This is the ability this plugin had no answer for. plugins/update-plugin only applies an update WordPress.org is already offering, and plugins/install-plugin installs the latest. So once a plugin was on 4.3.5, there was no route back to 4.3.1 — the single most common need after a bad update.
versions/rollback-plugin moves an installed plugin onto any version WordPress.org published, in either direction. Settings and database content are untouched, and an active plugin comes back active.
At a glance
| Ability | versions/rollback-plugin |
| Toolset | WP Rollback — toolset/wp-rollback |
| Group | Version Targeting › Rollback |
| Requires | Nothing. WP Rollback is optional and adds local archives only |
| Capability | manage_options and update_plugins |
| Safety | Destructive — replaces the plugin’s files. Requires confirm: true |
| Repeatable | Idempotent — asking for the same version twice leaves the same files |
| Honours | DISALLOW_FILE_MODS |
| Ships in | AcrossAI Abilities Manager 0.0.45 and later |
How it works
It drives WordPress core’s own Plugin_Upgrader rather than a third-party rollback plugin, and that choice is what makes it safe. Since WordPress 6.3 the upgrader moves the existing copy aside before applying a package and restores it on shutdown if the package fails — immune to PHP timeouts. That is the hard part of a rollback, already written and already tested by WordPress itself.
The whole move happens inside one request, behind maintenance mode, so visitors never hit a half-written plugin.
Packages come from WordPress.org first. If this site holds a local archive of the version — which WP Rollback keeps for versions it has installed before — that is used as a fallback, and the response says which source was applied. The directory’s copy is preferred because it is canonical and can be checked afterwards; an archive is whatever this site happened to keep.
Input
| Name | Type | Required | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
plugin | string | Yes | Plugin file, folder name, display name or partial match. |
version | string | Yes | The version to move to. Older or newer. versions/list-asset-versions returns the valid values. |
confirm | boolean | Yes, in practice | Must be true. Without it the ability refuses and explains why. |
What comes back
| Name | Type | What it is |
|---|---|---|
previous_version | string | What it was on before. |
version | string | What it is on now. |
relation | string | older or newer — whether this was a downgrade. |
changed | boolean | False when the plugin was already on that version; nothing was touched. |
package_source | string | wordpress.org or local_archive. |
was_active / reactivated | boolean | Whether it was active before, and whether it came back. An overwrite deactivates a plugin as a side effect nobody asked for. |
warnings | array | Notably, that a downgrade will be offered again at the next update check. |
verify_hint | string | Says the files were replaced, not verified, and names the ability that verifies them. |
blocked_reason | string | confirmation_required when confirm was omitted. |
Example
Ask your assistant:
That last Akismet update broke my contact form — put it back on 5.7.1.
{
"ability": "versions/rollback-plugin",
"parameters": {
"plugin": "akismet",
"version": "5.7.1",
"confirm": true
}
}Worth knowing
- A downgrade does not stick by itself. WordPress will offer the newer version again at the next update check, and an automatic update can undo it. Disable updates for that plugin if the older version must hold.
- Asking for the version already installed is reported as success with
changed: false, and points atplugins/reinstall-plugin— which is what you want if the goal was repairing files rather than moving version. - Settings and database content survive. A plugin’s data lives in the database, not in its folder.
- Run
versions/check-asset-rollbackfirst on a multisite — a network-activated plugin moves for every site at once. - If the old version cannot be activated afterwards, the response says so rather than leaving a silently deactivated plugin looking like a crash.
Related abilities
- Check Asset Rollback — pre-flight this move first
- Reinstall Plugin — re-apply the current version instead of changing it
- Roll Back Theme — the theme equivalent
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