“Everest” (1.0 is not just a number.)
As this post goes up on our blog, Matt Leach is taking the stage at the Alt-Ctrl event in Basel, Switzerland. He’ll be representing the AspirePress team there to demo something we are super-proud of — and we’ve put a lot of work into it.
Today we are pleased to announce the release of AspireUpdate 1.0, a WordPress plugin that enables site owners to update their software from the repository of their choice — whether that’s wordpress.org, our own AspirePress mirror, or one of others to appear soon. AspireUpdate can be downloaded from our GitHub repository and easily uploaded to a WordPress site to enable user-selectable download repository sources, including wordpress.org. (WordPress.com sites are not compatible at this time.) AspireUpdate provides access to the full slate of plugins and themes as they exist today at wordpress.org.
We are also announcing today a preview release of AspireExplorer, which allows users to browse and search the software repository in much the same way as they would on wordpress.org to find extensions for WordPress that can be downloaded and installed manually. The plugin browser can be accessed now at aspirepress.org to locate available plugins from our repository. AspireExplorer is in active development, and will soon offer improved search capabilities as well as the ability to browse themes as well as plugins.
Powering Alternate Repositories
The repository we host is powered by two packages, which are available from our Github repository for anyone wanting to set up their own mirror.
AspireSync runs as a server-side application to gather packages and update them as new releases become available. This application can run from anywhere, and is made to gather and sync packages over time without overusing resources at either end of the file exchange.
AspireCloud is the server software for responding to API calls from AspireUpdate or from other compatible plugins which redirect API calls using the same format as wordpress.org. AspireCloud receives the API request and responds with the information necessary to download its copy of the requested package. This API also responds to queries from AspireExplorer, which runs independently of AspireCloud.
Without infrastructure, the software we’ve written would lie dormant, little more than a proof-of-concept that doesn’t actually expand the available options for updating software from an independent repository. For this reason, we felt it was important to stand up infrastructure, and Fastly has partnered with us to sponsor CDN services from its 97 points of presence globally. Together with Automattic’s 27 points of presence, this means that WordPress updates are now being served from 124 datacenters around the world. With more to come online, the supply chain for WordPress software updates is becoming more robust and more resilient as it decentralizes.
Why Climb this Mountain?
We’re calling this initial release our “Everest” milestone. We believe it represents the start of a sea change in how WordPress packages will be managed and updated in the future, securing the software supply chain for the future of WordPress by moving it past a single-vendor solution to help ensure its longevity, its independence, and its security.
As there has been some confusion in the past, it’s important to say that this is not is a fork of WordPress. What this suite of packages distributes is the same software as is available from wordpress.org, and does not usurp, replace, or modify the WordPress software, its plugins, or its themes. The effort we’ve undertaken here is presented as a gift to the WordPress community, for their benefit. As it distributes the same software from an alternate source, it is intended not to compete with, but to augment the software distribution channel. The same is true for the packages we distribute in this fashion.
Next Steps
Translations will be coming soon, as well as other features that diversify features available on wordpress.org with additional options for the WordPress community. Give us a star and a follow on GitHub, engage with us on social media and follow here for updates — and above all, you’re welcome to get involved and contribute to the ongoing effort.
All Due Credit
The AspirePress Slack channels currently have over 180 members, all of whom are considered part of the community supporting the work. Of those, it’s appropriate to single out a few who have made significant contributions to realizing this goal.
- Sarah Savage — project founder
- Brent Toderash — team lead, project management
- Chuck Adams — team lead (Sync, Cloud)
- Andy Fragen — team lead
- Namith Jawahar — team lead (Update, Explorer)
- Matt Leach — team lead
- Austin Meakin — project management team
- Alex Sirota — team lead
- Veerle Verbert — project management team
We also offer special thanks to Colin Stewart, Kyle Keevil, AltCtrl, Fastly, all of the donors and sponsors who helped with expenses, and everyone in the Slack channels, where a kind word or a cheerful emoji is a contribution that helps keep the code flowing.