WP Engine Reinstates WordPress.org Repository Access for Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) Plugin

After removing the mandatory WordPress.org login checkbox and the WP Engine Tracker CSV file, Automattic has reinstated WP Engine’s WordPress.org repository access and control over the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin repository. This decision follows a court ruling that required Automattic to restore these rights within 72 hours.

Background on the ACF Plugin Forking

In October, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg announced the forking of the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin into the new plugin Secure Custom Fields. He took over the plugin citing security issues and invoked point 18 of the plugin directory guidelines.

ACF Plugin Publishing on WordPress.org

In a tweet, Advanced Custom Fields confirmed: “53 minutes ago, we initiated publishing the genuine ACF on .org and are now awaiting .org to complete the review process to make it available.”

Community Reaction

WP Engine’s Brian Gardner tweeted, “Welcome home, ACF.” while entrepreneur Duane Storey commented: “This should never have been done in the first place. Let’s not forget, this was returned due to a court order, not a change of heart. I still consider the dot org repositories to no longer be trustworthy. I seriously think people with plugins there should be migrating away.”

Matt Mullenweg responded on this with, “I’m disgusted and sickened by being legally forced to provide free labor and services to @wpengine, a dangerous precedent that should chill every open source maintainer. While I disagree with the court’s decision, I’ve fully complied with its order. You can see most changes on the site. They have access to ACF slug but haven’t changed it… must not have been the emergency they claimed.”

Community Divided

As usual, the community remains divided with some supporting his stance while others opposed it.