How to enable WordPress Automatic background updates

Environment

WordPress 3.7+

Issue

How to keep your WordPress site updated using automatic background updates.

Resolution

Use filters to fine-tune automatic update behavior.

Create a must-use plugin in the wp-content/mu-plugins/ directory (create the folder if it doesn’t exist), and save the following as update.php:

<?php // mu-plugins/update.php
add_filter( 'allow_dev_auto_core_updates', '__return_false' );           // Disable development updates
add_filter( 'allow_major_auto_core_updates', '__return_true' );         // Enable major updates
add_filter( 'allow_minor_auto_core_updates', '__return_true' );         // Enable minor updates
add_filter( 'auto_update_plugin', '__return_true' );                    // Enable plugin updates
add_filter( 'auto_update_theme', '__return_true' );                     // Enable theme updates
add_filter( 'auto_update_translation', '__return_true' );              // Enable translation updates
add_filter( 'auto_core_update_send_email', '__return_true' );          // Enable email notifications

✅ Must-use plugins are loaded by default and cannot be disabled from the admin panel—ideal for enforcing essential behaviors.

Root Cause

Automatic background updates were introduced in WordPress 3.7 to improve site security and reduce maintenance effort.

WordPress supports automatic updates for:

• Core updates (minor and major)
• Plugins
• Themes
• Translation files

These updates can be configured via:

• Constants in wp-config.php (not recommended for filters)
• Filters in a plugin (recommended)

Important: Never add add_filter() calls directly in wp-config.php. WordPress isn’t fully loaded at that point, and it can cause issues—especially with tools like WP-CLI.

Since WordPress 5.6, automatic updates for both major and minor core versions are enabled by default for new installs.