Akismet plugin automatically gets installed after removing it using a blueprint

[babakfp]

Quick summary

I'm not sure if this issue is related to blueprints or not. But, I use this custom blueprint and the Akismet plugin get installed a few minutes later automatically.

{
    "$schema": "https://playground.wordpress.net/blueprint-schema.json",
    "landingPage": "/wp-admin/",
    "login": true,
    "preferredVersions": {
        "php": "8.3",
        "wp": "latest"
    },
    "steps": [
        {
            "step": "updateUserMeta",
            "meta": {
                "admin_color": "modern",
                "show_welcome_panel": 0
            },
            "userId": 1
        },
        {
            "step": "runPHP",
            "code": "<?php require_once '/wordpress/wp-load.php'; $wp_rewrite->set_permalink_structure('/%postname%/'); include_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/plugin.php'; deactivate_plugins('hello.php', 'hello-dolly', 'akismet/akismet.php'); include_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/file.php'; delete_plugins(['hello.php', 'hello-dolly', 'akismet/akismet.php']); include_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/theme.php'; $active_theme = wp_get_theme()->get_stylesheet(); $all_themes = wp_get_themes(); foreach ($all_themes as $theme_slug => $theme_obj) { if ($theme_slug !== $active_theme) { delete_theme($theme_slug); } } update_option('avatar_default', 'blank'); update_option('show_avatars', 0); /* Hide (Dashboard > Home > \"WordPress Events and News\") widget. */ add_user_meta(1, 'metaboxhidden_dashboard', ['dashboard_primary'], true); include_once ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/translation-install.php'; $language_code = wp_download_language_pack('fa_IR'); if ($language_code) { update_option('WPLANG', $language_code); } update_option('timezone_string', 'Asia/Tehran'); update_option('date_format', 'Y-m-d'); update_option('time_format', 'H:i'); update_option('start_of_week', 6);"
        },
        {
            "step": "installPlugin",
            "pluginData": {
                "resource": "wordpress.org/plugins",
                "slug": "wp-administration-style"
            },
            "options": {
                "activate": true
            }
        }
    ]
}

Steps to reproduce

1. Make a site using the above blueprint.
2. go to plugins page, wait a little, keep refreshing the page, you'll get Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute. because Akismet is getting installed, wait some time and refresh and you'll see it in your plugins page.

Maybe repro using a blueprint that only removes Akismet plugin if helps.

What you expected to happen

I don't want studio to install anything without me knowing and actively allowing it. this violates wordpress.org plugin guidelines. bandwidth is not cheap in my country so don't waste it.

What actually happened

Impact

Some (< 50%)

Available workarounds?

No but the app is still usable

Platform

Windows

Logs or notes

No response

[babakfp]

OMFG, it just installed all of this without me doing anything.

I'm done. I won't be using this app.

[wojtekn]

Hi @babakfp,

Thanks for reporting this issue and for sharing the screenshot! It was helpful. We've identified the root cause, and good news - there's a fix coming.

Studio was installing WordPress 6.9-RC1 by default when the 'latest' option was selected. Because RC versions are considered development builds, WordPress automatically installs all bundled themes and plugins (including Akismet) during core upgrades unless CORE_UPGRADE_SKIP_NEW_BUNDLED is explicitly defined. This explains why Akismet keeps coming back after you remove it.

The latest/RC resolution bug has been fixed in WordPress Playground 3.0.22 via WordPress/wordpress-playground#2889. Once Studio updates to this version, the 'latest' option will correctly resolve to the stable 6.8.3 release instead of the RC build, which will prevent the automatic installation of bundled plugins.

As a workaround for now, until the next Studio version is released with this fix, you can work around this by explicitly specifying the WordPress version to 6.8. This will ensure you get a stable release rather than a development build.

Kudos to @zaerl for the debugging.