How it works¶

What a version number like 5.3.7 tells you, and how a pin decides which versions may install. Read this before you choose between an exact and a patch-only pin.

What 5.3.7 means¶

Most plugins number their releases in three parts:

The series¶

Version Pin calls the first two numbers the series: 5.3.7 is in the 5.3 series, and so are 5.3.8 and 5.3.9. 5.4.0 starts a new series.

WordPress works the same way. 7.1 is a major release of WordPress, and 7.1.1 and 7.1.2 are its maintenance and security releases, all in the 7.1 series.

Exact pin¶

With Patch releases off, the pin is exact: nothing newer than the pinned version is offered or installed. Pinned at 5.3.7, the plugin stays at 5.3.7, and 5.3.8 is held back as well as 5.4.0.

Use an exact pin when you have signed off on one version and want nothing else, and only for as long as you need it: it holds back security fixes too.

Patch-only pin¶

With Patch releases on, newer releases in the pinned series still install, and a new series waits. Pinned at 5.3.7, the plugin can update to 5.3.8 and 5.3.9, and 5.4.0 and 6.0.0 are held back until you raise the pin.

Patch releases is on by default for every new pin, because it keeps the fixes coming. Versions older than the pin are always allowed, with either kind of pin, so you can still roll a plugin back.

Pinning at two numbers¶

You can pin at a series instead of a release. Pinned at 5.1 with Patch releases on, every 5.1 release installs, 5.1.0 to the last 5.1 release, and 5.2 waits. This is handy when you want "whatever 5.1 becomes" and nothing more.

Pre-releases¶

A beta or release candidate above the pin is never let through, even when it is in the pinned series. Pinned at 5.3.7 with patch releases on, 5.3.8 installs but 5.3.8-beta1 does not.

Versions with no series¶

A pin needs a series to allow patch releases. A version with one number, such as 3, or with letters, such as 2.0-beta, has no series that Version Pin can read, so the pin works as an exact pin even with Patch releases on. The Pins table says so under the plugin's name: "Exact (this version cannot be read as a series)".

A version you type must start with a digit and may hold digits, letters, dots and the characters +, _ and -, up to 40 characters.

Not every author numbers this way¶

The three-part pattern is a habit, not a rule. Some authors add features in a patch release, or number releases in their own way. Before you rely on a patch-only pin, glance at the plugin's changelog to see how its author numbers releases.

Next step¶

What a pin blocks: every way an update can reach a pinned plugin, and what happens on each.