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I have created a custom plugin. How do I define its slug?

To clarify, if I attach a custom PHP function to the manage_plugins_custom_column hook, and in that function print the value of the $plugin_data array for each plugin in my WordPress installation, that array will contain information about each plugin. Here is such a function:

function opn_render_date( $column_name, $plugin_file, $plugin_data ) { error_log( print_r( $plugin_data, true ) ); } add_action( 'manage_plugins_custom_column', 'opn_render_date', 10, 3 );

And here is example output for one popular plugin in the WordPress repo (Classic Editor). In that output, the array element $plugin_data['slug'] => classic-editor can be seen. I have created a plugin, installed it, and activated it. The plugin functions as expected. But when I print out the same $plugin_data[] for my plugin, $plugin_data['slug'] does not exist. Why is that? How do I define the slug for my plugin?

If the issue is related to the header in my main plugin PHP file, that header can be seen here.

Maybe a slug is assigned by WordPress, only after a plugin is accepted to the WordPress plugin repo? I have not yet submitted it there.

edit: To clarify, I've written a plugin that is installed/activated via Dashboard-->Plugins.

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2 Answers 2

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I eventually submitted this plugin to the WordPress repo. As soon as it was accepted, my plugin was assigned a slug. So it looks like the WordPress plugin admins assign your plugin a slug during the initial review process.

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By default, it should be the folder of your plugin.

If you use wp cli, you can use

wp plugin list

to show all the plugin slugs.

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  • Here is the name of my plugin's folder (i.imgur.com/wkFBeWx.jpg). If I'm not using wp-cli, how can I show all the plugin slugs? I may have an issue in which the header in my main plugin file isn't formatted properly. Commented Sep 19, 2019 at 13:37
  • Your slug should be 'outdated-plugin-notifier'. You can put var_dump(get_site_transient('update_plugins')); on a test page to look at plugin info that would include the [folder]/[filename] of each plugin. Note that it relies on transients, which could be stale (shift-reload page, revisit page later). The name of the folder a plugin resides in is the same as the plugin's slug. To define your slug, name your folder what you want the slug to be. Commented Sep 19, 2019 at 14:29
  • Right O. I understand that my slug should be outdated-plugin-notifiier. My issue is that WordPress doesn't seem to recognize that I have a plugin with that slug (or that WordPress doesn't seem to recognize that I have a plugin at all). I added a function to print get_site_transient('update_plugins'), attached it to the wp_head hook, and loaded my home page. This is the output: pastebin.com/UCd5W8q8 . It doesn't contain anything about my new plugin. Here is a screenshot of my plugin admin screen: i.imgur.com/RbiaMmI.jpg. Thoughts? Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 3:01
  • So using get_site_transient('update_plugins'), it seems like WP doesn't recognizes that there is any plugin at all. In the other test I ran (using the manage_plugins_custom_column hook), WP recognized a plugin with the name 'Outdated Plugin Notifier,' but didn't seem to recognize any slug at all for it. To be clear, I'm not saying a blank string was defined as the slug. I'm saying that the slug is contained in the array element $plugin_data['slug'], and the index slug is not defined at all in that particular array. Not sure how to troubleshoot further. Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 3:03
  • Sorry, I have an update. Per your suggestions, on my home page I carried out a hard refresh, then printed get_site_transient('update_plugins') again. There is slightly different output (see here: pastebin.com/FsBYnSNV). The output indicates that my plugin is recognized by the checked array, but not by the no_update array. Why might that be? Should I expect that array to contain info on the Outdated Plugin Notifier plugin? Commented Sep 20, 2019 at 3:12

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