Debug Bar Console

by Drew Jaynes · Uncategorized

Also makes 7 other plugins · 4.1K+ installs across the portfolio →

Adds a PHP/SQL console to the Debug Bar. Requires the Debug Bar plugin.

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.

⚠ Few reviews

Health

B 80/100

Few reviews

Active installs

1K+

≈1.5K estimated

Momentum

-10%

downloads vs prior 30d

Biggest opportunity: “debugging” and “developer” 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.

See the detail → Get the free audit

How scoring works →

80 Health · B

Maintenance 85/100

Rating quality 81/100

Support 70/100

80 health vs 58 average across 25,734 Uncategorized plugins

1K+

Active installs

≈1.5K estimated

218.1K

Total downloads

since 2011 · 0.5% still active

4.2/5

Rating

5.0 on wp.org · 5 reviews

-10%

1.1K

Downloads · 30d

category median +7%

Install conversion

How it's measured →

0.5%

of downloads still active

At least 1K of 218.1K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,767 plugins.

Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.

This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.

Ratings · 5 reviews

Details

Version: 0.3.1
Last updated: 7mo ago
Added: 2011-01-15 · 15 yrs old
Requires WP: 3.1
Tested up to: 6.9.11
Requires PHP: —

Changelog ↗Support forum ↗Reviews ↗Advanced stats ↗

Recent review vibe

read from the latest 5 reviews to 2019-08-22

Positive Praise

Reviewers call it reliable and a must-have for theme and plugin developers, with the newest reviewer noting they've adopted the plugin and still depend on it despite an out-of-date tested-up-to version.

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.

85 / 100

Excellent listing optimization

Most to gain: Rating quality

Update recency 96/100

Updated 203 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting

WP compatibility 100/100

Tested up to WordPress 6.9.11, the current branch or newer

Rating quality 57/100

5.0★ over 5 reviews, smoothed to 4.18★ and held back under 25 reviews

Listing tuning 84/100

3 of 5 tags set · short description in place

To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.

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.

Momentum

Losing ground

-0.3

Velocity

places per keyword, 28d

22%

Breadth

of keywords climbing, 28d

-0.1

Acceleration

recent half vs earlier

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
debug bar	#2	#7	0
console your tag	#5	#14	up 1
debug	#8	#14	down 2
php console	#4	#11	0
debug wordpress	#9	#19	up 1
sql	#23	#23	down 4
wordpress debug	#10	#19	0
debug plugins	#12	#20	down 1
debugging your tag	Not in the top 24
developer your tag	Not in the top 24

9 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 8 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.

What to do about it

“debugging” and “developer” 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 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive

-10% vs prior 30d

7931 Oct 2026

3001500

7931 Oct 2026

30-day downloads

Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.4K · peaks are release surges

1.1K31 Oct 2026

1.5K7500

1.1K31 Oct 2026

Directory rank vs rivals

wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you

Debug Bar Console · #6541youRay · #9682Developer Loggers fo · #9167WP Output Log File · #16023

Health trend

Composite health score, snapshotted daily

8031 Oct 2026

907560

8031 Oct 2026

Update activity

How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.

1.1K31 Oct 2026

1.5K7500

1.1K31 Oct 2026

Release cadence

Occasionally updated

from wp.org release tags

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

releases in the last 12 months

7mo ago

latest release · v0.3.1 · 11 Apr 2026

tagged releases on record

Recent releases

0.3.1 · 11 Apr 20260.3 · 18 Mar 20120.2 · 30 Jan 20110.1 · 15 Jan 2011

What its installed base runs

via wordpress.org

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

v0.3 100%

Estimated active installs

The public count shows “1K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.

tracked estimate

1K–2K ≈1.5K

Crossed into this band 3.5 years ago; the previous band took 2.5 years to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.

Install history since 16 May 2017

1K31 Oct 2026

6K3K0

1K31 Oct 2026

Recent reviews

All reviews on wp.org ↗

★★★★★ Drew Jaynes
7.2y ago

Update 2024-10-28: I’ve adopted this plugin and taken over development. I use this add-on for the Debug Bar plugin on personal, client, and customer sites all the time and it never fails to help me solve problems more efficiently. It’s a shame that it no longer shows up in plugin search results because the tested-up-to version is out of date, but that doesn’t stop me from manually installing it. Consistently reliable and gets the job done. This plugin is vital to my WordPress debugging toolbox. This topic was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by Drew Jaynes. Reason: Adopted the plugin
Read on wp.org ↗
★★★★★ capbussat
8.6y ago

Very easy to use and useful for debugging (CA) L’ús és molt senzill i és molt util per desenvolupar plugins
Read on wp.org ↗
★★★★★ Jesse Graupmann
12.2y ago

This is great for testing WP or simply experimenting with PHP.
Read on wp.org ↗
★★★★★ rfmeier
13.5y ago

I find myself using the console more and more. A must have for theme and plugin developers. Highly recommended.
Read on wp.org ↗
★★★★★ Chris Olbekson
13.9y ago

This plugin allows you to debug MySql and PHP problems just like you had ssh access to the server. It’s great when working with clients who have their own IT department and my limit a developers access.
Read on wp.org ↗

Behavioral tests

via WP Hive

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.6.2

✓ Low memory footprint

✓ Low page-speed impact

✓ Runs on latest PHP + WP

✓ No PHP errors

✓ No JS errors

✓ Activates cleanly

✓ No resource errors

✓ No external HTTP errors

✓ Optimized database use

✕ Frequently updated

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

1 of 8 pass · checked 26 Oct 2026

Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.

✓ Says what it does "Adds a PHP/SQL console to the Debug Bar. Requires the Debug Bar plugin."
! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
! 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 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
! Enough to quote 87 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
! Tags match the text Only 1 of 3 tags appear in the text ("debugging", "developer" missing).

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

2023-04-26 2K+ → 1K+ down after 906 days in tier
2020-11-01 3K+ → 2K+ down after 286 days in tier
2020-01-20 4K+ → 3K+ down after 537 days in tier
2018-08-01 5K+ → 4K+ down after 286 days in tier
2017-10-19 6K+ → 5K+ down after 489 days in tier
2016-06-17 5K+ → 6K+ up

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).

Compare head to head →

Embed this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Debug Bar Console into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

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Preview card ↗

Debug Bar Console: 1K+ active installs, 5.0★ (5 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/debug-bar-console

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