Overview
Participating in the ACF PRO pre-release program is a great way to test new features before the official launch and help our team gather valuable feedback. This guide outlines how to install a pre-release version (such as a Beta or Release Candidate) and how to share your findings.
⚠️ Important Warning
Pre-release versions are not recommended for production sites. Please use a development or staging environment for all testing.
1. How to Install a Pre-Release Version
Access to pre-release versions is available exclusively to active ACF PRO license holders.
Log In Log in to your ACF account.
Go to Licenses Navigate to the “Licenses” page in your account dashboard.
Find Pre-Releases On this page, you will find an “Install pre-release version” tab or a dropdown menu next to your license key.
Download Select the latest available pre-release version (e.g.,
ACF PRO 6.x.x-beta1) to download the plugin’s.zipfile.Install in WordPress Go to your WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Add New, click Upload Plugin, and select the
.zipfile you just downloaded.
2. How to Activate the Plugin
After installation, the activation process is the same as for any other version of ACF PRO.
Activate Plugin Once the plugin has been installed from the
.zipfile, click the Activate Plugin button.Verify Your License To ensure you receive all future pre-release updates and that all PRO features are enabled:
Go to ACF > Updates.
Enter your ACF PRO license key and click Activate.
3. Enabling Automatic Pre-Release Updates
To automatically receive update notifications for pre-release versions directly in your WordPress dashboard, you need to define the ACF_UPDATE_CHANNEL constant in your wp-config.php file.
This setting ensures that ACF checks for updates beyond the stable releases.
How to Set the Update Channel
Add the following code snippet to your WordPress installation’s wp-config.php file, ideally before the line that says /* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */.
You have two options for the channel value:
- For Beta versions (Less stable, earliest access to features):
define( 'ACF_UPDATE_CHANNEL', 'beta' );
- For Release Candidate versions (More stable, closer to final release):
define( 'ACF_UPDATE_CHANNEL', 'RC' );
Remember to clear any caching on your site after making this change to ensure WordPress immediately recognizes the new setting.
4. How to Provide Feedback
Your feedback is essential to refining the release. We have two primary channels for you to share your thoughts, depending on the type of feedback you have.
Bug Reports
If you encounter a bug, an error, or something that seems broken, please contact our support team directly. This is the fastest way to ensure our developers can investigate and resolve the issue.
Feature Requests
If you have ideas for improvements, new features, or suggestions on the new functionality, the best place to share them is on our official feedback board.
Stay Informed
Want to stay in the loop? Sign up for the ACF Beta News email list to hear about future pre-release versions.
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Related
- Guides: How to Update
- Guides: How to Activate ACF PRO
