Dependency Update Planner

What it does

Maps which installed plugins declare a dependency on another plugin (via the Requires Plugins header or documented extension relationships, such as WooCommerce extensions), then sequences the update order so a parent plugin is never updated ahead of an extension that hasn't been tested against the new version, and flags pairs that should be updated together.

Install

This skill isn't packaged in an installable registry. It's a plain SKILL.md file you can copy directly. Copy it from the SKILL.md tab and save it at the path for your assistant:

Use it in your AI assistant

Claude Code

.claude/skills/dependency-update-planner/ (or ~/.claude/skills/dependency-update-planner/ for all projects)

GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

.github/skills/dependency-update-planner/

OpenAI Codex

.codex/skills/dependency-update-planner/

Cursor

.cursor/skills/dependency-update-planner/ (or ~/.cursor/skills/dependency-update-planner/ globally)

Compatibility

Any WordPress site; WP-CLI helps enumerate installed plugin versions, but no destructive access is required to build the plan.

The complete SKILL.md for this skill:

---
name: dependency-update-planner
description: Use when a user has several pending plugin updates and wants a safe order to apply them in, especially with plugin families like WooCommerce or a page builder plus its addons.
---

# Dependency Update Planner

## When to use
Multiple plugins have pending updates and at least some of them are extensions of, or dependencies for, one another, so updating in the wrong order risks breaking compatibility that hasn't been tested yet.

## Procedure
1. List every plugin with a pending update, its current version, and the version it would update to.
2. Identify declared dependencies (Requires Plugins header) and known extension relationships (e.g. a page builder and its addon pack, an ecommerce platform and its payment gateway extensions).
3. Check each extension's changelog or compatibility notice for whether it has confirmed support for the parent plugin's new version yet.
4. Sequence the plan: update independent plugins first, hold any parent-plugin update until its dependent extensions have confirmed compatibility, and group tightly coupled pairs to update together on staging.
5. Flag any plugin where compatibility with the new parent version is unconfirmed, and recommend holding that one until the plugin author confirms support.
6. Present the plan as an ordered list with a one-line reason for each step's position in the sequence.

## Guardrails
- Never apply the updates automatically, only produce the plan; updates should run through the user's own staging and approval process.
- If compatibility information can't be found for a dependency pair, say so explicitly rather than assuming it's safe just because no incompatibility was reported.