I've got a theme that checks for a new version on GitHub. When it finds a new version it downloads it and install it. The problem is that it installs the theme with a different folder name than previous. Resulting errors.

I call the updater with hook pre_set_site_transient_update_themes

In it I check the GitHub api with:

I set the update package variable with .1.0 Where 0.1.0 is the latest version.

So if I install a theme manually the theme root folder is called something like: my-theme. Updating the theme downloads a new set of files with a different theme folder name. Something like my-theme-3d547d1. Next update its again being renamed, something like my-theme-58fa412.

How can I prevent this? Is this something on the GitHub side where I rename the target's zip file name or Something wordpress side, where it renames the zip after download and before install?

#in short#

Wordpress renames the theme folder when fetching theme update from GitHub, how to prevent this

I've got a theme that checks for a new version on GitHub. When it finds a new version it downloads it and install it. The problem is that it installs the theme with a different folder name than previous. Resulting errors.

I call the updater with hook pre_set_site_transient_update_themes

In it I check the GitHub api with: https://api.github/repos/my-name/my-repo/releases/latest

I set the update package variable with https://api.github/repos/my-name/my-repo/zipball/0.1.0 Where 0.1.0 is the latest version.

So if I install a theme manually the theme root folder is called something like: my-theme. Updating the theme downloads a new set of files with a different theme folder name. Something like my-theme-3d547d1. Next update its again being renamed, something like my-theme-58fa412.

How can I prevent this? Is this something on the GitHub side where I rename the target's zip file name or Something wordpress side, where it renames the zip after download and before install?

#in short#

Wordpress renames the theme folder when fetching theme update from GitHub, how to prevent this

• theme-development
• updates
• automatic-updates
• git
• github

• 1 WordPress wouldn't be renaming the folder anything like that. This is likely the folder/zip name given by GitHub, and you'll need to account for it in your code. – Jacob Peattie Commented Feb 16, 2021 at 9:49
• @JacobPeattie, correct. It removes the current theme version folder and inserts a new theme version with a folder name bases on the name of the downloaded zip file. – Tim Commented Feb 17, 2021 at 9:32

1 Answer 1

My first instinct upon reading this was that a Wordpress Plugin may give you more control over this behaviour. Have you considered writing a plugin to pull and apply the updates?

A quick Google on the subject found this:

https://github/afragen/github-updater

Any use?

Likewise, reviewing their implementation may give you clues as to how to address your issue.