The Hub does not guess which plugins are ResultsAiX plugins. Each one announces itself by calling one function, resultsaix_register_product, wrapped in a check so the plugin still works perfectly when the Hub is not installed. The Hub loads very early, at plugins_loaded priority one, so that function is always available by the time plugins run their own startup.
What a plugin passes when it registers:
- Its slug and display name, plus an optional shorter name for menus
- Its icon, its existing admin menu slug, and its current version
- Its plugin file, used to tie it to updates and licensing
- Its sales page address and category
- The parent product slug, if it is an add on that runs on a parent's licence
- Optionally, the name of its colour scheme setting, so the Appearance card can list it and clear its own scheme when you ask
Optional callbacks a plugin can also provide:
- One that reports its current licence state, which fills its row on the Licenses tab and its licence column on My Plugins
- One that accepts a licence key from the Hub. The Hub supports it, although the current Licenses screen leaves key entry to each plugin
- One that frees a named site, which is what makes the Free this slot button work
- One that returns a few of its own numbers, which the Overview can show on that plugin's card
Callbacks are optional on purpose. A plugin with none still appears in the Hub; it simply shows less. If an action needs a callback the plugin has not provided, the Hub says so plainly and points you at the plugin's own settings rather than failing silently. Everything a callback returns is checked against a standard shape and wrapped in error handling, so one misbehaving plugin cannot take down a whole screen.
Plugins that have not registered:
A plugin on a version that predates its registration block never calls the function. The Hub still finds it, because My Plugins starts from the WordPress plugin list and matches it against the catalogue, so it appears with its version, its status and its Update or Switch on button like any other plugin, and menu consolidation still includes it. What the Hub cannot show is anything the plugin would have reported itself, such as its licence state, and Diagnostics tags it RAIX (pre-hub). All of that starts working once the plugin ships a version with the registration block.
Registration happens on every page load and lives in memory only. Nothing about it is written to the database, so there is nothing stale to clean up when you remove a plugin: it simply stops appearing.