How to test a WordPress plugin through the upgrade automatically feature

Last week I had released a version of a WordPress plugin that works if the user was doing a fresh install, however if they already had the plugin and upgraded it using the WordPress upgrade automatically feature, problems occurred and some of the database elements were erased. So I had to revert back immediately.

I was wondering if there was a way to test the plugin through the upgrade automat开发者_StackOverflowically functionality before hand instead of having to release it and hoping you get it right the first time.

I would set up a dev/local site running the previous version of your plugin. Then, copy over the latest changes (overwriting all of the files) and test things out.

In essence, that is the same thing that happens during an automated upgrade.