Easily debug WordPress sites using Ray.
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
B 74/100
no flags
Active installs
400+
≈480 estimated
Momentum
-4%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: “debug”, “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.
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.0%
of downloads still active
At least 400 of 39.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,781 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 2 releases 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.
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: Rating quality
Updated 328 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.8.12; the current branch is 7.1
5.0★ over 10 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.2★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 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.
30
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.5
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
-0.5
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 your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| debugging your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| developer your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| development your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
4 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 4 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
- “debug”, “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 · 1,491 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.4K · peaks are release surges
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
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
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.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
2
releases in the last 12 months
11mo ago
latest release · v1.7.10 · 10 Dec 2025
37
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 90% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “400+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 50 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 500.
Install history since 7 Dec 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Kevin3.0y ago
I use this plugin everyday while doing WordPress dev work. It’s a great tool.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Kirk Beard3.4y ago
Ray has been a great to use when working on Laravel sites, so I’m glad they’ve made the effort to also support WordPress. It’s definitely worth the money!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ John Hawkins3.6y ago
I’ve been using Ray for quite a while now and I have to say, it’s one of the most useful dev tools I use! Gone are the days of spewing vardump and print_r to the screen!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ stirrell425.0y ago
Makes debugging a breeze without dumping out information to the screen. So simple to setup that is is just as easy as doing a var_dump and has so many more features.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Dave Bolger5.8y ago
If you are constantly writing var_dump() or error_log() to debug your code you’ll know it gets painful when debugging larger and more complex code. Using Ray is the simple way to debug without the hassle of reading through Log files or half rendered / broken pages on the browser. A couple of hours of using Ray and you will have recouped the cost in lost time.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ sebkay5.8y ago
I was having trouble debugging an issue in my WP Cron task. It’s quite complex and calls out to an external database in multiple places, so trying to figure out where the issue was started driving me insane. As there was a PHP error in my code (I was trying to call a method on null) my logger wasn’t picking up any issues, nor was it even logging sometimes and no exceptions were being thrown. After installing Ray it worked right away with no setup (other than installing it with Composer). I then managed to find the issue in about 5 minutes because of Ray’s simplicity and speed in giving you the output. The UI is minimal which is perfect as nothing gets in your way while trying to debug and having everything formatted beautifully is a massive win over basic debug logging. I bought a licence right away and would have happily paid 2x the price I did. Amazingly simple yet powerful 👌
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ LatePoint5.8y ago
Absolutely worth the price
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Slava Abakumov5.8y ago
It’s much easier to use Ray than do all the error_log() and var_dump() calls on a page. You do not interrupt the flow (but you can pause it!) although receive all the needed information. It’s less powerful than Xdebug (although they have different purposes and use cases), but more flexible than printing debug output on a page/debug-bar/error log. I highly recommend it.
Read on wp.org ↗
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 1 language, 1 at 90% or more
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.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
0 of 8 pass · checked 3 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description is 39 characters, too short to say what the plugin does.
- ! 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 1 heading and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 855 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 4 tags appear in the text ("debugging", "developer", "development" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-09-14 500+ → 400+ down after 262 days in tier
- 2025-12-26 600+ → 500+ down after 92 days in tier
- 2025-09-25 500+ → 600+ up after 233 days in tier
- 2025-02-04 400+ → 500+ up after 67 days in tier
- 2024-11-29 500+ → 400+ down after 224 days in tier
- 2024-04-19 400+ → 500+ up after 563 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 200+ → 400+ 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).
-
WP PHP Console 500+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags D - A Asset Queue Manager 200+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags D
-
WP Output Log File 100+ installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags - W WP Developer Assistant 30+ installs · 4.0★ · 3 shared tags D
-
Query Monitor 200K+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags A -
Debug Log Manager – Conveniently Monitor and Inspect Errors 10K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Ray into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/spatie-ray" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Ray — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Ray: 400+ active installs, 5.0★ (10 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/spatie-ray
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