $this->plugin_slug;
				$res->plugin = plugin_basename( __FILE__ ); // misha-update-plugin/misha-update-plugin.php
				$res->new_version = $remote->version;
				$res->tested = $remote->tested;
				$res->package = $remote->download_url;

				$transient->response[ $res->plugin ] = $res;

	    }

			return $transient;

		}

		public function purge( $upgrader, $options ){

			if (
				$this->cache_allowed
				&& 'update' === $options['action']
				&& 'plugin' === $options[ 'type' ]
			) {
				// just clean the cache when new plugin version is installed
				delete_transient( $this->cache_key );
			}

		}


	}

	new mishaUpdateChecker();

}

Q: What are the benefits of using a GitHub Action to update a plugin from GitHub?

A: The benefits of using a GitHub Action to update a plugin from GitHub include:

Automation: The update process is automated, saving time and effort.
Consistency: The update process is consistent, ensuring that the plugin is always up-to-date.
Security: The update process is secure, as it uses the wp_remote_get function to download the latest version of the plugin from GitHub.

Q: How do I troubleshoot issues with the GitHub Action?

A: To troubleshoot issues with the GitHub Action, you can:

Check the GitHub Action logs for errors.
Check the plugin's code for errors.
Check the GitHub repository for issues.

Q: How do I update the GitHub Action to update the plugin?

A: To update the GitHub Action to update the plugin, you need to update the YAML code in the .github/workflows directory of your repository.