Rule recipes

On the Rules page, every recipe below is one click away, grouped into Updates, Alerts, Backups and Reports. Clicking one fills in the editor; change anything, then Save rule. After saving, click Test to see what it would do on each site right now.

All times are in your timezone. Updates always back up first. Every recipe works on all sites unless it says otherwise; change Where to narrow it to a client or a few sites.

Updates

Patch Tuesday

One set time each week when updates happen. Most weeks you hear nothing.

When	Every week on Tuesday at 02:00
Then	Apply updates to plugins and themes
Only if	Minor and patch. Skip “Can’t download”.
Tell me	Only if something needs me

Nightly WordPress security releases

WordPress security fixes ship as patch releases (6.8.1 → 6.8.2). Apply them the night they appear.

When	Every day at 03:00
Then	Apply updates to WordPress
Only if	Patch only

Daily security patches

Patch-level plugin and theme releases (1.2.3 → 1.2.4) are almost always bug and security fixes. Take them nightly.

When	Every day at 04:00
Then	Apply updates to plugins and themes
Only if	Patch only

Weekly updates, leave the shop alone

Keep everything current except the plugins that run checkout and the page builder; do those by hand when you can test.

When	Every week on Wednesday at 01:00
Then	Apply updates to plugins and themes
Only if	Minor and patch. Never update: woocommerce, woocommerce-payments, woocommerce-gateway-stripe, elementor, elementor-pro. Add your own.

Monthly maintenance, everything

For care plans with a monthly maintenance visit: everything current, majors included, with a summary email.

When	Every month on day 1 at 01:00
Then	Apply updates to plugins, themes and WordPress
Only if	All, including major
Tell me	Every time it runs

Weekend updates, small sites only

Brochure sites that can take updates without anyone watching. You pick the sites.

When	Every week on Saturday at 06:00
Where	Chosen sites (tick them before saving)
Then	Apply updates to plugins, themes and WordPress
Only if	Minor and patch (WordPress patch releases only; see the note in Rules reference)

Alerts

Client installed a plugin

Find out when a client adds a plugin in wp-admin, with a backup from right after it in case it breaks something.

When	Someone installs a plugin outside WP Foreman
Then	Back up the site, Email me

The email names who did it (name, email, role) with plugin 0.7.0 or later. See Know when someone changes a site.

New administrator alert

A new admin you didn’t create is either a client being helpful or someone who shouldn’t be there.

When	A new administrator is added
Then	Email me

Plugin deleted or switched off

Catch a security, backup or caching plugin being switched off.

When	Someone deletes or deactivates a plugin outside WP Foreman
Then	Email me

WordPress updated by hand

Hosts sometimes update WordPress for you. Know when, and have a backup from right after.

When	WordPress is updated outside WP Foreman
Then	Back up the site, Email me

Site disconnected

A disconnected site gets no backups or updates. Find out right away.

When	A site disconnects
Then	Email me

Every outside change to Slack

A running feed of client changes in a Slack channel, without filling your inbox. Needs a webhook subscribed to rule.ran (Zapier or Make into Slack); see Webhooks.

When	Someone changes a site outside WP Foreman
Then	Send the rule.ran webhook
Tell me	Never

Backups

Alert me when backups fail twice

One failed backup is often a hiccup (the host was busy). Two in a row is worth a look.

When	A backup fails, 2 times in a row
Then	Email me

Back up after a failed update

If an update fails or only partly works, keep a backup of the site as it is now, and tell you.

When	An update fails
Then	Back up the site, Email me

Sunday night backup for a client

All of one client’s sites backed up at the same moment, for example before their busy week.

When	Every week on Sunday at 23:00
Where	A client’s sites (pick the client before saving)
Then	Back up the site

Month-end snapshot

A clean backup of every site near the end of each month, handy for client reports and audits. (Day 28 so it runs in February too.)

When	Every month on day 28 at 00:00
Then	Back up the site

Reports

Monthly report to every client

Every client gets last month’s report on the 1st without you touching it. Save each client’s report emails on the Clients page first.

When	Every month on day 1 at 08:00
Where	All sites
Then	Make a client report for last month and email it to the client

Monthly report for one client

The same, for one client’s sites only. Pick the client under Where.

When	Every month on day 1 at 08:00
Where	One client’s sites
Then	Make a client report for last month and email it to the client

Weekly internal summary

Monday morning, a report on the last 7 days for every site, to you only.

When	Every week on Monday at 07:00
Then	Make a client report for the last 7 days and email it to me

Quarterly review

Last quarter’s report for every site, sent to you to review before you pass it on.

When	Every quarter on day 2 at 09:00
Then	Make a client report for last quarter and email it to me