How to Install WordPress Plugin Dependencies

This is a lightweight alternative to TGM Plugin Activation class, which is currently the best way to require and recommend plugins for WordPress themes (and other plugins), according to the TGMPA homepage.

My code is smaller and more concise, while being extendable and customisable from a design point of view.

Here’s the main function:

<?php
function supernova_register_required_plugins($pluginArray) {
    $action = 'install-plugin';

    foreach ($pluginArray as $recommendedPlugin) {
        $name = $recommendedPlugin['name'];
        $slug = $recommendedPlugin['slug'];
        $file = $recommendedPlugin['file'];

        $link = wp_nonce_url(
            add_query_arg([
                'action' => $action,
                'plugin' => $slug
            ],
            admin_url('update.php')),
            $action . '_' . $slug
        );

        $status = ' (not installed)';
        $buttonStatus = '';
        if (file_exists(WP_PLUGIN_DIR . '/' . $file)) {
            $status = (is_plugin_active($file)) ? ' (active)' : ' (inactive)';
            $buttonStatus = (is_plugin_active($file)) ? 'button-active' : 'button-inactive';
        }

        echo '<a href="' . $link . '" class="button button-secondary ' . $buttonStatus . '">' . $name . $status . '</a> ';
    }
}
?>

And here’s the function call inside your plugin or theme settings panel:

<?php
$recommendedPlugins = [
    [
        'name' => 'Yoast SEO',
        'slug' => 'wordpress-seo',
        'file' => 'wordpress-seo/wp-seo.php'
    ],
    [
        'name' => 'CMS Tree Page View',
        'slug' => 'cms-tree-page-view',
        'file' => 'cms-tree-page-view/index.php'
    ],
    [
        'name' => 'Intuitive Custom Post Order',
        'slug' => 'intuitive-custom-post-order',
        'file' => 'intuitive-custom-post-order/intuitive-custom-post-order.php'
    ]
];

supernova_register_required_plugins($recommendedPlugins);
?>

I might revisit the code later to make it more modular and more functional (as in Functional Programming) codewise.

👋 Added by Ciprian on Friday, July 5, 2019 in Blog. Last modified on Friday, July 5, 2019.