Remote
Manage, monitor, and update all your WordPress sites from a centralized dashboard.
Overview
The Remote service turns your RakuWP panel into a centralized management hub for all your WordPress sites. It collects site data (plugins, themes, available updates, disk usage, database size, server location) and lets you perform actions like bulk updates and individual plugin management directly from the panel.
Features
- Centralized dashboard — View all connected sites with key metrics: WordPress version, plugin count, active theme, pending updates, disk usage, database size, and server country.
- Bulk updates — Update plugins, themes, and WordPress core across multiple sites simultaneously with a single click.
- Individual plugin management — Update, activate, deactivate, or delete plugins on any connected site from the site detail page.
- Server monitoring — Track PHP version, disk usage, database size, and server location (country flag via IP geolocation) for each site.
- Update notifications — The dashboard always shows the total number of available updates with a persistent toolbar.
How It Works
When the Remote service is enabled on a WordPress site, the RakuWP plugin automatically collects site data during each license verification (verify_site). This data is sent to the panel and stored on the sites table. The panel then displays this data in the Remote dashboard and site detail pages.
For actions like updates and plugin management, the panel sends authenticated REST API requests back to the WordPress site using the license key as an authentication header.
Data Collected
| Data | Source |
|---|---|
| Installed plugins | get_plugins() + is_plugin_active() |
| Installed themes | wp_get_themes() + wp_get_theme() |
| Available updates | update_plugins / update_themes / update_core transients |
| Disk usage | get_dirsize(WP_CONTENT_DIR) + size_format() |
| Database size | SHOW TABLE STATUS sum |
| Server country | IP geolocation via ip-api.com |
REST API Endpoints
The plugin registers two REST endpoints for remote management, both authenticated via the X-RakuWP-Key header containing the site's license key. See the Remote Management API article for full details.
POST /wp-json/rakuwp/v1/remote/update
Runs all pending plugin, theme, and core updates on the site using the WordPress upgrader system. After completion, clears update transients and re-syncs site data with the panel.
POST /wp-json/rakuwp/v1/remote/plugin-action
Performs a single plugin action (update, activate, deactivate, or delete). The endpoint prevents actions on the RakuWP plugin itself.
Authentication
Remote endpoints use the license key for authentication instead of WordPress user credentials. The panel looks up the license key from the license_activations table and sends it as an X-RakuWP-Key HTTP header. The plugin verifies it against the stored rakuwp_license_key option using hash_equals().
Logging
All remote actions are audit-logged via AuditLog::log(). Failures are recorded via ErrorLog::error() with full context including site URL, action, plugin slug, and error message.
Audit Logging
All actions performed through the Remote service are logged with timestamps, including bulk updates, plugin activations/deactivations, and deletions. This provides a clear history of changes made across your sites for accountability and debugging.
Site Detail Page
Click on any site in the dashboard to see its detail page with:
- Server info — PHP version, WordPress version, disk usage, database size, server country.
- Plugins list — All installed plugins with version, status (active/inactive), and available updates. Each plugin has action buttons for update, activate, deactivate, and delete.
- Themes list — All installed themes with the active theme highlighted. Includes update buttons for themes with available updates.