Updates Abilities

MainWP Dashboard 6.3 registers 14 update management abilities into the WordPress Abilities API framework. These enable programmatic control over WordPress core, plugin, theme, and translation updates across your network.

What You’ll Learn

Listing available updates across all sites
Applying WordPress core, plugin, theme, and translation updates
Managing ignored updates
Batch update operations

Confirmation and Update Holds in 6.3

run-updates-v1, update-all-v1, and the four update-site-* abilities require either dry_run: true to preview or confirm: true to execute. A call with neither returns mainwp_confirmation_required with HTTP 400. Do not set both flags to true. Preview first, review the returned sites and update plan, then submit the same selection with confirm: true. A direct Abilities API request uses these flags; the separate one-time confirmation token used by MainWP MCP belongs to the MCP server’s confirmation flow. Previews return dry_run, would_affect, count, warnings, and errors. Confirmed immediate responses include dry_run: false, skipped, and summary.total_skipped. Inspect both errors and skipped; a successful HTTP request does not mean every update was installed. Queued responses return a job ID for status polling. These abilities respect site-level and global update holds. Pending items blocked by a hold appear as skipped, and queued jobs recheck holds, site access, and the job owner’s operation permissions when they execute. Translation updates also respect the site’s translation ignore setting. Adding an update hold remains available through the ignore abilities. Removing a site’s own holds uses the new mainwp/unignore-site-updates-v1 ability with preview or confirmation. The older action: unignore and action: remove paths return an error directing you to that ability.

mainwp/list-updates-v1

List available updates across all sites. Method: GET (readonly)

curl -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/list-updates-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`site_ids_or_domains`	array	No	[]	Filter to specific sites
`types`	array	No	[]	Filter: `core`, `plugins`, `themes`, `translations`
`page`	integer	No	1	Page number
`per_page`	integer	No	50	Items per page (max 200)

Response:

{
  "updates": [
    {
      "site_id": 1,
      "site_url": "https://site1.example.com",
      "site_name": "Site 1",
      "type": "plugin",
      "slug": "akismet/akismet.php",
      "name": "Akismet Anti-spam",
      "current_version": "5.3",
      "new_version": "5.3.1"
    }
  ],
  "summary": {
    "core": 2,
    "plugins": 15,
    "themes": 3,
    "translations": 5,
    "total": 25
  },
  "page": 1,
  "per_page": 50,
  "total": 25
}

mainwp/run-updates-v1

Execute updates on sites. Operations affecting more than 200 sites are queued for background processing. Method: POST

# Preview a specific plugin update on selected sites
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_ids_or_domains":[1,2,3],"types":["plugins"],"specific_items":["akismet/akismet.php"],"dry_run":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/run-updates-v1/run'

# Apply the same selection after reviewing the preview
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_ids_or_domains":[1,2,3],"types":["plugins"],"specific_items":["akismet/akismet.php"],"confirm":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/run-updates-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`site_ids_or_domains`	array	No	[]	Sites to update. Empty = all with updates
`types`	array	No	[]	Update types: `core`, `plugins`, `themes`, `translations`
`specific_items`	array	No	[]	Specific slugs to update
`dry_run`	boolean	For preview	false	Set true to preview; do not combine with confirm
`confirm`	boolean	For execution	false	Set true to execute after reviewing a preview

Run a preview first with dry_run: true. The commands above show confirmed execution unless labeled as a preview. Response:

{
  "dry_run": false,
  "updated": [
    {
      "site_id": 1,
      "site_url": "https://site1.example.com",
      "site_name": "Site 1",
      "type": "plugin",
      "slug": "akismet/akismet.php",
      "name": "Akismet",
      "old_version": "5.3",
      "new_version": "5.3.1"
    }
  ],
  "errors": [],
  "summary": {
    "total_updated": 1,
    "total_errors": 0,
    "sites_updated": 1,
    "total_skipped": 0
  },
  "skipped": []
}

mainwp/get-site-updates-v1

Get available updates for a single site. Method: GET (readonly)

curl -G -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  --data-urlencode 'input_json={"site_id_or_domain":1}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/get-site-updates-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`site_id_or_domain`	integer\|string	Yes	—	Site ID or domain
`types`	array	No	[]	Filter: `core`, `plugins`, `themes`, `translations`

Response:

{
  "site_id": 1,
  "site_url": "https://site1.example.com",
  "site_name": "Site 1",
  "updates": [
    {
      "type": "plugin",
      "slug": "akismet/akismet.php",
      "name": "Akismet",
      "current_version": "5.3",
      "new_version": "5.3.1"
    }
  ],
  "summary": {
    "core": 0,
    "plugins": 1,
    "themes": 0,
    "translations": 0,
    "total": 1
  },
  "rollback_items": {
    "plugins": [],
    "themes": []
  }
}

mainwp/update-site-core-v1

Update WordPress core on a single site. Method: POST

curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_id_or_domain":1,"confirm":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/update-site-core-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`site_id_or_domain`	integer\|string	Yes	—	Site ID or domain
`dry_run`	boolean	For preview	false	Set true to preview; do not combine with confirm
`confirm`	boolean	For execution	false	Set true to execute after reviewing a preview

Run a preview first with dry_run: true. The commands above show confirmed execution unless labeled as a preview. Response:

{
  "dry_run": false,
  "updated": {
    "site_id": 1,
    "site_url": "https://site1.example.com",
    "site_name": "Site 1",
    "type": "core",
    "slug": "wordpress",
    "name": "WordPress",
    "old_version": "6.4.1",
    "new_version": "6.4.2"
  },
  "skipped": [],
  "summary": {
    "total_skipped": 0
  }
}

mainwp/update-site-plugins-v1

Update plugins on a single site. Method: POST

# Update specific plugins
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_id_or_domain":1,"slugs":["akismet/akismet.php"],"confirm":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/update-site-plugins-v1/run'

# Update all plugins
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_id_or_domain":1,"confirm":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/update-site-plugins-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`site_id_or_domain`	integer\|string	Yes	—	Site ID or domain
`slugs`	array	No	[]	Specific plugins to update. Empty = all
`dry_run`	boolean	For preview	false	Set true to preview; do not combine with confirm
`confirm`	boolean	For execution	false	Set true to execute after reviewing a preview

Run a preview first with dry_run: true. The commands above show confirmed execution unless labeled as a preview. Response:

{
  "dry_run": false,
  "updated": [
    {
      "site_id": 1,
      "site_url": "https://site1.example.com",
      "site_name": "Site 1",
      "type": "plugin",
      "slug": "akismet/akismet.php",
      "name": "Akismet",
      "old_version": "5.3",
      "new_version": "5.3.1"
    }
  ],
  "errors": [],
  "skipped": [],
  "summary": {
    "total_updated": 1,
    "total_errors": 0,
    "total_skipped": 0
  }
}

mainwp/update-site-themes-v1

Update themes on a single site. Method: POST

# Update specific themes
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_id_or_domain":1,"slugs":["twentytwentyfour"],"confirm":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/update-site-themes-v1/run'

# Update all themes
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_id_or_domain":1,"confirm":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/update-site-themes-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`site_id_or_domain`	integer\|string	Yes	—	Site ID or domain
`slugs`	array	No	[]	Specific themes to update. Empty = all
`dry_run`	boolean	For preview	false	Set true to preview; do not combine with confirm
`confirm`	boolean	For execution	false	Set true to execute after reviewing a preview

Run a preview first with dry_run: true. The commands above show confirmed execution unless labeled as a preview. Response:

{
  "dry_run": false,
  "updated": [
    {
      "site_id": 1,
      "site_url": "https://site1.example.com",
      "site_name": "Site 1",
      "type": "theme",
      "slug": "twentytwentyfour",
      "name": "Twenty Twenty-Four",
      "old_version": "1.0",
      "new_version": "1.1"
    }
  ],
  "errors": [],
  "skipped": [],
  "summary": {
    "total_updated": 1,
    "total_errors": 0,
    "total_skipped": 0
  }
}

mainwp/update-site-translations-v1

Update translations on a single site. Method: POST

curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_id_or_domain":1,"confirm":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/update-site-translations-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`site_id_or_domain`	integer\|string	Yes	—	Site ID or domain
`slugs`	array	No	[]	Specific translation slugs to update. Empty = all available
`dry_run`	boolean	For preview	false	Set true to preview; do not combine with confirm
`confirm`	boolean	For execution	false	Set true to execute after reviewing a preview

Run a preview first with dry_run: true. The commands above show confirmed execution unless labeled as a preview. Response:

{
  "dry_run": false,
  "updated": [
    {
      "site_id": 1,
      "site_url": "https://site1.example.com",
      "site_name": "Site 1",
      "type": "translation",
      "slug": "akismet",
      "name": "Akismet",
      "old_version": "",
      "new_version": "5.3.1"
    }
  ],
  "errors": [],
  "skipped": [],
  "summary": {
    "total_updated": 1,
    "total_errors": 0,
    "total_skipped": 0
  }
}

mainwp/list-ignored-updates-v1

List updates marked as ignored. Method: GET (readonly)

curl -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/list-ignored-updates-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`page`	integer	No	1	Page number
`per_page`	integer	No	50	Items per page

Response:

{
  "ignored": [
    {
      "site_id": 1,
      "site_url": "https://site1.example.com",
      "site_name": "Site 1",
      "type": "plugin",
      "slug": "woocommerce/woocommerce.php",
      "name": "WooCommerce",
      "ignored_version": "8.5.0"
    }
  ],
  "total": 5
}

mainwp/set-ignored-updates-v1

Add an item to a site’s ignored updates list. In 6.3, use action: ignore here and unignore-site-updates-v1 to remove a hold. Method: POST

# Ignore a plugin update
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"action":"ignore","site_id_or_domain":1,"type":"plugin","slug":"woocommerce/woocommerce.php"}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/set-ignored-updates-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`action`	string	Yes	-	Use `ignore`; `unignore` is rejected in 6.3
`site_id_or_domain`	integer\|string	Yes	—	Site ID or domain
`type`	string	Yes	—	`core`, `plugin`, or `theme`
`slug`	string	Yes	—	Item slug (use `wordpress` for core)

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "action": "ignore",
  "site_id": 1,
  "type": "plugin",
  "slug": "woocommerce/woocommerce.php"
}

mainwp/ignore-site-core-v1

Add a core update hold for a site. Use unignore-site-updates-v1 with type: core to remove it. Method: POST

# Ignore core updates
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_id_or_domain":1,"action":"add"}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/ignore-site-core-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`site_id_or_domain`	integer\|string	Yes	—	Site ID or domain
`action`	string	Yes	-	Use `add`; `remove` is rejected in 6.3

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Core updates ignored for this site.",
  "ignored_count": 1
}

mainwp/ignore-site-plugins-v1

Add plugin update holds for a site. Use unignore-site-updates-v1 with type: plugin to remove them. Method: POST

# Ignore plugin updates
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_id_or_domain":1,"action":"add","slugs":["akismet/akismet.php"]}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/ignore-site-plugins-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`site_id_or_domain`	integer\|string	Yes	—	Site ID or domain
`action`	string	Yes	-	Use `add`; `remove` is rejected in 6.3
`slugs`	array	Yes	-	Plugin slugs to ignore

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "1 plugin ignored.",
  "ignored_count": 1
}

mainwp/ignore-site-themes-v1

Add theme update holds for a site. Use unignore-site-updates-v1 with type: theme to remove them. Method: POST

# Ignore theme updates
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_id_or_domain":1,"action":"add","slugs":["twentytwenty"]}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/ignore-site-themes-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`site_id_or_domain`	integer\|string	Yes	—	Site ID or domain
`action`	string	Yes	-	Use `add`; `remove` is rejected in 6.3
`slugs`	array	Yes	-	Theme slugs to ignore

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "1 theme ignored.",
  "ignored_count": 1
}

mainwp/unignore-site-updates-v1

Preview or remove one site’s own update holds. Removing a hold can make an update eligible for later update runs, including queued runs; this ability does not install the update. Method: POST

# Preview removal of one plugin's site hold
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_id_or_domain":1,"type":"plugin","slugs":["akismet/akismet.php"],"dry_run":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/unignore-site-updates-v1/run'

# Remove that hold after reviewing the preview
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_id_or_domain":1,"type":"plugin","slugs":["akismet/akismet.php"],"confirm":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/unignore-site-updates-v1/run'

Name	Type	Required	Description
`site_id_or_domain`	integer or string	Yes	Authorized site ID or domain
`type`	string	Yes	`core`, `plugin`, or `theme`
`slugs`	array of strings	For plugin and theme	Nonempty list of item slugs; ignored for core
`dry_run`	boolean	For preview	Set to `true` to inspect the holds without changing them
`confirm`	boolean	For execution	Set to `true` to remove the site’s own holds

A preview returns would_affect.holds, a count, warnings, and errors. A hold’s still_held_by field identifies a global or whole-site hold that will remain in effect. Execution returns removed, not_held, and count with dry_run: false:

{
  "dry_run": false,
  "removed": [
    "akismet/akismet.php"
  ],
  "not_held": [],
  "count": 1
}

Global holds and whole-site ignore flags remain unchanged. Site access and Ignore/Unignore Updates permissions apply.

mainwp/update-all-v1

Execute all available updates across sites. Use with caution on production environments. Method: POST

# Update everything on all sites
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"confirm":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/update-all-v1/run'

# Update everything on specific sites
curl -X POST -u 'admin:xxxx' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"input":{"site_ids_or_domains":[1,2,3],"confirm":true}}' \
  'https://your-dashboard.com/wp-json/wp-abilities/v1/abilities/mainwp/update-all-v1/run'

Input Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Default	Description
`site_ids_or_domains`	array	No	[]	Sites to update. Empty = all sites
`dry_run`	boolean	For preview	false	Set true to preview; do not combine with confirm
`confirm`	boolean	For execution	false	Set true to execute after reviewing a preview

Run a preview first with dry_run: true. The commands above show confirmed execution unless labeled as a preview. Response:

{
  "dry_run": false,
  "updated": [
    {
      "site_id": 1,
      "site_url": "https://site1.example.com",
      "site_name": "Site 1",
      "type": "plugin",
      "slug": "akismet/akismet.php",
      "name": "Akismet",
      "old_version": "5.3",
      "new_version": "5.3.1"
    }
  ],
  "errors": [],
  "summary": {
    "total_updated": 1,
    "total_errors": 0,
    "sites_updated": 1,
    "total_skipped": 0
  },
  "skipped": []
}

This ability applies all available updates including WordPress core. Test on staging sites before running against production environments.

Abilities API Overview - API basics and authentication
Sites Abilities - Site management abilities
REST API Updates - REST API alternative for updates
Manage Updates - Update management in Dashboard

Getting Started

Understanding MainWP

Dashboard

Sites

Users

Updates

Plugins

Themes

Content Operations

Clients

MCP Server

API Reference

Troubleshooting

Customization

Advanced

Resources

What You’ll Learn

Confirmation and Update Holds in 6.3

mainwp/list-updates-v1

mainwp/run-updates-v1

mainwp/get-site-updates-v1

mainwp/update-site-core-v1

mainwp/update-site-plugins-v1

mainwp/update-site-themes-v1

mainwp/update-site-translations-v1

mainwp/list-ignored-updates-v1

mainwp/set-ignored-updates-v1

mainwp/ignore-site-core-v1

mainwp/ignore-site-plugins-v1

mainwp/ignore-site-themes-v1

mainwp/unignore-site-updates-v1

mainwp/update-all-v1

​What You’ll Learn

​Confirmation and Update Holds in 6.3

​mainwp/list-updates-v1

​mainwp/run-updates-v1

​mainwp/get-site-updates-v1

​mainwp/update-site-core-v1

​mainwp/update-site-plugins-v1

​mainwp/update-site-themes-v1

​mainwp/update-site-translations-v1

​mainwp/list-ignored-updates-v1

​mainwp/set-ignored-updates-v1

​mainwp/ignore-site-core-v1

​mainwp/ignore-site-plugins-v1

​mainwp/ignore-site-themes-v1

​mainwp/unignore-site-updates-v1

​mainwp/update-all-v1

​Related Resources

What You’ll Learn

Confirmation and Update Holds in 6.3

mainwp/list-updates-v1

mainwp/run-updates-v1

mainwp/get-site-updates-v1

mainwp/update-site-core-v1

mainwp/update-site-plugins-v1

mainwp/update-site-themes-v1

mainwp/update-site-translations-v1

mainwp/list-ignored-updates-v1

mainwp/set-ignored-updates-v1

mainwp/ignore-site-core-v1

mainwp/ignore-site-plugins-v1

mainwp/ignore-site-themes-v1

mainwp/unignore-site-updates-v1

mainwp/update-all-v1

Related Resources