Register an Add-on Bootstrap With Core’s Entitlement Gate

Free Beginner

benecaster_register_addon() replaces the manual any_show_addon_is_active() check add-ons previously wrote inline in their own benecaster_boot handler. Call it once, passing your slug and a bootstrap callback — core invokes the callback with the plugin Container, and only when your slug is entitled on at least one connected show. An unregistered slug, or one registered but not currently entitled, is silently skipped: your bootstrap never runs, so none of your filters, actions, or REST routes register.

Registration and invocation happen at two different moments: register() only records the callback. Nothing runs until core’s own late plugins_loaded pass (priority 20 — after benecaster_boot and after any add-on’s own plugins_loaded registration) walks every registered slug. Don’t rely on side effects from your bootstrap having happened by the time benecaster_boot itself returns.

A third, optional argument, $requires_core, declares a compatibility requirement — version (checked with version_compare( BENECASTER_VERSION, ..., '>=' )) and/or capabilities (function or class names checked with function_exists()/class_exists()). Both keys are independent and optional; declare only what you actually depend on. When an entitled add-on’s requirement isn’t met, core shows an admin notice naming your add-on and what it needs, and skips your bootstrap — never a fatal error, never a silent no-op. This is a compatibility check, not a tamper check: it answers “is the thing I need here?”, never “has core been modified?” — do not use it to detect or react to core file changes.

Code

<?php
add_action( 'benecaster_boot', function ( \Benecaster\Container $container ) {
    benecaster_register_addon(
        'benecaster-addon-guest-manager',
        function ( \Benecaster\Container $container ) {
            // This only runs when 'benecaster-addon-guest-manager' is
            // entitled on at least one connected show — no
            // any_show_addon_is_active() check needed here.
            $container->make( \GuestManager\GuestManagerPlugin::class )->register();
        },
        [
            'version'      => '1.60.0',                        // minimum Benecaster core version
            'capabilities' => [ 'benecaster_addon_is_active' ], // function/class names that must exist
        ]
    );
} );

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Hooks Used

benecaster_boot