Description
At a glance
Looking for Action Scheduler v4.2.0? It is available here as a free GPL download for WordPress — 20K+ active installs · 3.5/5 rating from 13 reviews · updated September 16, 2026 · requires WordPress 6.9+ & PHP 7.2+.
Action Scheduler is a scalable, traceable job queue for background processing large sets of actions in WordPress. It’s specially designed to be distributed in WordPress plugins.
Action Scheduler works by triggering an action hook to run at some time in the future. Each hook can be scheduled with unique data, to allow callbacks to perform operations on that data. The hook can also be scheduled to run on one or more occasions.
Think of it like an extension to do_action() which adds the ability to delay and repeat a hook.
Battle-Tested Background Processing
Every month, Action Scheduler processes millions of payments for Subscriptions, webhooks for WooCommerce, as well as emails and other events for a range of other plugins.
It’s been seen on live sites processing queues in excess of 50,000 jobs and doing resource intensive operations, like processing payments and creating orders, at a sustained rate of over 10,000 / hour without negatively impacting normal site operations.
This is all on infrastructure and WordPress sites outside the control of the plugin author.
If your plugin needs background processing, especially of large sets of tasks, Action Scheduler can help.
Learn More
To learn more about how Action Scheduler works, and how to use it in your plugin, check out the docs on ActionScheduler.org.
There you will find:
- Usage guide: instructions on installing and using Action Scheduler
- WP CLI guide: instructions on running Action Scheduler at scale via WP CLI
- API Reference: complete reference guide for all API functions
- Administration Guide: guide to managing scheduled actions via the administration screen
- Guide to Background Processing at Scale: instructions for running Action Scheduler at scale via the default WP Cron queue runner
Credits
Action Scheduler is developed and maintained by Automattic with significant early development completed by Flightless.
Collaboration is cool. We’d love to work with you to improve Action Scheduler. Pull Requests welcome.
Frequently asked questions
What is Action Scheduler?
Action Scheduler is a free WordPress plugin available under the GPL license. The current version is 4.2.0. It is active on over 20K websites.
Is Action Scheduler free to download?
Yes — Action Scheduler 4.2.0 is a free GPL download with no hidden fees, no account needed, and no feature locked behind a paywall in this package. Users rate it 3.5 out of 5 based on 13 reviews.
How do I install Action Scheduler 4.2.0?
Download the ZIP file from this page, then in your WordPress dashboard go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the file, click Install Now, then Activate. The plugin works immediately after activation — no license key or extra setup is required for the core features.
What are the requirements for Action Scheduler?
Action Scheduler 4.2.0 requires WordPress 6.9 or higher and PHP 7.2 or higher. Most modern WordPress hosts already meet these versions. Running older versions may cause features to break, so update WordPress and PHP first if your site is behind.
When was Action Scheduler last updated?
Version 4.2.0 was last updated on September 16, 2026. This page is refreshed automatically, so the download here always matches the newest version we have verified.
Is the Action Scheduler download safe?
The file is sourced directly from the official WordPress.org repository — the same file the developer published. It is served unmodified, so what you install here is byte-identical to the official release.
Version: 4.2.0
Updated: October 1, 2026
Technical details
| Version | 4.2.0 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | September 16, 2026 |
| Active installs | 20,000+ |
| Rating | ★★★★☆ 3.5/5 (13 reviews) |
| Requires WordPress | 6.9 or higher |
| Requires PHP | 7.2 or higher |
| Author | Automattic |
| Tags | cron, scheduler |
Demo Action Scheduler
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