AFCA Software Library

A WordPress plugin for managing and distributing version information for your themes and plugins via the WordPress REST API. It can also serve as an update hub — other WordPress sites running your plugins can point to a site running this plugin to receive automatic update notifications.

Author: André Amorim Version: 1.1 License: —

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Features

• Registers a Software Library custom post type for tracking plugins, themes, and other software
• Stores key technical metadata per entry: type, download URL, version, required/tested WordPress versions, and release date
• Exposes a public REST API endpoint to query software info by slug
• Integrates with the WordPress update system — sites running your plugins can poll a hub site for new versions and receive in-dashboard update notifications
• Supports i18n / translations via a .pot file
• Cleans up scheduled tasks on plugin deactivation

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Requirements

Requirement	Minimum
WordPress	6.1
PHP	7.4
Composer	Any recent version

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Installation

1. Clone or download this repository into your wp-content/plugins/ directory:

   cd wp-content/plugins/
   git clone <repo-url> afca-software-library

2. Install PHP dependencies via Composer:

   cd afca-software-library
   composer install --no-dev

3. Activate the plugin from the WordPress Admin → Plugins screen.

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Usage

Adding a Software Entry

After activation, a Software Library menu item (portfolio icon) will appear in the WordPress admin sidebar.

Create a new entry and fill in the Technical Information meta box:

Field	Description
Type	Plugin, Theme, or Others
URL	Direct download URL (must start with https://)
Version	Current version number (e.g. 1.2.3)
Required WordPress Version	Minimum WP version needed
Tested WordPress Version	Highest WP version tested against
Released Date	Date of this release

The post title is the software name and the post content serves as release notes.

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REST API

The plugin registers a public REST API endpoint:

GET /wp-json/afca-software-library/v1/ref/{slug}

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
slug	string	The slug of the Software Library post

Example Request

curl https://your-site.com/wp-json/afca-software-library/v1/ref/my-plugin

Example Response

{
  "id": 42,
  "title": "My Plugin",
  "released_notes": "Fixed a critical bug in the settings page.",
  "version": "1.2.0",
  "url": "https://your-site.com/downloads/my-plugin.zip",
  "wp_required": "6.1",
  "wp_tested": "6.5",
  "released_date": "2024-11-01"
}

Returns a 404 error object if no entry is found for the given slug.

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Using as an Update Hub

This plugin is designed so that your other plugins can point to a site running AFCA Software Library to receive automatic update checks — bypassing the WordPress.org repository.

In a plugin that should receive updates from the hub, instantiate the Updates class:

use Afca\Plugins\SoftwareLibrary\Updates;

new Updates(
    'https://your-hub-site.com/', // Hub site URL
    'your-plugin-folder-name',    // Plugin folder/slug (must match the Software Library post slug)
    '1.0.0'                       // Current installed version
);

The Updates class will:

• Check the hub's REST API endpoint daily (via wp_schedule_event)
• Cache the response for 24 hours using a transient
• Inject available update data into WordPress's native plugin update system
• Show update notifications in the WordPress admin dashboard just like plugins from WordPress.org

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Development

Dev dependencies (PHP CodeSniffer with WordPress Coding Standards) are managed via Composer:

composer install

To run the linter:

./vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=phpcs.xml

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File Structure

afca-software-library/
├── afca-software-library.php   # Plugin entry point
├── composer.json
├── phpcs.xml                   # Coding standards config
├── uninstall.php               # Cleanup on uninstall
├── languages/
│   └── afca-software-library.pot
└── src/
    ├── Init.php                # Bootstraps all classes
    ├── PostType.php            # Registers the custom post type
    ├── MetaFields.php          # Admin meta box & field persistence
    ├── Endpoints.php           # REST API endpoint
    └── Updates.php             # Update hub integration

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Links

• Plugin Documentation
• Author Website
• Contact