Tender Library self-updates

Private WordPress plugin for small local libraries. It provides book/event custom post types, Carbon Fields metadata, lending and reservation workflows, user/profile pages, search blocks, event feeds, email reminders, and CSV migration tools.

This plugin is not distributed through WordPress.org. The first install is done manually from a ZIP file. Future releases are delivered through a private update metadata endpoint and can be installed from the WordPress dashboard.

Requirements

• WordPress 6.4 or newer
• PHP 8.1 or newer
• Composer for PHP dependency installation during release builds
• Node/npm for asset builds during development/release

Important Slug Details

The distributed plugin slug is:

tender-library

The distributed main plugin file is:

tender-library.php

Release ZIPs must contain this top-level folder:

tender-library/

The plugin header includes Update URI: https://example.com/tender-library. This prevents WordPress from matching this private plugin with any WordPress.org plugin that might use the same slug.

Local Development

Install PHP dependencies:

composer install

Install JS dependencies and build assets:

npm install
npm run build

Useful asset commands:

npm run build
npm run build:blocks
npm run webpack
npm run start:blocks
npm run webpack:watch

Private Update Configuration

The private update metadata URL is defined in tender-library.php:

define('TENDER_LIBRARY_UPDATE_METADATA_URL', 'https://example.com/tender-library/update.json');

It can be changed without editing plugin files:

add_filter('tender_library_update_metadata_url', function () {
    return 'https://your-domain.example/tender-library/update.json';
});

The default placeholder must be replaced before production distribution.

update.json Format

A minimal metadata file looks like this:

{
  "name": "Tender Library",
  "slug": "tender-library",
  "version": "1.0.1",
  "download_url": "https://example.com/tender-library/releases/tender-library-1.0.1.zip",
  "requires": "6.4",
  "tested": "6.6",
  "requires_php": "8.1",
  "last_updated": "2026-06-02",
  "homepage": "https://example.com/tender-library",
  "author": "Luis Gómez",
  "sections": {
    "description": "Private library/tender management plugin.",
    "changelog": "<h4>1.0.1</h4><ul><li>Describe changes here.</li></ul>"
  }
}

An example lives in update.example.json.

Creating a Production ZIP

1. Update the plugin version in tender-library.php:
   • plugin header Version
   • TENDER_LIBRARY_VERSION
2. Update CHANGELOG.md.
3. Install production PHP dependencies:

composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader

4. Build final assets:

npm ci
npm run build

5. Build the release ZIP:

./build-release.sh 1.0.0

The script creates:

tender-library-1.0.0.zip

The ZIP contains a top-level tender-library/ folder and excludes development files such as .git, node_modules, src, SCSS sources, test/config files, temp files, documentation, and release scripts.

Publishing a New Version

Example for 1.0.1:

1. Update Version and TENDER_LIBRARY_VERSION to 1.0.1 in tender-library.php.
2. Update CHANGELOG.md.
3. Run:

composer install --no-dev --optimize-autoloader
npm ci
npm run build
./build-release.sh 1.0.1

4. Upload the ZIP to:

https://example.com/tender-library/releases/tender-library-1.0.1.zip

5. Update and upload update.json to:

https://example.com/tender-library/update.json

6. In a WordPress installation with the plugin already installed, go to:

WordPress Admin > Dashboard > Updates

or:

WordPress Admin > Plugins

7. Confirm that Tender Library shows the update and install it from the dashboard.

First Manual Installation

1. Build tender-library-1.0.0.zip.
2. In WordPress Admin, go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
3. Upload the ZIP.
4. Activate Tender Library.
5. Go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes once.
6. Confirm the plugin creates its library pages/tables and the admin menu appears for allowed roles.

How Dashboard Updates Work

The plugin registers a private updater class in includes/class-tender-library-updater.php.

It:

• Fetches update metadata with wp_remote_get().
• Caches valid metadata in a site transient.
• Validates and sanitizes remote fields before use.
• Compares remote and installed versions with version_compare().
• Injects update data into WordPress' plugin update transient.
• Supports the plugin details modal through the plugins_api filter.
• Fails silently if the update server is unreachable or returns invalid JSON.

Version Storage and Migrations

The source of truth for runtime code is:

define('TENDER_LIBRARY_VERSION', '1.0.0');

The plugin stores the installed version in:

tender_library_version

Current migration logic only records the installed version. Add version-gated migrations there when schema/data changes are needed.

Manual Test Checklist

See docs/release-checklist.md.

Notes

• Do not commit real license keys, tokens, server credentials, or private endpoint secrets.
• Replace https://example.com/tender-library before distributing production builds.
• Keep the ZIP folder name, plugin slug, and update metadata slug as tender-library.