Title: Peak Publisher
Author: Helmut Wandl
Published: <strong>December 22, 2025</strong>
Last modified: April 10, 2026

---

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# Peak Publisher

 By [Helmut Wandl](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ehtmlu/)

[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/peak-publisher.1.3.1.zip)

[Live Preview](https://wordpress.org/plugins/peak-publisher/?preview=1)

 * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/peak-publisher/#description)
 * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/peak-publisher/#reviews)
 * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/peak-publisher/#developers)

 [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/peak-publisher/)

## Description

Peak Publisher turns your WordPress site into your own plugin update server. It’s
built for agencies, product teams, and developers who want to create and ship their
own custom plugins and want full control over distribution, versioning, and updates—
without relying on third‑party services.

With a modern, task‑focused admin UI, you can add new plugins and releases via drag&
drop, validate packages automatically, and publish or draft releases with one click.
Your client plugins point to your Peak Publisher site via a standard `Update URI`,
so WordPress will discover and install updates directly from you.

**With this solution, you can have your own self-hosted plugin update server in 
just 5 minutes, allowing you to centrally manage your plugins and deploy updates
with incredible ease.**

—

### ❇️ COMING SOON ❇️

**Managing and Updating wp.org Plugins**

In just a few weeks, Peak Publisher will let you manage plugins hosted on wordpress.
org the same way you already manage self-hosted ones. Drag and drop your plugin 
folder onto Peak Publisher, and everything else is handled automatically — no more
SVN.

—

### KEY FEATURES

🚀 **Clean admin UI with a guided “Add New Plugin” flow**
 A short and focused user
interface guides you through the entire process to deploy your first plugin with
amazing ease within minutes.

☝️ **Drag & drop a ZIP or simply the whole plugin folder**
 You can drop a ZIP file,
but the easiest way is to simply drop the entire raw plugin folder or the folder’s
contents. The ZIP file will then be created automatically for you.

✅ **Automatic validation: headers, version, Update URI**
 Peak Publisher automatically
checks each new release for required headers, proper semantic versioning, consistent
update URIs, and more to ensure everything is correct.

🧽🫧 **Auto‑cleanup of workspace artifacts (e.g. .git, node_modules)**
 To provide
clean packages and reduce package size, Peak Publisher automatically removes development
files and operating system artifacts from your uploads using patterns that you can
configure. (optional)

🔐 **Optional restriction via IP/domain whitelist**
 Packages are stored in a private,
server-protected directory with no direct web access. By default, access via the
API is still possible from anywhere. Using IP or domain whitelisting, you can restrict
access to update metadata and downloads.

#### Some More Features

📈 **Analytics:** You can always see how many active installations there are.
 📄**
Readme.txt:** Provide your users with a description, changelog, tested up to and
more.

### HOW IT WORKS

 1. **Install Peak Publisher**
     on a dedicated WordPress site (recommended) or any 
    site you control.
 2. **Follow the “Add New Plugin” flow**
     add the **`Update URI`** header and the bootstrap
    code to your plugin.
 3. **Upload your plugin**
     drag & drop the zipped plugin or the plugin folder.
 4. **Peak Publisher validates your upload**
     and shows you the validation result.
 5. **Click “Add new plugin”**
     to finish the process.
 6. **Drop your next release with increased version number**
     once you have one ready.

### WHO IS IT FOR?

 * Agencies that deliver custom plugins to multiple clients
 * Product teams with private/proprietary extensions
 * Creative plugin developers who want to deploy updates quickly and easily

### Privacy

Peak Publisher does not collect personal data, does not track usage, and does not
use third‑party services. All files are stored on your server in a protected directory.

## Screenshots

 * [[
 * A fresh installation of Peak Publisher looks like this.
 * [[
 * Settings dialog (General): We recommend using standalone mode, which you can 
   activate here.
 * [[
 * Settings dialog (Uploads): By default, your uploads are cleaned up. We recommended
   keeping this settings.
 * [[
 * Settings dialog (Security): Here you can restrict access to your plugins to specific
   IP addresses.
 * [[
 * Standalone mode deactivates several admin menu items as well as the entire front
   end.
 * [[
 * When you click on the “Add New Plugin” button, you will see this first step, 
   which instructs you to add the required plugin headers.
 * [[
 * The second step instructs you to add the small bootstrap code to your plugin,
   which checks for updates.
 * [[
 * Once you have added the headers and bootstrap code, you can simply drop the plugin
   folder into Peak Publisher.
 * [[
 * For large plugins, the progress bar helps you track the status of the upload.
 * [[
 * After uploading, the plugin is automatically analysed and cleaned up if necessary.
 * [[
 * Once all steps are complete, you will see whether everything is correct.
 * [[
 * Once the new plugin has been added, the plugin’s details page is displayed.
 * [[
 * The plugin will now also be displayed in the overview of all plugins.
 * [[
 * To upload a new plugin or a new plugin version, simply drag a plugin folder into
   Peak Publisher.
 * [[
 * Peak Publisher automatically recognises whether a new upload is a new plugin 
   or a new version of an existing plugin.
 * [[
 * All releases are listed in the plugin’s details view.

## FAQ

### Does this replace wordpress.org?

No. Peak Publisher is a private/self‑hosted alternative for your own plugins and
use cases where .org is not applicable.

### How do client sites find updates?

Your client plugin includes an `Update URI` header that points to your Peak Publisher
site. WordPress core will call the exposed endpoints to retrieve update metadata
and packages.

### What data is collected?

None. Peak Publisher does not track users or send telemetry. All communication happens
between the client WordPress site and your Peak Publisher instance.

### Can I restrict access to downloads?

Yes. You can optionally configure an IP/domain whitelist for the public endpoints.
For stricter access control, consider placing your Peak Publisher site behind VPN,
a reverse proxy, or adding your own authentication layer.

### Do you support semantic versioning?

Yes. The validator recognizes major/minor/patch successions and warns on unexpected
jumps.

## Reviews

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/af33f1d775fb90e758b91bdc7fe0cfe48bb0e7244f5710309a0b4cc58867f6c6?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Perfect solution for managing private plugin updates](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/perfect-solution-for-managing-private-plugin-updates/)󠁿

 [bugge82](https://profiles.wordpress.org/bugge82/) March 11, 2026 1 reply

I’ve been using Peak Publisher for managing updates of custom WordPress plugins,
and it works perfectly. The setup is quick and straightforward, and the interface
is clean and easy to understand. Uploading new plugin versions via drag & drop makes
the whole release process incredibly simple.

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/202ea1a58c50ef6b7a1236df0da0c6b573828220c2667bc0d2dbf8c0e8e10218?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Awesome](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/awesome-10634/)󠁿

 [airflo](https://profiles.wordpress.org/airflo/) February 12, 2026 2 replies

Easy workflow, straight-forward and intuitive UI, and best of all: it just works!
This is an amazing tool I never knew I needed, but don’t want to go without any 
more. Keep up the great work!

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/e608c6d4b21cc411fe80a10ca593d858a4543bf9be9b308d42cc67dc772e905c?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[The details displayed for the user’s plugin are incomplete.](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/the-details-displayed-for-the-users-plugin-are-incomplete/)󠁿

 [秦朝往事](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kzgzs/) January 23, 2026 4 replies

After deploying the plugin to the server, the interface for viewing my plugin details
lacks a banner and additional tabs.

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/08bf13a1333f98bec53529614ccf8973fe5d66ad3e83cbbe6a047a35a597bcc9?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[A sometimes arduous task made simple!](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/a-sometimes-arduous-task-made-simple/)󠁿

 [Kodeak Digital Marketing Experts](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kodeakdme/) January
9, 2026 9 replies

Just started using this plugin at our agency, and it is AMAZING. It’s super easy
to use because it clearly states instructions and what needs to be included in your
plugin with some additional features. The UI is nice and simple as well. One amazing
feature for me would be the ability to somehow include the changelog, if possible!
Thank you!

 [ Read all 4 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/peak-publisher/reviews/)

## Contributors & Developers

“Peak Publisher” is open source software. The following people have contributed 
to this plugin.

Contributors

 *   [ Helmut Wandl ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ehtmlu/)

[Translate “Peak Publisher” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/peak-publisher)

### Interested in development?

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/peak-publisher/), check
out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/peak-publisher/), or 
subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/peak-publisher/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/peak-publisher/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

## Changelog

#### 1.3.1 – 2026-04-04

 * Fixed minor compatibility issues with WordPress 7.0

#### 1.3.0 – 2026-03-21

 * Added standalone redirect URL setting for redirecting frontend visitors in standalone
   mode
 * Added visual highlighting of the update notification icon in the admin toolbar
   in standalone mode

#### 1.2.0 – 2026-03-08

 * Added asset management: upload, replace, reorder, and delete plugin icons, banners,
   and screenshots directly in the admin UI
    - Icons, banners, and screenshots are served to client sites via the wordpress.
      org-compatible API
    - Geopattern fallback icons for plugins without a custom icon (following the
      WordPress.org convention)
 * Added permalink structure check: shows a notice when “Plain” permalinks are active(
   REST API requirement)

#### 1.1.3 – 2026-02-12

 * New bootstrap code (basicV2): multisite support and safe handling when update
   transient has no response/no_update keys
 * Upload workflow detects basicV1 vs basicV2 bootstrap and shows the matching recommendation

#### 1.1.2 – 2026-01-24

 * Fixed description tab for plugins without a readme.txt (added previous solution
   as a fallback)

#### 1.1.1 – 2026-01-22

 * Fixed small issue in version number validation logic

#### 1.1.0 – 2026-01-22

 * Added Features:
    - Installation count (and option to disable)
    - Support for readme.txt files (to provide “view details” popup informations)
    - Deep linking in the admin UI
 * Added auto cleanup for temporary files
 * Fixed a problem with the number of files when creating ZIP archives on the client
   side (there was an unintentional limit of 100 files per folder).
 * Refactoring

#### 1.0.2 – 2025-12-22

 * Fixed info about required PHP version

#### 1.0.1 – 2025-12-22

 * Fixed small compatibility issue

#### 1.0.0 – 2025-12-22

Initial release.

## Meta

 *  Version **1.3.1**
 *  Last updated **1 week ago**
 *  Active installations **Fewer than 10**
 *  WordPress version ** 5.8 or higher **
 *  Tested up to **7.0**
 *  PHP version ** 8.1 or higher **
 * Tags
 * [plugins](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/plugins/)[publish](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/publish/)
   [self hosted](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/self-hosted/)[server](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/server/)
   [updates](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/updates/)
 *  [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/peak-publisher/advanced/)

## Ratings

 5 out of 5 stars.

 *  [  4 5-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/peak-publisher/reviews/?filter=5)
 *  [  0 4-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/peak-publisher/reviews/?filter=4)
 *  [  0 3-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/peak-publisher/reviews/?filter=3)
 *  [  0 2-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/peak-publisher/reviews/?filter=2)
 *  [  0 1-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/peak-publisher/reviews/?filter=1)

[Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/peak-publisher/reviews/#new-post)

[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/peak-publisher/reviews/)

## Contributors

 *   [ Helmut Wandl ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ehtmlu/)

## Support

Issues resolved in last two months:

     3 out of 3

 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/peak-publisher/)

## Donate

Would you like to support the advancement of this plugin?

 [ Donate to this plugin ](https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=2G6L8NWVXZ4T4)