A function for toggling auto-update state for WordPress plugins and themes.

change-auto-update-state.php

<?php
/**
 * Changes the auto-update status for plugins and themes.
 *
 * @param string $name   The name of the plugin or theme to change the auto-update status of. For themes, this should be
 *                       the theme slug (`twentytwentyone`). For plugins, this should be the path to the plugin file
 *                       relative to the plugins directory (`gutenberg/gutenberg.php`).
 * @param string $type   The type of item to update. Accepted values are `plugin` or `theme`. Default is `plugin`.
 * @param bool   $enable Whether to enable (true) or disable (false). Default is true, or enable.
 * @return bool True if the value was updated, false otherwise.
 */
function change_auto_update( $name, $type = 'plugin', $enable = true ) {
	if ( 'theme' === $type ) {
		$key = 'auto_update_themes';
	} else {
		$key = 'auto_update_plugins';
	}

	$auto_update_settings = get_site_option( $key, array() );

	if ( $enable ) {
		if ( in_array( $name, $auto_update_settings, true ) ) {
			return false;
		}

		$auto_update_settings[] = $name;
	} else {
		if ( ! in_array( $name, $auto_update_settings, true ) ) {
			return false;
		}

		unset( $auto_update_settings[ array_search( $name, $auto_update_settings, true ) ] );
	}

	return update_site_option( $key, array_unique( $auto_update_settings ) );
}