If you're a WordPress developer, chances are from time to time; you just want a…
A Hotfix was born back in WordPress 3.0.5 when a non-critical security bug was unfortunately overlooked in the core. Since then, the plugin has been used by the core team to push quick fixes and bug patches through when WordPress updates. It’s definitely worth installing if you want to avoid problems quickly after an update.
What’s It Do?
The Hotfix has a pretty basic function. If there is a non-critical problem in WordPress core, the team will roll a fix into the plugin. When you update the plugin, the problem will be patched.
Sometimes, this is not at all necessary. Other times, the plugin may fix exactly what was wrong or buggy about your WordPress install. Either way, the plugin won’t interfere with your code and doesn’t have any advanced functionality or settings.
How’s It Work?
If you want to use this plugin, all you have to do is install it. The core team will push changes to the plugin automatically if there is a problem, so if you see an update for the plugin, it means that there are a couple of bugs to be patched. All you have to do is update your plugin to get the appropriate fixes. It will detect what version of WordPress you are using and apply the necessary patches.
Pretty simple stuff.
Costs, Caveats, Etc.
A Hotfix is completely free and currently maintained by Andrew Nacin and Mark Jaquith, though I suspect this will change to new ownership when core changes hands. Otherwise, there really are no caveats. Updates come when they are needed and only when they are needed.
Still, it’s the kind of plugin that most people should have, and it can really help the core team out if they need to get something out there, so consider installing it.