Mission Briefing
AODN Changelog Logger is a free WordPress plugin that automatically tracks every core, plugin, and theme update on your site — recording version history, timestamps, and which user or process triggered each change. When something breaks after an update, you’ll know exactly what changed and when instead of debugging blind.
The Problem This Solves
WordPress auto-updates plugins at 3 AM. A theme pushes a patch you didn’t ask for. Core rolls to a new minor version. Then your contact form stops working, or a layout breaks, or a client calls asking what happened. You check the admin — nothing tells you what changed or when. You’re guessing.
Most people don’t realize they need an update log until after something goes wrong. By then it’s too late — you’re comparing git diffs or scrolling through plugin changelogs trying to piece together a timeline that WordPress never saved for you.
AODN Changelog Logger fixes that. Install it, and from that moment forward every update is recorded automatically. No setup, no configuration, no external service.
What It Does
The plugin hooks into WordPress update events and records every change the moment it happens. The log captures:
- Full version history — Logs every update from → to (e.g., 2.4.1 → 2.5.0) for core, plugins, and themes
- Exact timestamps — Precise date and time for every change, down to the second
- User attribution — See which admin account or automated process triggered each update
- Auto vs. manual detection — Know if an update was triggered by you or by WP-Cron running at 3 AM
- Filter and search — Slice your log by update type (core / plugin / theme), date range, or keyword
- CSV export — Pull a clean report for client documentation, compliance audits, or your own records
- Auto-purge — Set a retention window so old entries clean themselves up. No database bloat
- Zero frontend footprint — Runs entirely in the admin. Your visitors never know it exists. Your page speed doesn’t change
- No external dependencies — Nothing phones home. No third-party API calls. No tracking. Everything stays in your database
Settings
Configuration takes about 10 seconds. Toggle which update types to track (core, plugins, themes — all on by default), set how long to keep logs, and you’re done. There’s nothing else to configure because there’s nothing else that needs configuring.
Who This Is For
- Freelancers managing client sites — Stop debugging blind when a client calls. Have a paper trail ready showing exactly what changed and when.
- Agencies — Document every update across every site. Use CSV exports for client reports that actually show your maintenance work.
- Site owners — If you’ve ever thought “something changed but I don’t know what,” this plugin exists for exactly that moment.
- Developers — Get a proper update audit log without installing a bloated security suite just to track when a plugin bumped a version number.
What It Costs
Nothing. Not “free with limitations.” Not “free tier with features locked behind a paywall.” Not “free until we decide to start charging.” Free. Period.
No pro version. No upsell. No license key. No account required. No feature walls. No telemetry. No marketing emails. Download it, install it, and use it for as long as you want on as many sites as you want.
We built it because we needed it. We’re giving it away because you probably do too. That’s how we think software should work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this slow down my site?
No. The plugin operates exclusively in the WordPress admin and only fires during update events. It has zero impact on your frontend performance, page load times, or Core Web Vitals.
Does it send data anywhere?
No. There are no external connections, no telemetry, no analytics, and no data leaving your server. Everything stays in your own WordPress database on your own hosting.
What happens to old log entries?
You control that. Set a retention period in settings and entries older than that window are automatically deleted. If you’d rather keep everything forever, leave auto-purge off.
Does it log updates that happened before I installed it?
No. It begins logging from the moment it’s activated. It can’t reach back into the past, but everything from activation forward is captured automatically.
Will this conflict with my security plugin?
It shouldn’t. AODN Changelog Logger uses standard WordPress hooks and doesn’t interfere with other plugins. It’s been tested alongside Wordfence, Sucuri, and iThemes Security with no conflicts.
Is there a pro version coming?
No. This is the complete plugin. What you download is what it is — fully functional with no features held back and no upgrade path because there’s nothing to upgrade to.
Open Source
AODN Changelog Logger is fully open source under the GPL v2 license. Want to review the code, fork it, or customize it for your own needs? The full source is available on GitHub.
View on GitHub — source code, releases, and issue tracking.
Built by AI Or Die Now — tools that work without asking for anything back.