Frozzer – Disable Updates & Update Control
Frozzer is a free WordPress update control plugin that lets you disable or freeze WordPress core, plugin, and theme updates — globally with one click, or for the individual plugins and themes you choose. It is built for agencies, developers, and site owners who want to decide exactly when updates happen instead of letting them run automatically.
Automatic updates can break a live site without warning. Frozzer puts you back in control: test updates on a staging site first, then apply them to production when you are ready — not when WordPress decides.
New in 1.1.0
- Freeze from the Plugins & Themes screens — one-click Freeze/Unfreeze buttons and a „Frozen“ badge right inside the WordPress Plugins list and the Themes screen, no need to open a separate page.
- Core update screen notice — a clear „WordPress Core Updates are Frozen“ banner appears on the Updates screen while core updates are frozen.
- Dashboard status widget — see frozen counts and available updates at a glance on your main WordPress dashboard.
- Smart Summary & Quick Actions — totals plus one-click „Freeze plugins with updates“, „Freeze all“, and „Unfreeze all“.
- Settings export / import — back up your configuration or copy it to another site as a JSON file.
- Searchable, paginated activity log — filter by type, search by item, and page through history.
- Colour-coded admin bar — green when updates are ON, blue when OFF, amber for a mixed/partial freeze.
- Premium, accessible UI — smooth toggle switches, toast notifications, and a dark-mode-friendly stylesheet.
Key features
Global controls
- Disable WordPress core updates in one click
- Turn off all plugin updates site-wide
- Freeze all theme updates site-wide
- Or keep everything enabled — your choice
Per-item freeze
- Freeze a single plugin while everything else keeps updating
- Lock individual themes on their current version
- Ideal for customised or business-critical code
- Granular control over every plugin and theme
Admin-bar status indicator (administrators only)
- A colour-coded status badge in the WordPress toolbar shows your current state at a glance — green when all updates are ON, blue when all are OFF, and amber for a mixed/partial freeze
- The dropdown shows per-type detail for Core, Plugins, and Themes, including how many items are frozen
- See your update status from any admin screen
Activity log
- 30-day audit trail (up to 200 entries)
- See what was frozen, unfrozen, or saved — with the item, the type, and the user who made the change
- Useful for teams, audits, and client handovers
Developer and power-user tools
- Freeze or unfreeze a plugin or theme directly from the WordPress Plugins and Themes screens (AJAX, with a „Frozen“ badge)
- Dashboard status widget with frozen counts and available updates
- Settings export / import as JSON for backups and site-to-site migration
- WP-CLI commands for automation and deployments — including
freeze all/unfreeze all - Quick Actions: freeze plugins with updates, freeze all, or unfreeze all in one click
- Bulk actions: Enable All / Disable All
- Searchable, filterable, paginated activity log
- Live search and select-all on the Plugins & Themes screen
- Zero external requests — everything stays on your server
Questions this plugin answers
- How do I disable plugin updates in WordPress?
- How do I stop a specific plugin from updating?
- How do I disable automatic updates for core, plugins, or themes?
- How do I freeze a theme on its current version?
Short answer: install Frozzer, then use the dashboard toggles for global control, or the Plugins & Themes screen to freeze individual items.
Perfect for
- WordPress agencies — manage update schedules across client sites. Test in staging, deploy to production on your schedule.
- Developers — keep updates from changing things in the middle of a project.
- Staging environments — keep staging frozen while testing, and update only when ready.
- Client sites — review and test updates before applying, and reduce emergency support calls.
How it works
- Install and activate Frozzer.
- Open the Frozzer dashboard.
- Choose your mode: freeze everything globally, or freeze only specific plugins and themes.
- Watch the admin-bar indicator for your current status (ON / OFF / Mixed).
- Enable updates again whenever you are ready.
WP-CLI commands
Useful for deployment automation:
wp frozzer status — view the current state
wp frozzer freeze core — disable core updates
wp frozzer freeze plugin <plugin-file> — freeze a single plugin (for example, akismet/akismet.php)
wp frozzer freeze theme <theme-slug> — freeze a single theme
wp frozzer freeze all — disable core, plugin, and theme updates at once
wp frozzer unfreeze core — re-enable core updates
wp frozzer unfreeze all — re-enable core, plugin, and theme updates at once
wp frozzer list — list all frozen items
A frozen item is removed from WordPress’s update list, so it will not update from the dashboard, from automatic updates, or from a standard bulk update such as wp plugin update --all. To update a frozen item, unfreeze it first (from the dashboard or with wp frozzer unfreeze).
Security notice
Disabling updates can leave your site exposed to known vulnerabilities. Only use Frozzer as part of a managed update workflow, for example:
- Testing updates on a staging site first
- Using WP-CLI or Composer for controlled updates
- Following a maintenance schedule
- Monitoring security advisories
Frozzer is a professional tool for managed workflows — not a „set it and forget it“ solution.
Why Frozzer
- Modern, accessible admin interface with smooth toggle switches and dark-mode support
- Freeze a plugin without leaving the Plugins screen
- Colour-coded admin-bar status indicator (green / blue / amber)
- Dashboard status widget and a Smart Summary with Quick Actions
- Activity log with a 30-day audit trail, search, and filtering
- Settings export / import for backups and migration
- WP-CLI support for automation
- Both global and per-item control
- No ads and no paid upsells — every feature is free
- Actively maintained
Privacy
Frozzer respects your privacy:
- No external API calls
- No data collection or tracking
- No phone-home behaviour
- 100% self-contained on your server
Translation ready
Frozzer is fully internationalised and ready for translation. Contributions in your language are welcome.