limit "Tested up to" plugin header to current stable release

[littlebizzy]

Perhaps time to enforce an accurate (maximum) "Tested up to" header for plugins in the WordPress.org directory, to avoid confusion and misinformation.

Specifically, if plugin authors input a "Tested up to" version of WordPress Core that is higher than current stable version, the WP.org directory could overwrite search results and plugin profiles.

Example: ​plugin author claims to have tested a plugin up to WP 6.0, which does not exist yet, even in beta or bleeding edge repositories. In such cases, WP.org might alter this to display as "4.9" (the latest stable version).

Ref: ​https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2018/02/13/not-updated-in-warning/

Can I put in 5.0 as a version? Yes, but it won’t do what you think it does. That is, you won’t show as compatible with 4.9. Don’t try to be clever on that one.

Ref: ​https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-org/how-your-readme-txt-works/

Make note that the Tested up to field ignores minor versions, as plugins shouldn’t break with a minor update. This means you only need to define the major version it is tested against and the WordPress.org plugin directory will automatically add the minor version for you. This should be numbers only, so ‘4.9’ and not ‘WP 4.9’

Or better yet, since such plugin authors likely aren't actually testing their plugins for the versions they claim, WP.org could display such "Tested up to" instances as simply "N/A"

[littlebizzy]

example of exaggerated "Tested up to" header

[swissspidy]

Hey there

Enhancements regarding the plugin directory are best reported on ​https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/. I don't think there's anything that would need to change in core itself to support this.

[littlebizzy]

Moved:

​https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/3936

[desrosj]

Closing this out as reported-upstream in favor of ​Meta-3936 (which has been closed as fixed).