Quiet Update Emails
WordPress plugin that silences update noise. Suppresses nag notices and admin clutter so client dashboards stay clean, while keeping security updates visible and under control.
by Matthew Gregory · github.com/mattgregory-dev/wp-plugin-quiet-updates · website
Install
No release zip yet. The repository archive installs, but the folder name will carry the branch suffix and updates will not flow:
wp plugin install https://github.com/mattgregory-dev/wp-plugin-quiet-updates/archive/refs/heads/main.zipSilences the routine WordPress update mail you choose to silence, and keeps the rest.
WordPress emails after every automatic update, whether or not anything went wrong. Across a handful of sites that is enough mail to stop being read — which is what makes the one that matters easy to miss.
Nothing is silenced until you choose it. A fresh activation changes no mail at all. Everything is configured under Settings → Quiet Updates.
What it can silence
Core, plugin and theme update mail each get the same three-way choice:
| Choice | Effect |
|---|---|
| Send every email | WordPress behaves normally |
| Silence successes | Routine mail stops, failures still arrive — recommended |
| Silence everything | Failures included |
Plus three independent toggles: the new-version-available email, the admin-email verification screen that interrupts a login every six months, and the automatic-update debug email.
Update policy is untouched. Which updates install, and whether they install automatically, stays where you set it.
What it shows you
At the top of the settings screen, a read-only summary of what your site actually does with automatic updates: whether core installs every release, only minor and security ones, or nothing, plus how many plugins and themes update themselves. When a host or another plugin controls core updates, it says so and offers no link, because the setting would be unchangeable on the other end.
Nothing in that panel changes a setting. WordPress owns the switch.
Installing
Download the zip from Releases and install it through Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
Do not use GitHub's green "Download ZIP" button. It produces a folder named
quiet-updates-main, and WordPress identifies a plugin by its folder — the
result installs as a different plugin from the one the releases carry, so it
will not upgrade in place.
Requirements
WordPress 6.9+, PHP 7.4+. Single site; there is no network-admin screen.
Development
No build step. It is plain PHP — clone it into wp-content/plugins/ and
activate.
The decision logic is separated from the filters so it can be exercised without
a real update: quiet_updates_decide_core() and quiet_updates_decide_bulk()
take their mode as an argument rather than reading the option.
License
GPLv2 or later.