Treat older plugin no-update versions as up to date

[schlessera]

Problem

WordPress separates plugin update data into response (an update is available) and no_update (the plugin was checked, but no update is available).

WP-CLI additionally compared the installed plugin version with new_version for entries in no_update. When the installed version was higher, it changed the status to version higher than expected. wp plugin update then treated the plugin as skipped and could return an error even though WordPress considered it up to date.

This is observable with third-party update providers. The latest report in wp-cli/wp-cli#5320 points to Kadence Blocks 3.7.6 and its Harbor-backed legacy license update flow. Harbor may place an older or empty catalog version in no_update; both values trigger WP-CLI's special case. The execution context cannot resolve this because the transient has already been populated.

Solution

Keep the normal none status for plugin entries in no_update when their upstream version is older or empty. This matches WordPress Core, which only considers entries in response updateable.

This does not restore the old false-positive "Updated" result: items with update: none are excluded before the upgrader runs. The existing handling for a newer version in no_update remains unchanged, as that represents an unavailable update due to requirements or missing package access.

Tests

• Replace the previous warning-oriented scenario with a deterministic outline covering both an older and an empty new_version.
• Assert that listing reports none, and both bulk and single-plugin updates return the normal "already updated" success.
• Keep the mixed-update case to verify that another eligible plugin is still updated without a warning or skipped count.

Fixes wp-cli/wp-cli#5320

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes
  • Improved plugin update handling when WordPress reports an older or empty available version.
  • Plugins are now correctly shown as up to date instead of displaying misleading version mismatch warnings.
  • Updating all plugins or an individual plugin now reports a successful “already updated” result without unnecessary error output.
  • Plugin updates with valid newer versions continue to be identified as unavailable when appropriate.

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✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch fix/5320-ignore-older-no-update

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[codecov]

Codecov Report

✅ All modified and coverable lines are covered by tests.

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