July 23, 2024

Developer Debug Tools Plugin

Lots of debugging and testing tools for developers.

The “Developer Debug Tools” WordPress plugin is a powerhouse for developers and site administrators! It’s a comprehensive toolkit that helps you identify, troubleshoot, and resolve issues in your WordPress site, making debugging a breeze.

This plugin offers a suite of features to aid in debugging, including, but not limited to:

Viewing and clearing debug.log and other logs
Viewing and updating wp-config.php and .htaccess files
Viewing and editing user meta and post meta
Quick links for debugging users, posts, pages, comments, and Gravity Forms forms and entries.
Clearing all taxonomy terms from a given post
Clearing all or expired transients easily
Finding where shortcodes are used
Seeing whom is online with their roles
Discord notifications of fatal errors, user page loads, and user logins
Enhancements to the admin bar such as condensing/removing items and seeing user/post info at a glance
Viewing helpful information such php.ini values, php configs, scheduled cron jobs, site options, global variables, and more
Access to a handful of additional functions and hooks that you can use for debugging

With “Developer Debug Tools”, you can:

Identify and fix errors, bugs, and conflicts
Troubleshoot complex issues with ease
Update user and post meta straight from the admin area
Streamline your development and testing workflow

This plugin is a must-have for any WordPress developer or site administrator who wants to ensure a stable, efficient, and high-performing website. It’s like having a trusty sidekick that helps you tackle even the most challenging debugging tasks!

Installation

Install the plugin from your website’s plugin directory, or upload the plugin to your plugins folder.
Activate it.
Go to Developer Debug Tools in your admin menu.
Enter your account email address as a “Developer Email Address” to view the rest of the tools.

Screenshots

Settings page
Activated plugins with warnings
View, filter, and clear debug.log file
View wp-config.php file
Some of the snippets you can add/remove from your wp-config.php file
View .htaccess file
Cron jobs
View and update a user's meta
Available functions to use for debugging and testing
Regex playground

FAQ

Should I backup my wp-config.php and .htaccess files before using the tools to add/remove snippets?

Yes! It is always best to back these files up when making updates to them.

Can I use this plugin on a live website?

Yes, but you should always make a backup of your site before using functionality that makes changes to your core files or database.

My site broke when updating my wp-config.php or .htaccess. How do I revert back to my original?

The originals are stored in your root folder and renamed with the date and time from which they were replaced. For example, the wp-config.php file will have been renamed to wp-config-2022-08-22-15-25-46.php and replaced with a new file. Simply log into your FTP or File Manager (from your host), rename the current file to something else such as wp-config-BROKEN.php (just in case you need it), and then rename the version you want to revert back to as wp-config.php. If everything looks good, then you can either delete this file or send a copy of it to me so I can figure out what went wrong. You can do so in the Discord server mentioned below.

Why can’t I edit a username for a user?

Some hosts will not allow you to update a user’s username directly from WP. In order to do so, you’ll have to update it in your database directly.

Where is the centering tool?

Viewable only on the front-end, there is a link on the admin bar that shows +Off. Click on it and it will add a transparent bar with lines on it at the top of the page underneath the admin bar. If you click on the centering bar it will expand all the way down the page. Click on it again and it will minimize back to the top. You can click on the +On link from the admin bar to make it go away.

Where are the quick debug links?

You have to enable them on the Developer Debug Tools settings first. Once they are enabled, an “ID” column will be added to the user and/or post admin list pages. Next to the user or post’s ID you will see a lightning bolt icon. Clicking on the lightning bolt will redirect you to the User Meta or Post Meta tab on our plugin where you can view and edit all of the meta easily.

I hid the plugin, now I can’t find it!

You can get there directly by going to https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=dev-debug-tools. Be sure to bookmark it next time like the instructions say to do!

Where can I get further support?

Join my Discord support server

Changelog

1.7.8

Fix: Formatting on Available Functions tab

1.7.7

Fix: Formatting on Cron Jobs tab
Fix: Shortcode Finder tab fatal error if a method does not exist
Fix: Test example array still logging on Shortcode Finder tab
Fix: Site Options values not displaying
Fix: Error log path not using option if changed in total error count
Fix: Error logs only showing 1 error if any are found, now counts all line items
Fix: PHP 8.3 deprecation notices
Update: Added server ip address to top of HTACCESS tab for easy reference
Fix: LearnDash LMS link in admin bar dropdown broken

1.7.6

Fix: Convert directory separator to forward slash when using ABSPATH (props amurashkin17)
Fix: Redacting not working for some people
Tweak: Reimagine EOL option behavior (props amurashkin17)
Fix: Detected HTACCESS snippets being ignored if DDT section does not exist

1.7.5

Update: Added all site options to Site Options tab, not just registered ones
Update: Added clear buttons to each Cookie in the Cookies tab, and added a button to add a test cookie
Update: Added table column names to DB Tables tab
Update: Added checks for end-of-line delimiters, option to change on WP-CONFIG and HTACCESS tabs (props amurashkin17)
Fix: WP-CONFIG tab not working for some platforms (props amurashkin17)
Fix: Some WP-CONFIG files showing incorrect comment color (props amurashkin17)
Tweak: Added WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE snippet to WP-CONFIG tab
Fix: Detected WP-CONFIG snippets being moved to DDT section if no snippets have been added yet (props amurashkin17)
Tweak: Added WP_CACHE_KEY_SALT to list of defines to be redacted
Update: Allowed viewing of last portion of debug log only if above limit (props amurashkin17)
Update: Added option for updating max debug log size (props amurashkin17 for suggestion)

1.7.4

Update: Added a way to list available hooks in other plugins on hooks tab
Update: Added option to hide plugin
Tweak: Reorganized main file
Fix: include_once path to plugin.php showing incorrectly (props amurashkin17)
Fix: Installation path on error_log showing incorrectly if using different abspath (props amurashkin17)
Update: Overhalled snippet sections (props amurashkin17 for suggestions)
Fix: Gravity Forms quick links not working, incorrect path

1.7.3

Fix: Wp-config snippets showing as checked even when they are commented out (props amurashkin17)
Update: Added an APIs tab to check availability of local REST APIs
Update: Added a DB Tables tab for quick reference of the database table structure
Tweak: Comment Meta tab removed and debug info moved to hidden debug page, same as GF forms, entries, etc.
Fix: JavaScript on Error Reporting tab not loading if Discord fatal error notifications are enabled
Fix: Priority roles not showing as priority in admin bar
Fix: Wp-config auth keys and salts not redacting if containing spaces

1.7.2

Fix: Error when no description is found on snippets when using hooks
Tweak: Updated hook examples for ddtt_wpconfig_snippets and ddtt_htaccess_snippets to include a description
Tweak: Removed donate option; nobody ever donates
Update: Discord user notifications now include user avatar as embed thumbnail if one exists
Fix: Some plugins causing a bottom border on active tab and moving 2nd row of tabs over on hover

1.7.1

Fix: Debug log Easy Reader not combining repeated line items

1.7.0

Fix: Undefined variable $cancel on htaccess tab
Fix: Debug log Easy Reader not displaying arrays properly
Update: Added setting option to disable extra plugin info from plugins page as it’s causing some drag for those with a lot of plugins
Update: Made recommended/featured plugins only load with qs, added button to plugins tab
Update: Added descriptions to each snippet
Update: Added a new tab for defined constants
Update: Added 10 additional wpconfig snippets
Update: Made adjustments to snippets in wpconfig and htaccess tabs
Update: Added new snippet to add WP_HOME and WP_SITEURL to wpconfig

1.6.8.1

Update: Added new plugin to About tab

1.6.8

Update: Added settings for modifying error log paths (props rawsta)
Fix: Testing playground instructions not showing up by default
Update: Added quick links and debug colums to comments
Tweak: Added thousands separator to total users count
Tweak: Removed deactivation survey code and files permanently; only one legitimate response – not worth it
Tweak: Updated some functions and techniques as recommended by WP Plugin team
Fix: Warning in live preview about Hello Dolly path

1.6.7

Fix: All plugins showing as inactive on sites not on a network
Tweak: Reduced tags to max 5

1.6.6

Update: Prepared for live preview
Update: Added other plugins to About tab
Fix: Deprecation warning for ctype_digit(): Argument of type int will be interpreted as string in the future
Fix: Sorting of plugins on Plugins tab was case sensitive, putting lowercase names like bbPress on bottom
Fix: Plugins tab not showing all sites on network
Update: Temporarily disable deactivation feedback form
Update: Added new tab for viewing and clearing Auto-Drafts

1.6.5.1

Fix: Front-end admin menu links visible to people without permissions
Fix: Front-end admin menu links not able to click if list is too long, made scrollable
Fix: Separators added to front-end admin menu link if another class is added

1.6.5

Update: Added option to add admin menu links to admin bar on front end
Tweak: Changed Remove Admin Bar Items section to Admin Bar
Fix: Admin bar post id showing inaccurate info for non-posts/pages

1.6.4

Fix: Page load Discord notifications getting inaccurate page when loading non-post/pages
Fix: Easy reader combining arrays and displaying them inside another array
Update: Added new function ddtt_backtrace() that logs wp_debug_backtrace_summary() to debug.log
Update: Added snippets in wp-config and htaccess tabs to increase max input vars
Fix: Inaccurate error log reporting fatal error to Discord
Update: Added field to post meta tab for hiding post meta keys with a prefix
Update: Added field to user meta tab for hiding user meta keys with a prefix

1.6.3

Update: Add hook for filtering quick link post types in case some post types are not registered
Fix: Quick links not showing up on posts, pages, and custom post types

1.6.2

Tweak: Prevent adding non-txt files to additional logs field
Tweak: Clean up some code
Fix: Removed unneccesary instantiation of Discord class
Tweak: Removed all unneccesary static declarations and usage
Fix: is_plugin_active() not found when Gravity Forms is deactivated
Tweak: Added Child Theme Configurator to recommended plugins
Tweak: Added NS Cloner – Site Copier to recommended plugins

1.6.1

Fix: array_intersect() error on class-online-users.php

1.6.0

Update: Added option in settings for sending fatal errors to a Discord channel

1.5.9

Fix: Custom logs trying to load when saving settings with no custom log defined
Tweak: Added a video tutorial for migrating WP in Resources

1.5.8.1

Fix: Developer email field pattern not recognizing dashes or periods in domain

1.5.8

Tweak: Added sections in Logs tab for each log that is being checked
Update: Added field in settings for adding custom logs and viewing them on the Logs tab
Tweak: Added String locator to recommended plugins
Update: Added quick error_reporting code converter to bottom of Error Reporting tab

1.5.7.1

Tweak: Added a notice to Error Reporting tab if error reporting is being overwritten by another plugin or custom code

1.5.7

Fix: User error tracking in debug.log causing issues when not executed by a user directly
Fix: File size and last modified dates not working on must-use plugins
Update: Added Error Reporting tab

1.5.6

Tweak: Added title, ID, and post type to Discord page load notifications if on front-end or editing back-end
Tweak: Added Redirection to recommended plugins
Tweak: Added version logging to deactivation feedback to make it easier to chase down errors
Tweak: Reformat hook examples on Hooks tab, removed is_plugin_active()
Fix: Dark CSS was affecting h2 tags in notices on DDT pages

1.5.5

Tweak: Updated the TESTING_PLAYGROUND.php file to allow deletion of all content, added example code
Tweak: Changed name of Hooks tab to Available Hooks
Tweak: Changed name of Functions tab to Available functions
Tweak: Changed name of FX tab to Functions.php
Tweak: Updated some CSS styles and highlighted syntax on Functions tab
Tweak: Removed planned features from About tab
Fix: Links inside notices were too light with the background
Fix: If someone is not a dev and saves the settings, it was clearing all settings
Tweak: Updated Discord server link on Resources tab
Update: Added unserialized array values underneath serialized values in User Meta and Post Meta tabs, making it easier to read

1.5.4

Fix: Attempting to send Discord notifications when there are no priority roles selected causing fatal error
Update Added option in settings to disable error counts to improve page load time when there are lots of errors
Fix: Debug log not pulling up if location is changed

1.5.3

Fix: Some sites do not have a blog name, so default to domain in Discord notifications

1.5.2

Tweak: ddtt_print_r() / dpr() now accepts array for user id
Fix: Improved performance on show online users feature
Update: Added option for Discord Notifications of online priority users

1.5.1

Tweak: Added an option to stop showing feedback form on deactivate; will automatically disable for certain choices

1.5.0

Tweak: Changed order of deactivate feedback form options
Update: Automatically prioritize online users with same email domain as website
Update: Added setting to choose priority roles for “show online users”
Update: Removed “show online users” active users dashboard widget as it’s redundant
Update: Added total users count to “show online users” admin bar dropdown
Fix: Automatic conversion of false to array being deprecated

1.4.9

Fix: New install dev email address field populating user id instead of email
Tweak: Wordwrapped plugin file path on plugin pages if super long
Fix: Error on Post Meta tab if the website does not have any posts
Fix: Timezone error if someone tries to save their timezone as blank, revert back to default

1.4.8

Fix: Easy Reader debug log viewer causing issues if writing an array to the logs
Tweak: Move author URL and support server to defines
Update: Added deactivation survey
Fix: Timezone conversion on false date or timestamp returning error
Tweak: Changed default developer email to the user that activated the plugin instead of the admin email
Fix: A few minor text corrections
Tweak: Update planned features list on About tab
Tweak: Stylized warning symbols
Fix: PHP Warning for undefined variable $err

1.4.7

Fix: Issue removing some snippets on wp-config
Tweak: Added semicolon to end of existing snippets
Fix: Removed modified date and compatibility check for Hello Dolly plugin
Tweak: Removed temp files if updating wp-config/htaccess are cancelled
Tweak: Added warnings for outdated plugin/WP/PHP versions in header
Fix: DateTime::__construct(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($datetime) of type string is deprecated
Update: Added more options for showing online users in admin bar

1.4.6

Update: Added option to also log user id, user display name and url with query string when an error is triggered

1.4.5

Tweak: Update Discord support link
Update: Added search field for Site Options to include options not registered

1.4.4

Tweak: Added full changelog to readme.txt
Tweak: Updated changelog to use commonly used prefixes (Fix, Tweak, and Update)
Tweak: Changed date() to gmdate() in activation hook (props @sybrew)
Tweak: Changed multiple calls to site_url() to variable in root file (props @sybrew)
Tweak: Moved TESTING_PLAYGROUND.php file to includes folder (props @sybrew)
Fix: Patched security issues with downloads (props @sybrew)
Fix: Unserialize notice on usermeta tab

1.4.3

Fix: Error with GFAPI not being found on feed page
Tweak: Sorted plugins alphabetically by name

1.4.2

Update: Added quick debug links to Gravity Form entry page
Tweak: Moved quick debug link results for Gravity Forms to it’s own page instead of sharing the Testing tab
Update: Added quick debug link for Gravity Forms feeds
Update: Added more recommended plugins
Tweak: Redacted sensitive information from view to hide when getting support and showing demos
Fix: Shortcode finder attribute field not filtering out value properly

1.4.1

Update: Added functions.php viewer

1.4.0

Update: Added a simple functions.php viewer
Update: Added backups sections to wp-config/htaccess tabs with ability to clear old backups
Tweak: Disabled preview button on wp-config/htaccess tabs if nothing is checked or unchecked
Fix: Deprecated function in online users class
Fix: Admin side menu showing tabs for non-devs
Tweak: Made cURL seconds field show/hide with JS instead of needing to save the changes first
Update: Added settings link, website link, and Discord support link to plugins list page
Update: Added message for user that activated the plugin with instructions on how to begin
Tweak: Only make paths to plugin/theme editor pages if editors are not disabled
Update: Added notice to top of Cron Jobs page if WP Cron is disabled
Update: Added two more snippets to wp-config: DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT, DISABLE_WP_CRON

1.3.12

Update: Added feedback form in About tab
Update: Added Admin Help Docs plugin to recommended plugins and on About tab

1.3.11

Fix: Minor bugs related to multisite
Update: Added a couple more recommended plugins

1.3.10

Update: Added buttons to cookies tab for clearing cookies and browser local storage
Fix: Debug quick link on post edit screens not showing up

1.3.9

Update: Added link to primary site on debug log if not on primary site
Fix: Subsite links on network settings page all pointing to primary site
Fix: Debug log easy viewer highlighting issue

1.3.8

Tweak: Changed classic debug log viewer to show raw last 100 lines with user’s timezone
Tweak: Shortened submenu slugs to not include full url
Tweak: Removed clear_debug_log query string so we can refresh log without clearing it again

1.3.7

Fix: Browser tab customization on subsites that are not primary
Fix: Active tab highlighting on side menu
Tweak: Updated plugin slug in url to not include path to options page
Fix: Bug on network plugins tab

1.3.6

Update: Added inactive plugins to plugins tab
Update: Added “Sites” column to plugins tab on multisite network to see which sites plugins are installed on
Update: Added multisite suffixes to title and browser tabs to clearly identify which site you are on
Update: Added support for multisite
Tweak: Reverted to display name in Online Users if no first and last name is provided
Tweak: Ensured is_plugin_active() is defined for admin on multisite

1.3.5

Update: Added setting for condensing admin bar items
Tweak: Updated ddtt_highlight_debug_log and ddtt_debug_log_help_col hooks with more options
Update: Added view recent links to debug log in Easy Reader
Update: Added links to color key on debug log in Easy Reader to filter results
Update: Added a search field to debug log in Easy Reader
Fix: Removed plugin from menu if not admin

1.3.4

Fix: Error on debug log easy reader
Fix: Error in online user column

1.3.3

Update: Added max filesize for debug log to prevent site crashing with filter to change amount
Tweak: Changed plugins last modified date to developer’s timezone
Update: Added filter for changing debug log help links
Update: Added filter for changing debug log highlight colors
Update: Added Easy Reader view and viewer options to debug log
Tweak: Changed logs tab slug to “logs” instead of “debug”
Update: Added full regex array and preg_match_all with pattern to Regex tab for easy copying
Update: Added tab titles to browser tabs, and push user/post ids on user/post meta tabs
Tweak: Changed PHP testing playground local path to theme root folder, old path still works as backup
Fix: PHP Warning for undefined variable

1.3.2

Update: Added setting for swapping out discord link if already a member
Update: Added confirmation for updating wp-config.php and .htaccess files
Tweak: Combined repeated shortcodes found on admin bar, replaced with count
Update: Added sources to available shortcodes on shortcode finder
Tweak: Changed shortcode finder input field to select field

1.3.1

Update: Added filter for omitting shortcodes from shortcode finder, good for minimizing page builders
Update: Added capability for posts and pages to be searched by ID in the admin area
Tweak: Changed order of admin bar items
Update: Added online users feature
Update: Added quick debug links to Gravity Forms action links
Tweak: Changed admin bar user info to existing wp-account so Debug Bar will work
Tweak: Minimized space at top of each page
Fix: Log path notice

1.3.0

Update: Added shortcode finder
Tweak: Allowed disabling of admin bar items
Fix: Beta htaccess editing was still in test mode
Update: Added Resource dropdown to admin bar
Update: Added additional resources
Update: Added jQuery versions to header
Update: Added Cron Jobs tab
Update: Added Cookies tab
Update: Added PHP Info tab
Tweak: Added WP.org links to About tab
Fix: Test # incrementing when not used
Fix: Not finding Gravity Form forms on admin bar if added via Cornerstone element
Fix: Not allowing updating user or post meta keys that are not all lowercase

1.2.0

Update: Made preparations for release to WP.org repository

1.0.1

Created plugin on May 13, 2022