How the global updater works

The global updater allows you to manage and run plugin, theme, and WordPress core updates safely and globally from a single place. It’s one of the features that saves you the most time when managing multiple websites with Modular DS.

You can access the updater from “Updates & Manager” in the left-side menu of your dashboard.

From the global updater, you can:

• Update plugins, themes, and WordPress versions across one or multiple sites at once, choosing between different update modes: Quick, Safe, or Automated.
• Schedule one-time updates for a specific date and time.
• Install, activate, deactivate, or delete plugins and themes.
• Detect known vulnerabilities in plugins, themes, and WordPress versions.
• See the risk of updating a plugin in advance with Update Copilot, our AI-powered scoring system.
• Hide updates that you don’t want to run yet.
• Manage your hidden, scheduled, and automated updates.

Watch the global updater walkthrough in this video:

Getting started with the global updater

Once inside the updater, you’ll see all pending updates for the websites connected to Modular DS, organized into the following categories:

• Plugins
• Themes
• WordPress

Each category shows how many updates are currently available.

Within the list, next to the name of each plugin, theme, or WordPress version, you’ll see the number of sites where it’s installed (in brackets). You can also expand each item to view the specific websites.

On the right side, you’ll see the current version and the new one available for update. You can click on the latest version to view the changelog for that plugin or theme.

How to update plugins, themes, and WordPress core

From the Updater, you can choose to update a plugin, theme, or WordPress version across all websites where it’s installed, or only specific ones. This allows you to work in bulk or individually.

To perform an update, select the items you want to update and click the “Update” button.

From there, you can choose which update mode to use: quick, safe, or automated with smart conditions.

Update modes in Modular DS

All update modes are available for both bulk and individual updates.

Quick updates

The standard WordPress update method. Useful for minor or urgent updates where speed is the priority and the risk is low.

Safe updates

Creates a restore point of the plugin or theme before updating, performs visual comparison checks (screenshots) before and after the update, and allows you to roll back changes manually or automatically if something goes wrong.

Recommended for critical updates or websites where stability and security are a priority.

Automated updates with smart conditions

Allows you to schedule quick and safe automatic updates for plugins, themes, and WordPress versions using smart rules so that they only run when certain conditions are met. For example:

• The version has been available for more than X days.
• It’s a minor release.
• The Update Copilot risk score is above X.
• If a vulnerability is detected, it triggers an immediate update instead of waiting for the scheduled date.

This is a great option for saving time and keeping your WordPress sites up to date without constant manual work, while maintaining full control and avoiding unnecessary risks.

Scheduled updates (one-time)

Allows you to schedule specific updates for plugins, themes, and WordPress versions on a selected date and time.

This is useful for running updates outside working hours without creating a recurring automation.

Update Copilot

With Update Copilot, our intelligent scoring system, you can assess the risk of updating a plugin before installing a new version.

Each update receives a score from 1 to 100, calculated by analyzing more than 15 parameters, including the historical reliability of the plugin and the performance of the new version across Modular DS users. The higher the score, the safer the update is to apply and the lower the risk of breaking your site.

Expand a plugin in the updater list using the dropdown menu to see the websites where it’s installed. To the right of each site, you’ll find the Update Copilot score.

Click the score to view detailed information, including explanations and recommendations.

How to install, activate, deactivate, or delete plugins and themes

From the global updater, you can also install, activate, deactivate, or delete plugins and themes across one or multiple websites at once.

To install a plugin, click the “Install plugin” button in the top-right corner of the updater and choose:

• Install from the WordPress repository
• Install from a ZIP file
• Install from URL

To perform other bulk actions such as activating, deactivating, or deleting plugins and themes, select the items and the websites where you want to apply changes.

The available options will appear in the buttons at the bottom.

How to see known vulnerabilities in plugins, themes, and WordPress versions

You can view vulnerabilities detected in your plugins, themes, or installed WordPress versions by clicking the alert icon next to their name in the updater.

Thanks to our Patchstack integration, vulnerabilities can be visible in Modular DS up to 48 hours before public disclosure.

When clicking the alert icon, you’ll see more information about the type of vulnerability, its severity, the version where it is fixed, and a link to Patchstack’s database with detailed documentation.

How to hide updates

If you prefer not to run certain plugin, theme, or WordPress updates on some of your sites, you can hide them. This is especially useful when you think an update could cause issues or when you need more time to evaluate it.

From the updater, select the updates you want to hide and click the “Hide” button at the bottom, next to “Update”. They will no longer appear as pending.

How to manage hidden, automated, and scheduled updates

You can view and manage all hidden, automated, and scheduled updates at any time from the “Available Updates” dropdown menu in the updater.

Synchronization of updates

If you notice that updates are not properly synchronized, for example, if an expected update is missing, you can click the “Reload” button.

This sends a new request to your websites and refreshes the update information.

Updated on: 11/03/2026