How to Send an Email When a WordPress Theme Is Updated

A theme update can change how every page on your site looks. Zapify emails you when a theme is updated, with the theme's name and the old and new version, so you can check the front end straight away. It uses the free A theme is updated trigger and the Send an email action.

What this automation does

The automation is one trigger plus one action:

• Trigger: A theme is updated (WPADMIN_THEME_UPDATED, WP Admin)
• Action: Send an email (WP_SEND_EMAIL, WordPress)

When a theme is updated, Zapify emails the address you set with the theme's name and its versions.

It covers one-click, bulk and automatic updates, and runs once for each theme. It reports updates to any installed theme, not only the active one.

Before you start

• A working email setup on your site.

How to build the automation

Step 1: Create a new automation

1. In the WordPress admin, go to Zapify → Automations.
2. Click Add New to open the builder.
3. Name it clearly, such as Email me when a theme is updated.

Step 2: Add the "A theme is updated" trigger

1. Click Add Trigger.
2. Choose WP Admin as the app.
3. Select the trigger A theme is updated.
4. In the Theme field, pick one theme to watch, or leave it on Any theme.

Step 3: Add the "Send an email" action

1. Click Add Action.
2. Choose WordPress as the app.
3. Select Send an email.

Step 4: Write the email

Use the {} token button beside any field to insert the details of the event.

Field	Required	What it does
To	Yes	Type the address that should get the alert. Separate several addresses with commas.
Subject	Yes	The subject line. Tokens are allowed.
Format	Yes	HTML (default) or Plain text.
Body	Yes	The message. Tokens are allowed.
Cc / Bcc	No	Extra recipients.
From name / From email	No	Override the sender.
Reply to	No	Where replies go.

For example:

• To: you@example.com
• Subject: {Theme name} was updated
• Body: {Theme name} was updated from {Old version} to {New version}. Automatic update: {Automatic update}.

Step 5: Set the steps Live and save

1. Set both the trigger and the action to Live. A new automation starts as Draft and will not run until its steps are Live.
2. Click Save.

Tokens you can use

Token	What it holds
Theme name	The theme's name.
Theme directory	The theme's folder name, such as twentytwentyfive.
Old version	The version before the update.
New version	The version after the update.
Automatic update	yes when WordPress updated it on its own, no when someone did it by hand.
Actor user ID / Actor username	The logged-in person who did it. Empty (and 0) when nobody was logged in, as with an automatic update.

How to test it

1. Open Appearance → Themes (or Dashboard → Updates) and update a theme that has an update waiting.
2. Check the recipient's inbox for the email.
3. If nothing arrives, open Zapify → Logs to see whether the run fired.

Conclusion

With the free A theme is updated trigger and the Send an email action, you hear about every theme change and can check your design the same hour. Related: get an email when the active theme is changed, or when a plugin is updated.

FAQs

Will it tell me about a child theme?

Yes. A child theme and its parent are separate themes, and an update to either one runs the automation.

Can I be told about only one theme?

Yes. Set the trigger's Theme field to that theme instead of Any theme.

Does it run for automatic updates?

Yes. WordPress updates run from its background task, with nobody logged in. The automation still runs, Automatic update holds yes, and Actor user ID and Actor username are empty.

Is this feature free?

Yes. WP Admin is a free Zapify integration, and both the trigger and the Send an email action are included in the free plan.

Why didn't the email arrive?

Open Zapify → Logs. If the run succeeded but no email arrived, the cause is usually the site's mail configuration. An SMTP plugin resolves most delivery problems. Check the spam folder too.

Do I need to write any code?

No. Everything is configured in the Zapify visual builder.