Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes for WordPress

Failed user logins with IP tracking and filtering by type (wrong password vs. non-existent username)

Core file integrity checks against official checksums

Forced security auto-updates from WordPress.org

Site Health status changes

Admin page access denied events

Content & Users

Posts, pages, and custom post types — create, edit, delete, and homepage assignment

Attachments with image edit details (crop, rotate, flip, scale) and thumbnail previews

Taxonomies with detailed diffs of name, slug, description, and parent

Comments, menus (with item-level detail), and widgets

User profiles, logins, logouts, and role changes

Notes — the collaboration feature in WordPress 6.9

System & Updates

Plugin lifecycle: install, update, activate, deactivate, delete, and auto-update toggle

Theme install, update, activate, switch, and delete

WordPress core updates (manual and automatic)

Translation and language pack updates

Available update notifications

Settings and option screen changes

Privacy & Compliance

Privacy data export and user data erasure requests

Privacy page changes

IP addresses anonymized by default — no cookies, no external fonts

WordPress AI plugin activity is logged without ever storing API keys or prompt content

🔌 Built-in Third-Party Plugin Support Simple History includes built-in logging for:

WordPress AI plugin – Feature toggles, AI provider and model changes, and connector approval requests, grants, and revocations

Jetpack – Module activations and deactivations

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) – Field group and field changes

User Switching – User switch events

WP Crontrol – Cron event and schedule changes

Enable Media Replace – File replacement details

Limit Login Attempts – Login attempts, lockouts, and config changes

Redirection – Redirect and group changes, global settings

Duplicate Post – Post and page cloning

Beaver Builder – Layout, template, and settings saves

Is your plugin missing? Plugin authors can add support using the logging API.

💬 What Users Say 450+ five-star reviews on WordPress.org:

“So far the best and most comprehensive logging plugin” – @herrschuessler

“The best history plugin I’ve found” – Rich Mehta

“Fantastic plugin I use on all sites” – Duncan Michael-MacGregor

“It is a standard plugin for all of our sites” – Mr Tibbs

🚀 View Your Log Everywhere Simple History starts tracking instantly after activation — no setup needed. It even imports recent activity so your log isn’t empty on day one. Access your log from:

Dashboard widget – Activity stats summary and recent events

Admin bar quick view – Dropdown with latest events on any admin page

Command palette – Type “Simple History” to jump to the log for the current post

Dedicated admin page – Full log with search, filters, and insights sidebar

Email reports – Weekly summary delivered to your inbox

RSS feed – Password-protected feed for your favorite reader

WP-CLI – Command-line access for automation and scripting

REST API – Programmatic access for custom integrations

📧 Weekly Email Reports – Stay Informed Without Logging In Weekly email reports deliver a summary of your site’s activity every Monday morning — total activity, daily breakdown, key metrics (logins, content updates, plugin changes), and direct links to the full log.

Perfect for site owners, agencies managing client sites, and teams who need regular updates without logging in. Enable it in settings and see what the email looks like before turning it on.

🛠️ For Developers & Power Users

WP-CLI – List, search, and export events from the command line — perfect for automation and managing multiple sites

REST API – Full programmatic access to query the log and add custom events. See the documentation

Logging API – Log your own events from themes and plugins with a single line of code

RSS feed – Subscribe to changes using any feed reader

AI & agent-friendly – The REST API and RSS feed make Simple History accessible to AI agents and automated workflows like Claude Code

Stealth Mode – Run Simple History completely hidden from the admin interface via code; Premium adds a GUI. Ideal for agencies and client sites

🔆 Extend with Add-ons Simple History Premium Alerts & Notifications – Get notified instantly via Email, Slack, Discord, or Telegram when important events occur. Start quickly with preset rules for common scenarios or build custom rules filtered by event type, user, role, and log level.

Log Forwarding – Stream events to external destinations: local log files, syslog servers (UDP/TCP/TLS), Datadog, Splunk, webhooks, or external MySQL/MariaDB databases. Perfect for centralized logging, compliance, and backup.

Enhanced Controls – Custom retention periods (or keep logs forever), CSV/JSON export of filtered search results, post activity panel in the block editor, custom log entries for team decisions, stealth mode GUI, logger control to fine-tune which events are recorded, and an ad-free experience.

WooCommerce Logger Track WooCommerce activity: orders, refunds, stock changes, product updates, pricing adjustments, settings modifications, and coupon usage.

Debug and Monitor Monitor outgoing HTTP requests and emails, debug API calls, and see what’s happening under the hood. Essential for developers and support teams.

💚 Sponsor this project If you like this plugin please consider sponsoring the development of the free plugin. The plugin has been free for over 10 years and will continue to be free.