What the WP Foreman plugin does (and doesn’t)

A small connector that answers signed requests from WP Foreman. Nothing heavy runs on your server.

Updated Oct 11, 2026

The WP Foreman plugin connects one WordPress site to your WP Foreman account. It’s deliberately small: it answers requests from WP Foreman, and WP Foreman does the heavy lifting on its own servers.

What it does

  • Reports the site’s inventory: WordPress, PHP and plugin versions, installed plugins and themes, and which have updates.
  • Hands over files and database tables for backups, in small pieces, when WP Foreman asks for them. It doesn’t zip, compress or upload anything itself.
  • Puts files and tables back during a restore, again in small pieces sent by WP Foreman. Database restores load into temporary tables and swap in at once.
  • Makes the changes you ask for: installs, updates, activates and deletes plugins and themes, updates WordPress, and manages WordPress users, only when WP Foreman sends a signed request.
  • Tells WP Foreman who changed what in wp-admin (plugins, themes, WordPress updates, new admins), with the WordPress user’s name and IP (see Know when someone changes a site).
  • Signs you in to wp-admin with a one-time link when you click WP Admin (see Sign in to wp-admin in one click).
  • Checks every request is really from WP Foreman before doing anything (see How WP Foreman connects to your site).

What it doesn’t do

  • It doesn’t add anything to your site’s front end, so visitors never see it.
  • It doesn’t run background jobs or cron tasks on your server.
  • It can’t read or write files outside your WordPress folder, and a restore can never overwrite the plugin itself.
  • It doesn’t store your WP Foreman login or any password.
  • It doesn’t send data anywhere except WP Foreman, and only when WP Foreman asks or to report a change made in wp-admin.

Requirements

WordPress A current 6.x release
PHP 7.4 or newer (tested on 8.3), with the sodium extension, which is standard
HTTPS Strongly recommended
REST API Must be reachable. Works with or without pretty permalinks.

Backups need plugin version 0.2.0 or newer, and restores need 0.3.0. The site’s Overview shows which version is installed.

Updating the plugin

When a new version is out, the site’s Overview shows an Update to … button (sites on 0.7.1 or newer). Older sites need one upload by hand in Plugins › Add New › Upload Plugin, choosing Replace current with uploaded; your connection is kept. See Update the WP Foreman plugin.

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