Bot Lockout
by kognetiks · Security
Also makes 2 other plugins · 510+ installs across the portfolio →
A lightweight WordPress plugin that protects your site from AI scrapers and bad bots using cryptographic JavaScript challenges.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
C 64/100
Stale · Few reviews
Active installs
—
not reported yet
Momentum
+25%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “bot protection”, “captcha” and “javascript challenge” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
64 health vs 66 average across 1,776 Security plugins
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 459 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.8.12, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 1 review, smoothed to 4.12★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 459 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| anti scraping your tag | #22 | #24 | down 1 |
| bot protection your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| captcha your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| javascript challenge your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| security your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 1 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “bot protection”, “captcha” and “javascript challenge” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 1 Aug 2025 · 457 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 60 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #49,700 to #68,000, alongside the other plugins with fewer than 10 installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
1.3y ago
latest release · v1.0.0 · 29 Jul 2025
1
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
Estimated active installs
wp.org publishes an install count once a plugin has enough of them. This one has none yet.
wp.org reports no install count for this plugin yet.
Install history since 31 Jul 2025
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ tinaponting4mo ago
Great plugin -needs update, please!
Read on wp.org ↗
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
6 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "A lightweight WordPress plugin that protects your site from AI scrapers and bad bots using cryptographic Ja..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 10 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 10 of 10 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ✓ Headings and lists 7 headings and 4 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 3,070 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "anti-scraping", "bot protection" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
No tier crossings observed yet.
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
SiteGuard WP Plugin 600K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags B -
Login Security Captcha 10K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
WPBruiser Security – No CAPTCHA Anti-Spam & Login Protection 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
Simple Login Captcha 10K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B -
Captcha by BestWebSoft – Advanced Spam Protection, Math & OCR-Friendly Captcha for Site Forms 10K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
ReCaptcha Integration for WordPress 9K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Bot Lockout into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/bot-lockout" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Bot Lockout — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Bot Lockout: no active install count reported, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/bot-lockout
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