Update Brief for MainWP

Introduction

MainWP is a free, self-hosted WordPress plugin that lets agencies, developers, and freelancers manage multiple WordPress sites from a single dashboard. Its ecosystem of free and paid extensions expands that dashboard to solve specific management challenges.

Update Brief for MainWP automatically adds plain-language WordPress core and plugin update summaries to your MainWP Pro Reports client reports. Each summary covers key new features, critical security patches, and significant bug fixes - giving clients a clear picture of what every update achieved and why it mattered.

The same summaries are available on demand too: a Summary button on your MainWP Dashboard Updates screen lets you check exactly what a pending update changes before you apply it - no report required.

For agencies, developers, and managed hosts, these update summaries in your client reports make it easy to demonstrate the ongoing value of your WordPress maintenance services, build client trust, and grow your care plans business.

Update Brief summaries cover WordPress core and the tens of thousands free plugins on WordPress.org, plus a growing list of premium plugins including Gravity Forms, Elementor Pro, WP Rocket, MemberPress, and WooCommerce Bookings.

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Requirements

You will need the following to add the Update Brief summaries. If you are using MainWP, then you are likely to already have most of this in place.

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Installation

Install the Update Brief for MainWP plugin on your dashboard site only - not on child sites.

1. 1.In your WordPress MainWP dashboard, go to WP Admin → Plugins.
2. 2.Click Add Plugin.
3. 3.Search for Update Brief for MainWP.
4. 4.Click Install Now, then Activate.

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Setup

Initial setup takes about 5 minutes. You will create two API keys - one from MainWP and one from Update Brief - and paste them into the Update Brief settings page.

Step 1 - Create a MainWP REST API (version 2) key

1. 1.On your MainWP dashboard site, go to WP Admin → Settings → Permalinks and confirm the structure is set to anything except Plain (This is a WordPress REST API requirement).
2. 2.Navigate to MainWP Dashboard → API and click Add API Keys.
3. 3.Enter a descriptive name, e.g. Client Reporting.
4. 4.Set Permissions to Read (no write access is needed).
5. 5.Copy the generated key and save it securely - it will not be shown again.
6. 6.Click Save Key.

Step 2 - Create an Update Brief API key

1. 1.Log in to your UpdateBrief.com account.
2. 2.Click API Tokens in the main menu. (This option is visible only when you have an active trial or subscription.)
3. 3.Enter a name for the token and click Create.
4. 4.Copy the key and save it securely - it will not be shown again.

Step 3 - Enter both keys in MainWP

1. 1.Return to your MainWP dashboard site and go to MainWP Dashboard → Add-ons then click the Update Brief for MainWP card.
2. 2.On the Update Brief Settings page, paste the MainWP REST API key into the first field.
3. 3.Paste the Update Brief API key into the second field.
4. 4.Select your preferred default language for the update summaries.
5. 5.Toggle the Show Report Summary and Show Update Summary buttons as required.
6. 6.Click Save Settings.
7. 7.Click Test MainWP Connection and Test UpdateBrief Connection to confirm both keys are working. If either test fails, see the Troubleshooting section below.

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Reports & Templates

Once initial setup is complete, Update Brief summaries are added automatically whenever you generate a MainWP Pro Reports client report using one of the Update Brief templates. You will see a concise summary beneath each WordPress core or plugin update entry, describing what changed in plain language.

1. 1.On your MainWP dashboard site, go to Add-ons → Pro Reports.
2. 2.Open an existing report or create a new one.
3. 3.In Report Settings, select an Update Brief template, e.g. update-brief-report-modern.php.
4. 4.Click the preview button to generate a sample report.
5. 5.After saving the report your client reports will have update summaries added automatically whenever they are run.

Using your existing report template

If you have an existing customised MainWP Pro Reports template, you can add the Update Brief summaries with these steps.

1. 1.Via FTP, open /wp-content/uploads/mainwp/report-templates/.
2. 2.Download the appropriate Update Brief template (e.g. update-brief-report-modern.php) and make a copy.
3. 3.Rename the copy, e.g. update-brief-report-modern-acme.php.
4. 4.On line 15, update the $upd_brief_template_filename variable to match the filename of your existing template in the same directory.
5. 5.Save and re-upload the file to the same directory.
6. 6.Select your new template when generating a report.

Setting a per-client language

By default, summaries use the language set in your Update Brief settings. You can override this per client - useful if you serve international clients.

1. 1.On your MainWP dashboard go to MainWP Dashboard → Clients.
2. 2.Click the three-dot menu on the client row and select Edit.
3. 3.Scroll to the Update Brief summary language client override field and enter the language code (e.g. es for Spanish, fr for French).
4. 4.Click Update Client. Reports for this client will now show update summaries in your chosen language.

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Updates Screen

See summaries before you update

Like to check the changes before you run plugin updates? You can see an Update Brief summary directly within your MainWP dashboard before updating any plugin on your client sites.

How it works

1. 1.On your MainWP dashboard go to MainWP Dashboard → Updates → Plugins.
2. 2.Any plugin with an available update will display a Summary button
3. 3.Click the Summary button to see the Update Brief summary for that plugin's version changes.
4. 4.Giving youself peace of mind by seeing exactly what the update includes, before updating the plugin on your client sites

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Troubleshooting

Connection issues

If either API connection test fails during your inital setup, click View Logs on the Update Brief Settings page for detailed error information. Common causes:

Summaries not appearing in reports

If you do not see the expected Update Brief summaries in your client reports, please check the following:

Summaries not appearing in Updates screen

If you do not see the expected Update Brief summaries in your client reports, please check the following:

Need further help? Contact us and we'll be happy to help.

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Frequently Asked Questions