Disable Updates – Version Locker: Stop Automatic Plugin, Theme and Core Updates
Version Locker is an update manager that lets you disable automatic updates in WordPress and keep any plugin, theme, or WordPress core itself on the version you are running today.
Turn off updates for one plugin, for every plugin at once, for themes, or for WordPress core. Once something is locked it will not update automatically, and the one-click update button is withheld until you unlock it. Every switch is reversible in one click.
Stop Automatic Updates, Without Losing Track of Them
Most plugins that disable updates simply hide them, and six months later you have no idea how far behind you are.
Version Locker still shows you the update it is holding, including the new version number and whether it is a major, minor, or patch release. You can add a note explaining why something is pinned, and set a date for the lock to release itself.
What Makes This Different
Three things you will not find together anywhere else:
- Roll back to an earlier version. Something broke after an update? Reinstall any version still published on WordPress.org and pin it there, from inside your dashboard. No FTP, no hunting for old ZIP files.
- Hold new releases for a few days. Set a waiting period and every new release is held for that many days before WordPress offers or installs it. Let other people find the bugs first. It only ever delays an update, it never starts one.
- Copy your setup between sites. Save your locks and settings to a file and load them on another site. You see exactly what will change before anything is applied.
Who This Is For
- Agencies and freelancers managing client sites.
- Anyone running a customized or patched plugin.
- Production and eCommerce sites that update on a schedule.
- Sites on older PHP or an older WordPress version.
Common Problems It Solves
- Stop WordPress from automatically updating plugins in the background.
- Prevent a specific plugin from updating while every other update keeps working normally.
- Keep a customized plugin from being overwritten by a new release.
- Go back to the version that worked before an update broke your site.
- Freeze a whole site’s versions before a migration, audit, or busy trading period.
- Block WordPress core updates until you have tested the new version on staging.
- Stop someone else with admin access from updating a plugin you deliberately pinned.
- Keep an eye on which updates you are holding, and how far behind you have fallen.
Full Feature List
- Disable automatic updates for individual plugins
- Disable automatic updates for individual themes
- Turn off all plugin updates at once
- Turn off all theme updates at once
- Turn off WordPress core updates
- Roll back a plugin or theme to any earlier version on WordPress.org
- Hold new releases for a set number of days before they are offered
- Block new plugin or theme installs, including ZIP uploads
- Automatically lock anything you newly install
- Save your locks and settings to a file, and load them on another site
- Lock or unlock without a page reload
- Bulk lock or unlock many items at once
- “Update available” indicator on locked items, without enabling the update
- See the pinned version and how far behind you are (major, minor, or patch)
- Add a note to any lock, and set it to unlock itself on a date
- Search and filter your plugins and themes
- Activity log showing who changed what and when, with CSV export
- Works on Multisite
How It Works
Version Locker uses WordPress filters to hide update notices and refuse update attempts. Locking never touches your files: nothing is added, changed, or removed on disk.
The one exception is Roll Back, which only runs when you ask for it. It downloads the version you pick from WordPress.org and replaces the installed files, exactly as a normal update would. You are warned and asked to confirm first.
No account, no API key, no external service. Nothing is sent anywhere.