Worker plugin overview

The worker is the half of WP Octo that lives on the site. It is an ordinary WordPress plugin, named WP Octo in the plugin list, and it exists so the platform can look after the site from one place. The platform decides what should happen; the worker does it on the site, in steps small enough for shared hosting.

What it does on the site

• Backups and restores, in steps that survive a timeout, with the pieces uploaded to storage and verified after upload.
• Core, plugin and theme updates, run as a round with a backup taken first and the site's pages checked afterwards.
• An activity log recording who changed what and when.
• An email log showing what was sent, whether it arrived, and what went wrong when it did not.
• Login attempts, with the tried names checked against real accounts.
• Analytics without cookies and without a third party.
• A log of failed requests — broken links, blocked requests and server errors — with redirects made straight from the list.
• Reporting to the platform on its own schedule, so the platform's picture of the site stays current even when a host firewall keeps the platform from calling in.
• Keeping itself up to date, with a rollback copy kept outside the plugin folder, when the platform says a release is available for the site.

All of it is driven by, and reported to, the platform. The plugin does nothing on its own initiative beyond its own scheduled reporting and the housekeeping it was given.

Its own screens

The plugin adds an Octo Tools menu to the site's admin. Installation names the screen where the workspace token is pasted, and Troubleshooting the logs to read. Everything the platform does on the site is visible in the activity log, with the platform named as the actor.

What it needs

A current release on PHP 7.4 or later and WordPress 5.2 or later, with 30 seconds of execution time and 128 MB of memory as the floor it is designed for. It never assumes WP-CLI, shell access or a database console. Requirements and hosting has the details, and Hosting compatibility covers the firewalls and caches that get in the way.

How it talks to the platform

In two directions, over HTTPS: the platform calls the site to read its inventory, run an update, take or restore a backup, or update the worker; and the site calls the platform on its own schedule to report its state and pick up work. One credential, the workspace token, pairs the two. Connection explains it.