The FAIR Package Manager Project – short for Federated and Independent Repositories – is a new initiative to decentralise key WordPress services. It offers an alternative system for distributing plugins, themes, and translations, giving site owners, developers, and hosts more control over how these assets are managed and delivered.
Rather than relying solely on the Automattic-led WordPress repository, FAIR proposes a federated model that supports self-hosted or third-party-managed repositories. In doing so, it challenges the current centralised setup that many in the WordPress community have grown to both depend on and question.
FAIR was announced at the Alt Ctrl Org event in Basel, which took place on the first day of WordCamp Europe 2025. I recommend you watch the recorded session to understand what FAIR is and does, and why it exists.
Get FAIR (like I did)
It’s as simple as downloading and installing a plugin, which you can do on GitHub: https://github.com/fairpm
I installed it yesterday on this website and nothing broke (touch wood). It’s pretty seamless and you can hardly tell the difference.
It’s all about risk mitigation
The timing of this launch is no accident, and an outcome of the long-standing #WPDrama, which saw access to the Plugin Directory cut off for WP Engine customers, and a month-long freeze on plugin reviews and updates in December.
These weren’t minor disruptions. They served as reminders of the risks associated to managing and governing assets via a single channel. FAIR, in many ways, is a response to that fragility.
Two key figures behind FAIR are Joost de Valt and Karim Marucchi, who were very vocal about how Matt Mullenweg’s attack on WP Engine, as well how WordPress project is being led. You can read Matt’s push-back here.
The long term: opportunities for WordPress developers and businesses
Beyond the immediate technical implications, FAIR introduces a potentially significant shift in how plugins and themes might be marketed and monetised.
The model allows for any number of repositories to be federated / hosted, with each provider having the option to tailor the experience.
For example, being able to host commercial versions of a plugin, which isn’t currently allowed. This would eliminate the need for an enforced two-step dance when selling a Pro plugin, with customers bypassing the free version. Removing this friction may have a significant impact on conversion rates.
There are other practical implications too. Hosts could choose to run curated FAIR repositories – limiting available plugins to those that meet their performance, security, or support standards. Enterprises could do the same, creating controlled plugin ecosystems tailored to their operational needs. In both cases, the ability to shape and govern these environments independently of WordPress.org offers a new level of flexibility.
That said, Jesse Friedman, Head of WP Cloud (and Autommattic company), pointed out challenges to a decentralized approach in this LinkedIn post.
We have all said to beginners: “make sure you download your plugins at WordPress.org; it’s the safest, most secure place to extend WordPress.”
That single source of truth has been hugely beneficial and crucial to the success of WordPress. I am seriously concerned with how diluting that source of truth will lead to confusion and malicious actors.
There’s a reason Apple and Android have official app stores and make it very difficult to install unauthorized apps. If your phone came hooked up to dozens of unvetted app stores it’d be complete chaos.
It’s up to the FAIR project to ensure the technical feasibility of the new model, including its security. The good news is that the Governance layer ensures scrutiny and transparency.
A very deliberate and strategic launch
What also stood out was how the FAIR project was announced. The timing was clearly intentional: the press release was issued on the opening day of WordCamp Europe, and before Matt Mullenweg’s and Mary Hubbard’s fireside chat. An alternative event was held in the same city, offering a platform outside the official schedule.
Here’s a recap of the their GTM efforts, on 6 June:
- Linux Foundation Press Release
- PR distribution via PR Newswire
- PR outreach via email (I got it)
- GitHub ReadMe
- Alt Ctrl Org’s event (video above)
- Joost de Valk’s blog post: A new path forward for WordPress, and for the open web
- Karim Marucchi.s blog post: Introducing FAIR: A Stronger, More Resilient WordPress Ecosystem
Did I miss anything else?
The messaging focused heavily on themes of stability, control, and compliance with evolving legal frameworks, such as the European one. Importantly, it also touched on governance – a topic that continues to spark debate within the WordPress community. While still in its early stages, the FAIR project is looking at governance models used by the Linux Foundation, which is supporting the initiative.
For clarity: this is not a fork of WordPress. That point has been made repeatedly in media coverage and community discussions (see the video above). Instead, FAIR is being positioned as an alternative distribution model – one that can run alongside the current system, not in opposition to it.
Another notable aspect of the announcement is the range of organisations involved. While not all contributors have been publicly named, references have been made to collaborations with groups like the Cloud Native Computing Foundation, Fastly, and the OpenJS Foundation. These aren’t niche players. They represent a broader open source community that recognises the relevance of FAIR’s goals, even outside of WordPress.
Showing the WordPress project how PR should be done
As someone who has been involved with Make WordPress Marketing, the main story here is how the FAIR announcement highlights WordPress’s long-standing lack of coordinated marketing and PR efforts.
The context is the recent conclusion of the Media Corps experiment, which attempted to create a structured media relations initiative. I was involved with this, and shared the following feedback, that I still stand by:
I think it only really makes sense for the project to invest time in a Media Corps function if scope extends beyond the WP ecosystem. In the current format, it exists to make it easier for WP media to report to… the WP ecosystem. We need messages reaching outside it.
Which is what the FAIR project did (via the Linux Foundation), reaching important tech publications, such as Fast Company, Silicon Republic, Search Engine Magazine, The Register and CMS Critic.
My broader point here is that the WordPress project should establish an effective Marketing function. I wrote more about this in my Marketing WordPress: 0.75% for an (updated) future piece last year. For more effective PR, to help articulate the WordPress position and narrative outside the ecosystem, and ultimately make us stronger in increasingly an increasingly uncertain and competitive market.
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