The Test connection buttons now check the mail server's certificate and never send your password over a connection that should be encrypted and is not. Adds SMTP Senpai to the provider list. Recommended for every site.<\/p>","2.3.0":"
DadsFam AI now names your older emails, remembers what fixed each failure, offers the emails that failed once email works again and, when you switch them on, holds floods and reads bounces. Anything new that sends, holds or reads your mailbox is off until you switch it on.<\/p>","2.2.0":"
Adds DadsFam AI: every failure explained in plain English, daily checks of your mail server and DNS, safe fixes with Undo, and answers about your email from your own log. Runs on your own server; nothing is sent anywhere.<\/p>","2.1.7":"
Replies to contact forms no longer copy in the site owner, an email no longer fails because the one before it failed, and PRO no longer retries emails held back on purpose. Recommended for every site.<\/p>","2.1.6":"
Fixes the email log sometimes showing an empty white box instead of the email, and stops a look at a logged email counting as an open. Recommended.<\/p>","2.1.5":"
Stops one failed email turning into a stream of retries and failure alerts. Recommended, especially if you use PRO's automatic retry.<\/p>","2.1.4":"
Includes the important 2.1.3 fix (emails another plugin has stopped are no longer sent anyway), plus WordPress.org housekeeping. Recommended for every site.<\/p>","2.1.3":"
Important fix: emails that another plugin has stopped are no longer sent anyway. Recommended for every site.<\/p>","2.1.1":"
Plugin page screenshots only. Nothing in the plugin changed, so there is no hurry to update.<\/p>","2.1.0":"
Adds five more AI abilities covering the things you need when mail fails: reading a single log entry, seeing what is waiting to be retried, exporting and applying a configuration across sites, and a one-call support report. Nothing changes about how mail is sent or logged.<\/p>","2.0.10":"
Packaging only \u2014 trims the tag list to the five WordPress.org allows. No change to how the plugin works.<\/p>","2.0.9":"
Adds AI assistant support via the WordPress Abilities API (WP 6.9+): connect Claude or ChatGPT through an MCP plugin like WPVibe and let it read stats, check deliverability, send tests and manage settings. Admin-only; your SMTP password is never exposed. Email delivery is unchanged.<\/p>","2.0.7":"
Readme only \u2014 adds an honest note about what's free and what the optional PRO add-on does. Nothing changes in how the plugin works.<\/p>","2.0.6":"
Housekeeping only. Uninstall now removes just this plugin's own data by exact name and runs across every site on multisite. Email delivery and your settings are unaffected.<\/p>","2.0.4":"
Strengthens how SMTP passwords are stored and removes a fallback that could save a password unprotected. Existing passwords keep working; no reconfiguration needed.<\/p>","2.0.3":"
Corrects email-log labelling. Non-WooCommerce emails are no longer misreported as WooCommerce order emails. Log accuracy only, delivery is unaffected.<\/p>","2.0.2":"
Version alignment only. Nothing changes in the free plugin.<\/p>","2.0.1":"
Removes two PHP 8.4 deprecation notices and corrects CSV export escaping. Recommended for sites on PHP 8.4.<\/p>","2.0.0":"
Important reliability fixes, including one where a failed send could loop indefinitely. Logging is now unlimited for everyone. Settings and logs are preserved on upgrade.<\/p>"},"ratings":[],"assets_icons":{"icon-128x128.png":{"filename":"icon-128x128.png","revision":3681171,"resolution":"128x128","location":"assets","locale":"","width":128,"height":128},"icon-256x256.png":{"filename":"icon-256x256.png","revision":3681171,"resolution":"256x256","location":"assets","locale":"","width":256,"height":256}},"assets_banners":{"banner-1544x500.png":{"filename":"banner-1544x500.png","revision":3714354,"resolution":"1544x500","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1544,"height":500},"banner-772x250.png":{"filename":"banner-772x250.png","revision":3714354,"resolution":"772x250","location":"assets","locale":"","width":772,"height":250}},"assets_blueprints":{},"all_blocks":[],"tagged_versions":["2.0.10","2.0.6","2.0.7","2.0.9","2.1.0","2.1.1","2.1.2","2.1.4","2.1.5","2.1.6","2.1.7","2.2.0","2.3.0","2.3.1"],"block_files":[],"assets_screenshots":{"screenshot-1.png":{"filename":"screenshot-1.png","revision":3763739,"resolution":"1","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1280,"height":1280},"screenshot-10.png":{"filename":"screenshot-10.png","revision":3763739,"resolution":"10","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1280,"height":1280},"screenshot-11.png":{"filename":"screenshot-11.png","revision":3763739,"resolution":"11","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1280,"height":1280},"screenshot-2.png":{"filename":"screenshot-2.png","revision":3763739,"resolution":"2","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1280,"height":1280},"screenshot-3.png":{"filename":"screenshot-3.png","revision":3763739,"resolution":"3","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1280,"height":1280},"screenshot-4.png":{"filename":"screenshot-4.png","revision":3763739,"resolution":"4","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1280,"height":1280},"screenshot-5.png":{"filename":"screenshot-5.png","revision":3763739,"resolution":"5","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1280,"height":1280},"screenshot-6.png":{"filename":"screenshot-6.png","revision":3763739,"resolution":"6","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1280,"height":1280},"screenshot-7.png":{"filename":"screenshot-7.png","revision":3763739,"resolution":"7","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1280,"height":1280},"screenshot-8.png":{"filename":"screenshot-8.png","revision":3763739,"resolution":"8","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1280,"height":1280},"screenshot-9.png":{"filename":"screenshot-9.png","revision":3763739,"resolution":"9","location":"assets","locale":"","width":1280,"height":1280}},"screenshots":{"1":"DadsFam AI answers \"is my email working?\" first, with your email health score, what went out and what failed, and how much it may do by itself.","2":"New in 2.3: when email breaks, it knows what to do. Emails that failed while the mail server refused them are offered again once it works, a flood from a hijacked form is held instead of sent, and bounces read from your own mailbox are explained.","3":"Ask anything about your email. Answered from your own log, with what the mail server said, what to do next and the button to do it.","4":"The Doctor checks everything every day, a real sign-in to your mail server included, and every finding comes with its fix.","5":"What your site sends, learned from your own log (older emails included), and the diary: every change DadsFam AI makes, with an Undo.","6":"The dashboard widget: your email health at a glance, and answers without leaving the dashboard.","7":"Pick your provider and the host, port and encryption fill themselves in. Your password is encrypted before it is stored.","8":"An email health score out of 100, with SPF, DKIM and DMARC checked against live DNS and each item scored separately so you know what to fix.","9":"Every email logged, searchable by recipient or subject, with the reason in plain words when something failed.","10":"Totals, a seven-day trend and a breakdown by connection, so a drop in delivery shows up as a shape on a chart.","11":"Everything in the free plugin is genuinely free. Nothing is blurred, disabled or time-limited. Pro is a separate, optional add-on."}},"plugin_section":[262246],"plugin_tags":[267,26736,9965,6696,286],"plugin_category":[41,45],"plugin_contributors":[274194],"plugin_business_model":[],"class_list":["post-349487","plugin","type-plugin","status-publish","hentry","plugin_section-dashboard-widgets","plugin_tags-email","plugin_tags-email-log","plugin_tags-mailer","plugin_tags-smtp","plugin_tags-woocommerce","plugin_category-communication","plugin_category-ecommerce","plugin_contributors-dadsfam","plugin_committers-dadsfam"],"banners":{"banner":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/banner-772x250.png?rev=3714354","banner_2x":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/banner-1544x500.png?rev=3714354","banner_rtl":false,"banner_2x_rtl":false},"icons":{"svg":false,"icon":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/icon-128x128.png?rev=3681171","icon_2x":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/icon-256x256.png?rev=3681171","generated":false},"screenshots":[{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/screenshot-1.png?rev=3763739","caption":"DadsFam AI answers \"is my email working?\" first, with your email health score, what went out and what failed, and how much it may do by itself."},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/screenshot-2.png?rev=3763739","caption":"New in 2.3: when email breaks, it knows what to do. Emails that failed while the mail server refused them are offered again once it works, a flood from a hijacked form is held instead of sent, and bounces read from your own mailbox are explained."},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/screenshot-3.png?rev=3763739","caption":"Ask anything about your email. Answered from your own log, with what the mail server said, what to do next and the button to do it."},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/screenshot-4.png?rev=3763739","caption":"The Doctor checks everything every day, a real sign-in to your mail server included, and every finding comes with its fix."},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/screenshot-5.png?rev=3763739","caption":"What your site sends, learned from your own log (older emails included), and the diary: every change DadsFam AI makes, with an Undo."},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/screenshot-6.png?rev=3763739","caption":"The dashboard widget: your email health at a glance, and answers without leaving the dashboard."},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/screenshot-7.png?rev=3763739","caption":"Pick your provider and the host, port and encryption fill themselves in. Your password is encrypted before it is stored."},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/screenshot-8.png?rev=3763739","caption":"An email health score out of 100, with SPF, DKIM and DMARC checked against live DNS and each item scored separately so you know what to fix."},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/screenshot-9.png?rev=3763739","caption":"Every email logged, searchable by recipient or subject, with the reason in plain words when something failed."},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/screenshot-10.png?rev=3763739","caption":"Totals, a seven-day trend and a breakdown by connection, so a drop in delivery shows up as a shape on a chart."},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/dadsfam-email-smtp\/assets\/screenshot-11.png?rev=3763739","caption":"Everything in the free plugin is genuinely free. Nothing is blurred, disabled or time-limited. Pro is a separate, optional add-on."}],"raw_content":"\n
WordPress sends email with PHP's Everything described below works on every site. Nothing is disabled, blurred out, time-limited or reduced.<\/p>\n\n New in 2.2. Open DadsFam SMTP \u2192 DadsFam AI<\/strong> and the first thing you see is the answer to the only question that matters: is my email working? If it is not, it says why, in plain words, and what to do about it.<\/p>\n\n DadsFam AI runs entirely inside your WordPress, on your own server. It does not use OpenAI, ChatGPT, Claude or any other outside service, there is no API key, and nothing about your email leaves your site. Switch it off completely with Pick your provider from the list and the host, port and encryption fill themselves in. Enter your username and password, save, then send a test email. The test shows you the full SMTP conversation, so if something is wrong you can see exactly which step failed.<\/p>\n\n Gmail, Outlook and Office 365, SendGrid, Mailgun, Amazon SES, Brevo, Postmark, SparkPost, SMTP Senpai, Zoho Mail, Yahoo Mail, Hostinger, cPanel, and any custom SMTP server.<\/p>\n\n DadsFam SMTP hooks in at a late priority, so it wins over WooCommerce's own From address settings and your store emails always send from the address you configured. The diagnostics screen flags any mismatch between the two and lets you test-send each WooCommerce email type.<\/p>\n\n Declared compatible with High-Performance Order Storage and Cart & Checkout Blocks.<\/p>\n\n The plugin exposes documented actions and filters \u2014 An optional commercial add-on, DadsFam SMTP PRO, is built on this same hook API for stores and agencies sending at higher volume. It is a separate plugin and is not required \u2014 this plugin is complete on its own.<\/p>\n\n Right, let me be straight with you, because I hate being sold to as much as you do.<\/p>\n\n Everything above is free and it stays free. Sending your mail through a proper SMTP server is not a premium feature. Saving your provider details, encrypting your password, logging what went out and resending one that failed are not premium features. Those are things a plugin like this should just do, and if I put them behind a paywall I would be taking the mickey.<\/p>\n\n There is a PRO add-on. It exists because I am a dad in Cape Town, and this is one of the things that puts food on the table at my house. That is the honest reason. Not \"unlock your potential\", not \"supercharge your workflow\". Just: if this plugin got your email sending again and you can spare it, PRO helps me keep building.<\/p>\n\n There is one PRO version and one price: R500 once off, roughly $35, per plugin. It is not a subscription, there is no yearly renewal, and it does not expire. Pay once and it stays yours, updates included. If the free version does everything you need, use that and think nothing of it \u2014 it is not crippled to push you across, and it never will be.<\/p>\n\n What PRO adds is the stuff you only want once you are sending real volume \u2014 sending from more than one mailbox and routing each message to the right one, failing over to a backup server when your main one has a bad day, retrying failed sends on their own, open and click tracking, failure alerts into Slack or Discord, and a weekly delivery digest. That is convenience and automation. It is not the plugin working properly, because the plugin already works properly.<\/p>\n\n So if the free one does everything you need, brilliant. Genuinely. Use it, and I hope it saves you a frustrating afternoon chasing email that will not send. If you get to the point where the automation would save you real time, PRO is at plugins.dadsfam.co.za.<\/p>\n\n Either way, thanks for using something I built. \u2014 Zak, DadsFam<\/p>\n\n PRO adds:<\/p>\n\n This plugin does not connect to any service of its own. It has no home-phoning, no analytics and no licence checks.<\/p>\n\n It does, however, exist to hand your website's email to an SMTP server that you<\/strong> choose and configure. That server is a third party service, and what it receives is entirely determined by your own settings.<\/p>\n\n What is sent:<\/strong> the emails your WordPress site produces \u2014 sender, recipients, subject, message body and any attachments \u2014 together with the username and password you entered, so the server will accept them.<\/p>\n\n When it is sent:<\/strong> only when WordPress sends an email, and only once you have entered SMTP details and saved them. With no details entered, the plugin sends nothing anywhere.<\/p>\n\n Where it is sent:<\/strong> to the host you type into the settings, and nowhere else.<\/p>\n\n DadsFam AI<\/strong> (2.2.0) adds no outside service. It checks the mail server you configured by connecting and signing in to it the way your site does, and stops before anything is sent. It reads your domain's public SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX records through your server's own DNS resolver. Nothing about your email, your log or your questions is sent anywhere.<\/p>\n\n Bounces after sending<\/strong> (2.3.0, off unless you switch it on) connects to the mailbox server you enter, over IMAP, with the username and password you give it, once an hour. It opens the mailbox read-only and downloads only the messages that look like bounce reports, to read them on your server. Nothing is sent to that server except the sign-in and the read-only commands, and nothing else is contacted. That server is the one your email is already hosted on, so its own terms apply.<\/p>\n\n The plugin includes ready-made host and port presets for a number of well-known providers purely so you do not have to look them up. A preset is only a shortcut for filling in the form; selecting one does not contact anybody, and no provider is contacted unless you have entered credentials for it and WordPress sends an email.<\/p>\n\n Because you choose the provider, you are agreeing to that provider's terms. The presets included cover, among others:<\/p>\n\n If you use your own mail server, or a provider not listed above, then that server is the only third party involved and its own terms apply.<\/p>\n\n Email: support@dadsfam.co.za\nWebsite: https:\/\/www.dadsfam.co.za<\/p>\n\n\n Gmail will not accept your normal account password over SMTP. Turn on 2-Step Verification, then generate an App Password under Google Account \u2192 Security \u2192 App passwords, and use that instead.<\/p><\/dd>\n Pick SMTP Senpai from the provider list and the host (relay.mailsenpai.com), port 587 and TLS fill themselves in. If your host blocks 587, use 2525, still with TLS. For the username and password, use the SMTP username and SMTP password from the SMTP Senpai page of your MailSenpai customer area, not the API key that starts with msp_. Send from an address on a domain you have verified with SMTP Senpai.<\/p>\n\n \"Sent\" in the email log means SMTP Senpai accepted the email. An address on SMTP Senpai's own suppression list is accepted without being delivered, and SMTP Senpai's log shows it as dropped.<\/p><\/dd>\n Almost all do. Use port 587 with TLS, or 465 with SSL. If neither connects, use the connection test to confirm whether the problem is the network or your credentials, then ask your host whether outbound SMTP is permitted.<\/p><\/dd>\n Passwords are encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a key derived from your site's own Yes. The plugin runs after WooCommerce and overrides its From address, so store emails send from your configured, authenticated address. There is a diagnostics screen for testing each WooCommerce email type.<\/p><\/dd>\n No. Each send writes one indexed row, and the log list never loads message bodies. Old entries are purged automatically on a daily schedule according to your retention setting.<\/p><\/dd>\n Update to 2.1.7 or later. The Default Reply-To setting is only used for emails that do not say who to reply to, so a contact form or enquiry form that sets the visitor as the Reply-To keeps it, and your reply goes to them alone.<\/p><\/dd>\n No. DadsFam AI runs inside your own WordPress. It reads your own email log and settings, understands questions with a language engine built into the plugin, and does its sums on your own server. There is no outside AI service and no API key. The only connections it makes are to your own mail server (to test the sign-in, without sending anything) and to public DNS (to read your SPF, DKIM and DMARC records).<\/p><\/dd>\n Only things it can prove: a mail server connection that has just signed in with your own username and password, the DKIM selector your domain actually publishes, the From address your mail server accepts, a rebuilt log table, and lost scheduled tasks. It never changes your password and never switches staging mode off. It keeps watching every change and puts it back if things get worse, and if you undo or turn down one kind of fix twice in a month, it goes back to asking you first. Everything is in the diary with an Undo.<\/p>\n\n Two more things it does only after you switch them on under \"What you have taught me\": sending the emails that failed while email was broken, once each, after a fix has worked; and holding a flood of one kind of email. Both are off on every site until you choose otherwise.<\/p><\/dd>\n Only if you switch on \"Bounces after sending\" and give it the mailbox's details. It then signs in over IMAP once an hour, opens the mailbox read-only, reads only the messages that look like bounces, and never marks, moves or deletes anything. The mailbox password is encrypted like your sending password, and you can use the same one. Microsoft 365 no longer allows password sign-in to IMAP for most mailboxes, so this does not work there.<\/p><\/dd>\n Three ways, most certain first: the wording WordPress and WooCommerce use for their own emails; the emails your site has sent since 2.2, which record who sent them, so an older email with the same kind of subject is the same kind of email; and, for what is left, the words of the subject in your installed plugins' and theme's own files. It only labels what it is sure of, never touches the emails themselves, and the diary has an Undo that puts every label back. It all happens on your server.<\/p><\/dd>\n Choose \"Paused\" on the DadsFam AI screen and it stops checking and changing anything. To remove it completely, add English, typing mistakes and all. The rest of the plugin, DadsFam AI's answers included, can be translated.<\/p><\/dd>\n Turn on blocking mode under Settings \u2192 Delivery Controls. Nothing is delivered, but every attempt is still logged so you can confirm what the site would have sent.<\/p><\/dd>\n\n<\/dl>\n\n\nmail()<\/code> function, which most hosts either block or deliver straight to spam. DadsFam SMTP<\/strong> replaces it with a real authenticated SMTP connection, so your password resets, contact forms and WooCommerce order emails actually arrive.<\/p>\n\nDadsFam AI: your email, watched and fixed<\/h4>\n\n
\n
New in 2.3: it learns, remembers and looks after itself<\/h4>\n\n
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define( 'DFSMTP_BRAIN_OFF', true );<\/code> in wp-config.php.<\/p>\n\nSet up in about two minutes<\/h4>\n\n
Supported providers<\/h4>\n\n
Features<\/h4>\n\n
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WooCommerce<\/h4>\n\n
Extending the plugin<\/h4>\n\n
dfsmtp_configure_mailer<\/code>, dfsmtp_after_configure_mailer<\/code>, dfsmtp_mail_failed<\/code>, dfsmtp_mail_logged<\/code>, dfsmtp_save_settings<\/code>, dfsmtp_settings_page_end<\/code>, dfsmtp_nav_pages<\/code> and others \u2014 so you can layer your own behaviour onto the send pipeline. The full list is documented in the header of dadsfam-email-smtp.php<\/code>.<\/p>\n\nA word about PRO<\/h4>\n\n
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External services<\/h3>\n\n
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Support<\/h3>\n\n
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dadsfam-email-smtp<\/code> folder to \/wp-content\/plugins\/<\/code>, or install through Plugins \u2192 Add New<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n
Gmail keeps rejecting my password.<\/h3><\/dt>\n
I use SMTP Senpai. What do I enter?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
My host blocks port 25.<\/h3><\/dt>\n
Are my SMTP passwords safe?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
AUTH_KEY<\/code>, so a stolen database dump does not expose them. They are also never included in a configuration export.<\/p><\/dd>\nWill this work with WooCommerce?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
Does logging slow my site down?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
Replies to my contact form go to me as well as the visitor.<\/h3><\/dt>\n
Does DadsFam AI send my emails or data to OpenAI, ChatGPT or anyone else?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
What does Autopilot change by itself?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
Does DadsFam AI read my mailbox?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
How does it know what my older emails were?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
How do I switch DadsFam AI off?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
define( 'DFSMTP_BRAIN_OFF', true );<\/code> to wp-config.php. Sending, logging and every other feature carry on exactly as before.<\/p><\/dd>\nWhich languages does \"Ask\" understand?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
How do I stop a staging site emailing real customers?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
2.3.1<\/h4>\n\n
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2.3.0<\/h4>\n\n
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2.2.0<\/h4>\n\n
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2.1.7<\/h4>\n\n
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2.1.4<\/h4>\n\n
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2.1.2<\/h4>\n\n
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2.1.1<\/h4>\n\n
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2.1.0<\/h4>\n\n
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2.0.10<\/h4>\n\n
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2.0.9<\/h4>\n\n
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2.0.7<\/h4>\n\n
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2.0.6<\/h4>\n\n
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2.0.5<\/h4>\n\n
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2.0.4<\/h4>\n\n
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2.0.3<\/h4>\n\n
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2.0.2<\/h4>\n\n
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2.0.1<\/h4>\n\n
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2.0.0<\/h4>\n\n
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1.6.3<\/h4>\n\n
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1.5.0<\/h4>\n\n
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