Releases and upgrading
How we version the plugin, which platform versions it supports, and how to upgrade safely.
Versioning
The plugin follows semantic versioning: MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH.
| Meaning | What to do | |
|---|---|---|
| MAJOR | Breaking changes | Read the release notes. Test thoroughly on staging. Budget time for it. |
| MINOR | New features and payment methods, backwards compatible | Safe to apply after a staging check. |
| PATCH | Bug fixes and security fixes only | Apply promptly. |
Release notes
The full changelog lives on GitHub: buckaroo-it/WooCommerce/releases. It's also on the WordPress plugin page.
Read the notes for every version between your current one and your target, not just the target. A breaking change three releases back still affects you.
Get notified of new releases
WordPress tells you when an update is available, but not what's in it. To see that in advance, subscribe on GitHub:
- Open the WooCommerce repository.
- Select Watch, then Custom.
- Tick Releases and save.
You'll then get an email whenever we publish a release, without the noise of every issue and pull request.
Star the repository too if you find it useful. Starring is a bookmark rather than a subscription, so it won't notify you on its own, but it helps other merchants find the plugin.
You can also subscribe to the Buckaroo status page for incidents and maintenance, which is separate from plugin releases.
Platform compatibility
The current release supports:
| WordPress | 5.3.18 – 7.0 |
| WooCommerce | 5.0 – 11.0 |
| PHP | 8.0 or higher |
Support moves forward as WordPress and WooCommerce ship new versions. On a version outside these ranges the plugin may still work, but it isn't tested there and new payment methods may not behave as expected.
Check compatibility before you upgrade WooCommerce, not after. A WooCommerce major release can land ahead of plugin support, and upgrading first can leave your checkout broken while you wait.
How to upgrade
Minor and patch releases
- Take a backup, or use a staging site.
- Go to Plugins in your WordPress admin.
- Select Update now on the Buckaroo plugin.
Or switch on automatic updates for the plugin, which is reasonable for patch releases on a store you aren't watching daily.
Your credentials and all method settings are preserved.
Major releases
- Read every release note between your version and the target.
- Take a full backup of both the database and files.
- Upgrade on staging first.
- Run through the scenarios in Test and go live.
- Check any customisations or child-theme checkout templates against the changed code.
- Schedule the production upgrade outside peak hours.
After upgrading
Select Test credentials and place one test payment to confirm everything still works. If your store uses High-Performance Order Storage, note that some releases migrate order data in the background after the update, so give it a little time before concluding something is missing.
Test upgrades on staging first, particularly if you have customised the checkout or run other payment or checkout plugins alongside Buckaroo.
Contributing
The plugin is open source. Bug reports, feature requests and pull requests are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md in the repository for the guidelines, and target the develop branch when opening a pull request.
Security issues should be reported privately to [email protected] rather than in a public issue.
Updated 3 days ago