How to Disable WordPress Auto Update

WordPress includes a built-in capability to automatically update the core software, plugins, and themes to their latest versions, ensuring the security and up-to-date status of your website.

WordPress introduced automatic updates in version 3.7 with the primary goal of enhancing the platform’s security. Over time, numerous developers have expressed apprehension about the potential impact of automatic updates on their websites, leading them to disable this feature.

The automated update system is a valuable tool in ensuring your website’s security. Nevertheless, there are instances when it can result in issues or challenges.

1. Disable WordPress Core Auto Updates

This constant is specifically used to control automatic updates for the WordPress core. Setting it to false prevents automatic updates for the WordPress core, meaning that WordPress will not automatically update to new major and minor versions. However, it may still allow for automatic updates of themes and plugins unless other configurations prevent them.

You need to add the following lines after <?php which exists at the top of wp-config.php file.

define( 'WP_AUTO_UPDATE_CORE', false );

2. Disable WordPress Core, Themes and Plugins Auto Updates

This constant disables the automatic updater completely for all core, themes, and plugins. Setting it to true prevents automatic updates for not only the WordPress core but also themes and plugins. This is a more comprehensive approach to disable automatic updates entirely on your WordPress site.

You need to add the following lines after <?php which exists at the top of wp-config.php file.

define('AUTOMATIC_UPDATER_DISABLED', true);