MainWP has become an extremely popular solution for WordPress website management. It empowers users to oversee multiple WordPress sites from a single dashboard, making site maintenance, plugin updates, and security monitoring remarkably easy. If you’re managing a fleet of WordPress installations, chances are you’ve come across MainWP and its child sites. But one question arises frequently among users: How can I find changelogs for MainWP child plugins and other installed plugins? This article explores the various ways you can locate these changelogs to stay up to date with the latest updates, bug fixes, and new features.
TL;DR: Quickly Find What You Need
If you’re looking for quick answers: MainWP doesn’t show every plugin’s changelog directly from the dashboard, but there are a few reliable workarounds. You can check changelogs directly in the WordPress plugin repository or through MainWP-compatible plugins that add changelog visibility. For premium or external plugins, you may need to visit the developer’s website or GitHub page. Understanding changelogs helps you make safer update decisions across your websites.
What Are Plugin Changelogs?
Before diving into where to find them, let’s clarify what plugin changelogs actually are. A changelog is a documented list of changes made to a plugin in each version. These typically include:
- New features
- Bug fixes
- Security patches
- Performance improvements
- Deprecation notices
By reviewing changelogs, administrators can make informed decisions about when and how to update a plugin, especially across multiple child sites managed by MainWP.
Where MainWP Displays Changelogs (and Limitations)
By default, MainWP offers some visibility over plugin updates, but it’s not 100% comprehensive. Within the MainWP dashboard, when a plugin on a child site has an update available, you can see that an update is required, but you won’t always see the full changelog inside the dashboard.
This limitation is due to how WordPress manages plugin information. Not all third-party plugin developers follow the same standards when it comes to including changelogs in a way that can be fetched by external dashboards like MainWP.
However, there are a few methods and integrations that can help bring more visibility into changelogs without leaving MainWP or WordPress.
1. Native WordPress Plugin Interface
If you’re managing only a small number of child sites, sometimes the simplest option is to access each plugin’s changelog directly from that child site’s WordPress dashboard. Here’s how:
- Log into the child site’s WordPress admin panel
- Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- Find the plugin in question and click “View details”
- Scroll down to the “Changelog” tab
This works well for plugins listed in the WordPress repository, but not for commercial or custom-developed plugins.
2. WordPress Plugin Repository
For plugins available at wordpress.org/plugins, you can simply search for the plugin and scroll down to the changelog section on the plugin detail page.
Example: Visit MainWP Child Plugin to see its most recent changelog entries.
This method gives an up-to-date and detailed overview of what changes were made in each version. Even better, it can be accessed by both plugin users and developers — no login required.
3. Using MainWP Extensions
MainWP has a robust marketplace of extensions, and a few of them can give better insight into plugin changelogs.
- MainWP Plugin Updates Extension: This premium extension enhances the update process by offering features like delayed updates and forced updates—but doesn’t directly show changelogs.
- Third-party Tools Like WP Umbrella and ManageWP: While not technically MainWP extensions, they can be integrated into your workflow to gain deeper plugin insight, including changelogs and performance reports.
Using such tools in tandem can give you a much more complete picture of what’s happening during plugin updates.
4. Plugin Developer Websites
For commercial or premium plugins (e.g., WP Rocket, Advanced Custom Fields Pro, Gravity Forms), changelogs are typically listed on the developer’s website. It’s useful to bookmark your most used plugin changelog pages. Here are some common examples:
Be aware that you might need an active license or account to access certain changelogs, especially for smaller or niche plugin vendors.
5. GitHub for Open Source Plugins
Some plugins, especially those maintained by independent developers, are hosted on GitHub. The changelog is often located in a file named CHANGELOG.md or may be documented in the repository’s “Releases” section.
Here is what you need to do:
- Find the plugin’s GitHub repository
- Open the Releases tab or locate a changelog file
- View all recent commits, tags, and version notes
This method provides detailed developer insights and sometimes even early look at upcoming features.
MainWP Child Plugin Updates
If your focus is specifically on the MainWP Child plugin—the core connection between your dashboard and the managed child sites—then you can check its changelog directly from the WordPress repository or its GitHub mirror. This plugin is generally updated in tandem with the MainWP Dashboard plugin to ensure compatibility and feature parity.
A quick way to check: Go to the MainWP Child plugin page and click on the “Development” tab to view the version history and changelog.
Why Changelog Awareness Matters
Keeping track of plugin changelogs isn’t just about curiosity—it’s about responsible site management. Here’s why:
- Prevent conflicts: Knowing what a plugin update changes helps you avoid clashes with other plugins or themes.
- Security: Many updates patch known security vulnerabilities. Knowing this lets you prioritize important installations.
- Performance: Some updates include optimization refinements that could speed up your sites.
- Documentation Sync: Developers syncing their documentation with updates alert you to new usages and capabilities.
All of these factors support the case for staying well-informed about plugin changes before you click “Update” in your MainWP dashboard.
Conclusion
While MainWP makes multi-site management a breeze, it doesn’t display full plugin changelogs out of the box. Fortunately, you can supplement this with native plugin details in WordPress, the official plugin repository, developer websites, GitHub, and third-party tools. These options help make plugin updates both safer and smarter.
Whether you’re a freelancer managing 10 sites or an agency managing 100, knowing where to find changelogs helps you keep your assets updated confidently and avoid unpleasant post-update surprises.
Start building the habit of checking those changelogs—you’ll thank yourself later.
