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Keep the proxy's tracker script on the current host after moving the site - #330

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fix_proxy_after_migration
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fix_proxy_after_migration

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@Dan0sz

@Dan0sz Dan0sz commented Sep 30, 2026 •

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A user moved their site to a new host, after which pages stopped loading: with the proxy enabled, the tracker script was still loaded from the old server, which was offline. Disabling the plugin (or disabling and re-enabling the proxy) fixed it.

Cause

Helpers::get_proxy_resources() stored the cache directory's absolute path and URL (cache_dir, cache_url) the first time the proxy was used, and never refreshed them, except when switching to SSL. After moving the site to another host, domain or path:

  • the <script> tag still pointed at the old location;
  • the daily download still wrote to the old path.

The script is deferred, so it doesn't block rendering, but deferred scripts run before DOMContentLoaded. While the browser waits for a server that doesn't respond, DOMContentLoaded doesn't fire, and everything that waits for it (menus, sliders, preloader overlays, …) doesn't either. Disabling and re-enabling the proxy deletes the option, so the resources are regenerated. That's why that workaround helped.

Sites using "domain per language" (WPML/TranslatePress) happened to be protected by maybe_use_current_language_domain() (2.6.2), which rewrites the host.

Changes

  • Only the cache directory's name is stored. Its path and URL are derived from wp_get_upload_dir() on every request, with the URL's scheme matching the current request (so the SSL refresh isn't needed anymore). Existing installs keep their directory (its name is taken from the stored path) and their REST route (namespace/base/endpoint); the stored option isn't rewritten.
  • When the local file is missing (e.g. the site was moved without its uploads), the script is loaded from Plausible instead of a URL that 404s, and the download is scheduled right away (wp_schedule_single_event(), which doesn't add duplicates within 10 minutes) instead of waiting for the daily run.
  • Fixed get_proxy_resource( 'cache_url' ) calling wp_mkdir_p() with the URL instead of the path.
  • Tests for a moved site (stale absolute values in the option) and for the missing-file fallback; changelog entry under a new 2.6.3 section.

Testing

Live, with the stored option pointing at an old host and path (an unroutable IP, so connections hang like an offline server does), as a logged-out visitor, without "domain per language":

tracker src DOMContentLoaded
develop https://10.255.255.1/wp-content/uploads/… not fired after 30 s (page stuck in interactive)
this branch current domain ~0.4 s

Missing local file, with the daily event still scheduled a day ahead: the first request loads the script from plausible.io and schedules the download; WP-Cron downloaded it within seconds, and the next request loads it locally again.

Summary by CodeRabbit

  • Bug Fixes
    • The locally proxied tracker now follows changes to the site’s location and uses the current uploads directory and request URL scheme.
    • If the local tracker file is missing, the hosted Plausible tracker loads while a local download is scheduled immediately. Repeat download attempts are suppressed for 15 minutes.
    • Previously saved cache locations continue to work after a site move.

get_proxy_resources() stored the cache directory's absolute path and URL
when the proxy was first used, and never refreshed them (except for a
switch to SSL). After moving a site to another host, domain or path, the
tracker script was still loaded from the old location: when that server
was offline, the (deferred) script held up DOMContentLoaded, so pages
never finished loading. Disabling and re-enabling the proxy regenerated
the resources, which is why that worked around it.

Store only the cache directory's name and derive its path and URL from
wp_get_upload_dir() on every request, matching the URL's scheme to the
current request (which makes the SSL refresh unnecessary). Existing
installs keep their directory (its name is taken from the stored path)
and their REST route.

When the local file is missing, e.g. after moving the site without its
uploads, load the script from Plausible instead of a URL that 404s, and
schedule the download right away instead of waiting for the daily run.

Also create the cache directory from its path, not its URL, when the
cache_url resource is requested.
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📒 Files selected for processing (3)
  • readme.txt
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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

Proxy cache paths now derive from the current uploads directory. When the local tracker file is missing, the proxy returns the hosted tracker URL and schedules a download if no recent attempt is recorded.

Changes

Proxy tracker behavior

Layer / File(s) Summary
Derive proxy resource paths from current uploads
src/Helpers.php, tests/integration/HelpersTest.php
Proxy resources are cached per request and use paths derived from the current uploads directory and request scheme. Existing stored absolute cache paths are migrated by retaining their folder name. The integration test checks path derivation and namespace preservation.
Handle a missing local tracker
src/Helpers.php, tests/integration/HelpersTest.php, readme.txt
When the local tracker file is absent, get_js_url() returns the hosted tracker URL and schedules a download if no attempt transient exists. The integration test checks the fallback, scheduling suppression, and local URL when the file exists. The changelog describes the 2.6.3 update.

Sequence Diagram(s)

sequenceDiagram
  participant Request
  participant Helpers
  participant Cron
  participant Plausible
  Request->>Helpers: request tracker JavaScript URL
  Helpers->>Cron: schedule download when local file is absent and no attempt is recorded
  Helpers-->>Request: return hosted tracker URL
  Request->>Plausible: load hosted tracker JavaScript
Loading

Priority: ⬇️ Low

Change: Bug fix

Merge Risk: ⚪ Minimal · up to a48d4

The tracker can load from Plausible while its local copy is missing, and repeated requests no longer schedule repeated downloads during the backoff window. No actionable merge-blocking risk remains after normal checks.

Security Architecture Review

Security architecture risk: 🔵 Low · up to a48d4

The migration fix preserves existing proxy routes and restores tracking when local files are missing. Recovery temporarily loads the script directly from the configured analytics service. A bounded rollback concern remains: newly generated cache settings are incompatible with the previous version and can leave cache locations unresolved after downgrade.

Retained concerns

  • Low · architecture · inferred: Newly initialized resource records contain cache_folder but omit the absolute cache_dir and cache_url required by the previous version. After a code-only rollback, that version accepts the nonempty record and resolves missing cache fields to empty strings. Tracker URLs can consequently become relative, and download paths can lose their uploads-directory prefix, undermining rollback containment and cache ownership. Actual writes outside uploads depend on runtime filesystem permissions. Valid migrated legacy records retain their old fields and are not subject to this schema incompatibility.
Security review details

Security Blast Radius

  • inferred — The visible scope is the site's tracker cache, its configured tracker downloads, and visitors receiving the tracker asset. During cache loss, those browsers connect directly to the configured analytics service, exposing connection metadata such as their IP address; referrer disclosure depends on browser and site policy.

Trust Boundaries and Controls

  • observed — The new fallback changes the script's browser-to-service boundary, not the visible event-endpoint selection logic. The endpoint helper still selects the local REST endpoint when proxying is enabled. Filesystem locations at head are derived from current uploads and stored folder identity, while download URLs use the configured analytics host.

Resilience and Maintainability Implications

  • observed — The downloader already deletes an existing file and writes response bodies directly, without validating HTTP status or publishing atomically. Resource initialization also already lacks cross-request synchronization. These conditions predate the PR; recovery still treats file existence as sufficient to resume local serving.

Hardening Proposals

  • proposed — Validate successful tracker responses and publish through a temporary file followed by atomic replacement, retaining the last usable file on failure. This would strengthen the pre-existing cache-publication boundary rather than remediate a newly verified vulnerability.
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Check name Status Explanation
Description Check ✅ Passed Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check ✅ Passed The title clearly and concisely describes the main change: keeping the proxy tracker script on the current host after a site move.
Docstring Coverage ✅ Passed Docstring coverage is 100.00% which is sufficient. The required threshold is 80.00%. Docstring coverage is scoped to functions touched by this diff. Analyzed 7 functions across 2 files. (1 skipped: 1 …
Linked Issues check ✅ Passed Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
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Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.

📢 Thoughts on this report? Let us know!

Move reading (and generating) the stored resources into
get_stored_proxy_resources() and assign the class property directly,
which reads more plainly than a reference to the static property.
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Dan0sz commented Oct 1, 2026

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Caution

Some comments are outside the diff and can’t be posted inline due to GitHub limitations.

⚠️ Outside diff range comments (1)

🟡 Minor · Add backoff for failed download recovery. · Helpers.php:572-576

src/Helpers.php:572-576
🚀 Performance & Scalability | 🟡 Minor | ⚡ Quick win

Add backoff for failed download recovery.

When the local file is missing, each front-end request calls wp_schedule_single_event(). The daily event does not prevent this one-time event. After the one-time callback fails, later requests can schedule another event indefinitely. This can cause repeated downloads and cron-option writes.

Do not add wp_next_scheduled() here. The daily event uses the same hook, so that check would suppress immediate recovery. Add only a short transient backoff.

Suggested fix
-				wp_schedule_single_event( time(), Cron::TASK_NAME );
+				if ( ! get_transient( 'plausible_analytics_js_download_attempt' ) ) {
+					set_transient( 'plausible_analytics_js_download_attempt', 1, 15 * MINUTE_IN_SECONDS );
+					wp_schedule_single_event( time(), Cron::TASK_NAME );
+				}
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Review comment at @src/Helpers.php around lines 572 - 576:
Add a short transient backoff around the immediate recovery scheduling in the
missing-file branch of get_proxy_resource’s caller: schedule Cron::TASK_NAME
only when the download-attempt transient is absent, and set it for 15 minutes
before scheduling. Do not use wp_next_scheduled(), so the existing daily event
does not suppress immediate recovery.

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Outside diff comments:
Review comments at @src/Helpers.php:
- Around line 572-576: Add a short transient backoff around the immediate
recovery scheduling in the missing-file branch of get_proxy_resource’s caller:
schedule Cron::TASK_NAME only when the download-attempt transient is absent, and
set it for 15 minutes before scheduling. Do not use wp_next_scheduled(), so the
existing daily event does not suppress immediate recovery.

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Dan0sz added 2 commits October 2, 2026 00:01
While the local tracker file is missing, every request scheduled a download.
wp_schedule_single_event() only skips duplicates of a pending event, so if
the download keeps failing (e.g. the uploads directory isn't writable), a
new attempt was scheduled as soon as the previous one had run. Allow one
attempt per 15 minutes. wp_next_scheduled() can't be used, as the daily
event uses the same hook.
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Dan0sz commented Oct 2, 2026

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