{"id":4448,"date":"2026-08-20T03:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T03:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucumandevelopers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/20\/the-excluded-plugin-setting-that-playwright-ignored-fixing-browser-mode-updates-and-false-residual-warnings\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T03:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T03:39:17","slug":"the-excluded-plugin-setting-that-playwright-ignored-fixing-browser-mode-updates-and-false-residual-warnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucumandevelopers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/20\/the-excluded-plugin-setting-that-playwright-ignored-fixing-browser-mode-updates-and-false-residual-warnings\/","title":{"rendered":"The excluded-plugin setting that Playwright ignored \u2014 fixing browser-mode updates and false residual warnings"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/a> The symptom <\/h2>\n

In browser-mode maintenance (Playwright, no SSH), plugins marked as “excluded from update checks” were still being updated. After the run, a “plugin updates remaining” WARNING email arrived every time.<\/p>\n

The excluded plugins were intentionally left behind, but the residual check treated them as unfinished updates and fired a warning \u2014 a two-part problem: wrong behavior and a misleading alert.<\/p>\n

<\/a> SSH path vs. Playwright path <\/h2>\n

On SSH-capable sites, WP-CLI’s --skip-plugins<\/code> flag carries the ignored_plugins<\/code> list into the update command. That path already excluded them correctly.<\/p>\n

The Playwright path was different. browser_update_remaining_plugins()<\/code> worked by clicking the “select all” checkbox on update-core.php<\/code> and submitting the form \u2014 no filtering at all. <\/p>\n

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# Before: select-all, ignored_plugins never consulted <\/span>page<\/span>.<\/span>check<\/span>(<\/span>'<\/span>input[name=<\/span>\"<\/span>action<\/span>\"<\/span>][value=<\/span>\"<\/span>update-selected-plugins<\/span>\"<\/span>]<\/span>'<\/span>)<\/span> for<\/span> cb<\/span> in<\/span> page<\/span>.<\/span>query_selector_all<\/span>(<\/span>'<\/span>input[name=<\/span>\"<\/span>checked[]<\/span>\"<\/span>]<\/span>'<\/span>):<\/span> cb<\/span>.<\/span>check<\/span>()<\/span> <\/code><\/pre>\n
\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
This function is the chokepoint for two flows: pure browser-mode updates (run_browser_update_flow<\/code>) and the browser residual pass that runs after SSH updates (run_browser_residual_update<\/code>, on by default). So even SSH sites could have excluded plugins updated by the residual pass. Browser-driven bulk updates are also outside the scope of pinpoint rollback, meaning there is no automatic recovery if a wrong update goes through.<\/p>\n
  <\/a> Fix 1 \u2014 _ignored_plugin_slugs()<\/code> and _plugin_slug_from_checkbox_value()<\/code> <\/h2>\n
When excluded plugins are configured, the fix replaces the select-all approach with per-checkbox evaluation. <\/p>\n
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def<\/span> _ignored_plugin_slugs<\/span>(<\/span>site<\/span>:<\/span> dict<\/span>)<\/span> -><\/span> set<\/span>[<\/span>str<\/span>]:<\/span> raw<\/span> =<\/span> site<\/span>.<\/span>get<\/span>(<\/span>\"<\/span>ignored_plugins<\/span>\"<\/span>,<\/span> \"\"<\/span>)<\/span> return<\/span> {<\/span>s<\/span>.<\/span>strip<\/span>().<\/span>lower<\/span>()<\/span> for<\/span> s<\/span> in<\/span> raw<\/span>.<\/span>split<\/span>(<\/span>\"<\/span>,<\/span>\"<\/span>)<\/span> if<\/span> s<\/span>.<\/span>strip<\/span>()}<\/span> def<\/span> _plugin_slug_from_checkbox_value<\/span>(<\/span>value<\/span>:<\/span> str<\/span>)<\/span> -><\/span> str<\/span>:<\/span> return<\/span> value<\/span>.<\/span>split<\/span>(<\/span>\"<\/span>\/<\/span>\"<\/span>)[<\/span>0<\/span>].<\/span>strip<\/span>().<\/span>lower<\/span>()<\/span> if<\/span> \"<\/span>\/<\/span>\"<\/span> in<\/span> value<\/span> else<\/span> value<\/span>.<\/span>strip<\/span>().<\/span>lower<\/span>()<\/span> <\/code><\/pre>\n
\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Plugin checkboxes on update-core.php<\/code> use a value<\/code> like contact-form-7\/wp-contact-form-7.php<\/code>. The slug is the part before the slash. Normalizing to lowercase covers casing differences in user input.<\/p>\n
With excluded plugins configured: <\/p>\n
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ignored<\/span> =<\/span> _ignored_plugin_slugs<\/span>(<\/span>site<\/span>)<\/span> if<\/span> ignored<\/span>:<\/span> for<\/span> cb<\/span> in<\/span> page<\/span>.<\/span>query_selector_all<\/span>(<\/span>'<\/span>input[name=<\/span>\"<\/span>checked[]<\/span>\"<\/span>]<\/span>'<\/span>):<\/span> val<\/span> =<\/span> cb<\/span>.<\/span>get_attribute<\/span>(<\/span>\"<\/span>value<\/span>\"<\/span>)<\/span> or<\/span> \"\"<\/span> slug<\/span> =<\/span> _plugin_slug_from_checkbox_value<\/span>(<\/span>val<\/span>)<\/span> if<\/span> slug<\/span> and<\/span> slug<\/span> not<\/span> in<\/span> ignored<\/span>:<\/span> cb<\/span>.<\/span>check<\/span>()<\/span> # if value is missing, keep it checked (safe side: update rather than skip) <\/span><\/code><\/pre>\n
\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Sites with no excluded plugins keep the original behavior (select-all with individual fallback) exactly as before.<\/p>\n
  <\/a> Fix 2 \u2014 _browser_plugin_residual_state()<\/code> stops false residual warnings <\/h2>\n
The residual check had the same gap. Before the fix, any remaining update form on update-core.php<\/code> counted as “updates pending.” An excluded plugin left intentionally on the page was enough to trigger a WARNING. <\/p>\n
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def<\/span> _browser_plugin_residual_state<\/span>(<\/span>page<\/span>,<\/span> site<\/span>:<\/span> dict<\/span>)<\/span> -><\/span> bool<\/span>:<\/span> ignored<\/span> =<\/span> _ignored_plugin_slugs<\/span>(<\/span>site<\/span>)<\/span> checkboxes<\/span> =<\/span> page<\/span>.<\/span>query_selector_all<\/span>(<\/span>'<\/span>input[name=<\/span>\"<\/span>checked[]<\/span>\"<\/span>]<\/span>'<\/span>)<\/span> if<\/span> not<\/span> checkboxes<\/span>:<\/span> return<\/span> False<\/span> # no form = nothing pending <\/span> if<\/span> not<\/span> ignored<\/span>:<\/span> return<\/span> True<\/span> # no exclusions = form present = pending (original behavior) <\/span> for<\/span> cb<\/span> in<\/span> checkboxes<\/span>:<\/span> val<\/span> =<\/span> cb<\/span>.<\/span>get_attribute<\/span>(<\/span>\"<\/span>value<\/span>\"<\/span>)<\/span> or<\/span> \"\"<\/span> slug<\/span> =<\/span> _plugin_slug_from_checkbox_value<\/span>(<\/span>val<\/span>)<\/span> if<\/span> slug<\/span> not<\/span> in<\/span> ignored<\/span>:<\/span> return<\/span> True<\/span> # at least one non-excluded plugin still pending <\/span> return<\/span> False<\/span> # only excluded plugins remain \u2014 not pending <\/span><\/code><\/pre>\n
\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
After this change, a site where only excluded plugins remain on update-core.php<\/code> resolves to False<\/code> (not pending), and no WARNING email is sent.<\/p>\n
  <\/a> Test coverage <\/h2>\n
tests\/test_browser_ignored_plugins.py<\/code> \u2014 21 new tests:<\/p>\n