· WordPress

Using Subversion to Update Plugins

I just updated my WordPress running log plugin that I haven't updated in over two years. Better late than never...

I'm on a new laptop now, so I had to rediscover SVN.

After relearning Subversion for an hour, here's my advice: don't make Subversion harder than it has to be. If you are the sole editor of a plugin, you don't need a subversion client. They make things too complicated. I tried Dreamweaver, Coda, and others, and they all make the process too complicated. I'm not collaborating with other programmers, so I don't need all the extra features. The simplest way to update your WordPress plugins is to use OS X Terminal (or Command line on Windows). I'm no Terminal pro, but I was able to quickly update my plugin, without any extra hassles. Here's how:

  1. If you have Xcode it's easy to install Subversion. Go to Xcode Preferences -> Downloads and then click Install on Command Line Tools
  2. Now create a folder for your plugin
  3. Now open OS X Terminal and change directory to your new folder. Something like this cd users/kevin/dropbox/plugin
  4. Using Terminal, download the existing plugin from the repository by typing: svn co http://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/plugin-name

  • The "co" stands for check out

  • Change plugin-name to the name of our plugin

  • The plugin files will download into your current folder

  1. Use your favorite text editor to edit the files as needed. Don't forget to update the readme.txt file
  2. Upload the changes to the repository by typing: svn ci -m "update notes"

  • The "ci" stands for check in

  • Change "update notes" to your notes