WP SAML Auth
by Pantheon Systems · Uncategorized
Also makes 7 other plugins · 38.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
SAML authentication for WordPress.
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
A 85/100
Few reviews
Active installs
7K+
≈7.7K estimated
Momentum
+18%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “rets”, “config” and “vendor” to your wp.org tags. You rank #6, #10 and #13 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 2 listed these are the slots worth spending.
85 health vs 58 average across 25,735 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.9%
of downloads still active
At least 7K of 241.1K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,766 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 5 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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 80 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
4.5★ over 8 reviews, smoothed to 4.16★ and held back under 25 reviews
2 of 5 tags set · short description in place
2 of 2 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
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.
39
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
19%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| saml your tag | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| saml authentication | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| auth | #2 | #4 | 0 |
| http auth | #3 | #6 | 0 |
| rets | #6 | #4 | up 1 |
| pantheon | #8 | #7 | 0 |
| wp config | #10 | #23 | up 3 |
| config | #10 | #16 | down 1 |
| identity | #11 | #14 | down 1 |
| composer | #11 | #18 | down 1 |
| vendor | #13 | #21 | down 1 |
| path | #14 | #23 | up 2 |
| commands | #14 | #23 | up 2 |
| command | #15 | #22 | down 4 |
| installation | #18 | #23 | up 3 |
| bridge | #16 | #9 | 0 |
| 2 step authentication | #20 | #22 | down 1 |
| identity verification | #19 | #20 | down 2 |
| wp cli | #22 | #24 | up 2 |
| authentication your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
58 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 19 listed. 39 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Add “rets”, “config” and “vendor” to your wp.org tags. You rank #6, #10 and #13 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 2 listed these are the slots worth spending.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 21.9K · 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
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
5
releases in the last 12 months
3mo ago
latest release · v2.3.4 · 12 Aug 2026
54
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 41% 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 “7K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 70% of the way through.
Install history since 24 Dec 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ slingshotdesign7mo ago
Great plugin, that works really well. It has some useful filters for developers to hook into, which I appreciate and it does the same job as other paid plugins so I also really appreciate that this is free! I struggled to figure out how to use this with Azure AD but after a lot of trial and error figured it out.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ pbdk4.3y ago
Works great with Azure AD / Microsoft 365. Would be even better if the default role could be defined on the settings page. Could be useful having the option to disable logging out from the ID provider.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ themachine016.2y ago
Switching from miniOrange
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ silverfang0076.8y ago
Right after installing and activating the plugin, I keep getting warning messages such as some library files are missing and the WP SAML Auth is not active. Also, the lack of any instructions makes it impossible to configure it with my Okta account. Just a waste of time! Deactivating and trying out other SAML plugins.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kikkervis8.1y ago
Does exactly what I need.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ H. Adam Lenz8.5y ago
Pretty excellent, well done. Pull requests will be forthcoming
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ evantill8.6y ago
Je l’utilise pour une intégration avec GSuite.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ HarrisonStudios.net10.0y ago
Just installed it and setup was a breeze. The installation of SimpleSamlPHP was harder than configuring this plugin. Now, it’s not the most elegant solution to integrating SAML SSO, but out of the three SSO plugins I tried (The other two where the top most used ones in a ‘SAML’ tag search in the plugin directory), this is the one I was able to get working. The others were just trying to do too much and were broken or too limiting in one way or another. One you have to pay for just to play with the settings to be able to do anything even basic at all. This plugin just keeps it simple and gets the job done. Thank you for this great plugin!
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 2.3.2 Update dependencies [ #477 ]. 2.3.2
- — Version 2.3.1 Adds wp_saml_auth_auto_add_to_blog filter to control whether auto-provisioned users are added to sites in multisite environments [ #465 ]. When wp_saml_auth_auto_add_to_blog returns false , the wp_saml_auth_new_user_auth 2.3.1
- — Version 2.3.0 Adds PHP 8.4 compatibility [ #410 ]. Increases minimum supported PHP version to 7.4. Compatible with WordPress 6.9 Fix warning message on the plugin’s settings page for users who aren’t using SimpleSAML [ #445 ][ #451 ]. 2.3.0
- — Version 2.2.0 Add a hook to modify returned attributes. [ #379 ] Updates onelogin/php-saml to 4.2.0. [ #402 ] Adds warnings and the option to disable SAML when using a vulnerable version of simplesamlphp [ #402 ] 2.2.0
- — Version 2.1.4 Fix typo in the label for the certificate path [ #352 ] Updates Pantheon WP Coding Standards to 2.0 [ #357 ] Fix logged-out auth issue [ #359 ] (props Snicco ) 2.1.4
- — Version 2.1.3 Fixes missing vendor/ directory in previous release [ #336 ] 2.1.3
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 2 languages, 0 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.
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 Short description is 34 characters, too short to say what the plugin does.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you run"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions WP-CLI.
- ✓ Headings and lists 5 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 4,055 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 2 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-14 8K+ → 7K+ down after 20 days in tier
- 2026-06-24 7K+ → 8K+ up after 114 days in tier
- 2026-03-02 8K+ → 7K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-01 7K+ → 8K+ up after 3 days in tier
- 2026-02-26 8K+ → 7K+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2026-02-24 7K+ → 8K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-02-23 8K+ → 7K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-02-22 7K+ → 8K+ up after 219 days in tier
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).
-
Shibboleth 3K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B -
Open Access SSO 100+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags -
SSO JumpCloud – Enterprise SAML & SCIM — installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags - L Limit Login Attempts 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag C
-
WPS Limit Login 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Two Factor 100K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP SAML Auth into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-saml-auth" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP SAML Auth — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP SAML Auth: 7K+ active installs, 4.5★ (8 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-saml-auth
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