MainWP Introduction

Fresh

Source: MainWP Official Documentation

MainWP is a free, open-source, self-hosted solution for managing multiple WordPress sites.

Essential Components

MainWP requires two plugins working together:

• MainWP Dashboard - The central control hub installed on a dedicated WordPress site. Recommended on a fresh, isolated WordPress instance to prevent compatibility issues.
• MainWP Child - Deployed on each managed WordPress site. Facilitates encrypted communication between the Dashboard and managed sites, enabling remote administration and automated operations.

Security Architecture

• Implements OpenSSL encryption (2048-bit) for all Dashboard-to-Child communication
• Creates public-private key pairs during initial setup
• Stores public keys on child sites; private keys remain on the Dashboard
• Requires WordPress admin access to disconnect child sites
• v5.3+ adds AES GCM encryption for private keys stored in the database

Technical Specifications

Spec	Value
Communication Ports	80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS)
Encryption	OpenSSL (PHPSecLib fallback)
User-Agent	Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MainWP/[version]; +https://mainwp.com)
Server Traces	None by default (stealth mode)

Privacy

Since MainWP operates entirely on your server with publicly available source code on GitHub, users can review the complete implementation. The system collects no data regarding child site information.

Incompatibility

MainWP is NOT compatible with WordPress Multisite configurations.