Developer Debug Mode vs Variable Inspector

Stop editing wp-config.php every time you need to debug your WordPress site. Developer Debug Mode lets you toggle all WordPress debug constants directly from your dashboard with beautiful toggle switches. Changes save automatically — no clicking save buttons, no FTP access needed, no risk of syntax errors in your config file. 🎯 The Problem This Plugin Solves Every WordPress developer knows the pain: Something breaks on your site You need to enable WP_DEBUG to see the error You open FTP/File Manager, find wp-config.php, edit it carefully Debug the issue Remember to turn debug off before visitors see ugly error messages Repeat next time something breaks Developer Debug Mode eliminates steps 2-5 entirely. Toggle debug on, find the error, toggle off. Done in seconds. ✨ Key Features One-Click Debug Toggles Control all six WordPress debug constants from a clean, modern interface: WP_DEBUG — Master switch for WordPress debugging WP_DEBUG_LOG — Save errors to wp-content/debug.log WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY — Show errors on screen (careful on production!) SCRIPT_DEBUG — Use unminified core CSS/JS files SAVEQUERIES — Log database queries for performance analysis WP_DISABLE_FATAL_ERROR_HANDLER — See raw PHP fatal errors instead of recovery mode Admin Bar Quick Toggle (New in 1.2.0!) Toggle any debug constant directly from the WordPress admin bar — no need to visit the settings page. Perfect for quick debugging sessions. Built-in Debug Log Viewer View, search, download, and clear your debug.log without leaving WordPress: Color-coded entries (fatal, error, warning, notice) Search with highlighting Auto-refresh option for real-time monitoring One-click download and clear Auto-Save Technology Changes save instantly as you toggle. No save button, no page refresh, no waiting. Frontend Debug Warning A tasteful notification bar appears when WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY is active, reminding you to turn it off before visitors see error messages. Cross-Tab Synchronization Toggle debug in one browser tab and watch other open tabs update instantly. Automatic Backups Every change creates a backup of wp-config.php. The plugin keeps the 5 most recent backups, so you can always recover if something goes wrong. 🔧 Perfect For Theme developers debugging template issues Plugin developers testing new code Site administrators troubleshooting problems Agencies managing multiple client sites Freelancers who need quick debugging without FTP access Anyone tired of manually editing wp-config.php 💡 Why Choose Developer Debug Mode? Unlike other debug plugins, we focus on user experience: ✅ Instant toggles — No save buttons, changes apply immediately ✅ Visual feedback — Clear status indicators show exactly what’s enabled ✅ Admin bar access — Toggle debug from anywhere in WordPress ✅ Production-safe — Frontend warnings prevent accidentally exposing errors ✅ Modern design — Beautiful UI that fits naturally in your dashboard ✅ Lightweight — No bloat, loads only where needed 🔒 Built With Security In Mind Capability checks ensure only administrators can change settings Nonce verification on all AJAX requests Automatic wp-config.php backups before every change No data sent to external servers Clean uninstall removes all plugin data 📚 Debug Constants Explained Not sure what each constant does? Here’s a quick guide: WP_DEBUG The master switch. When enabled, WordPress will display PHP errors, notices, and warnings. Required for the other debug constants to work. WP_DEBUG_LOG Saves all debug messages to /wp-content/debug.log. Essential for debugging issues that happen in the background (AJAX, cron jobs, REST API). WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY Shows errors directly on your web pages. Useful during development but never enable on production — it can expose sensitive information to visitors. SCRIPT_DEBUG Forces WordPress to use the development versions of core CSS and JavaScript files instead of minified versions. Helpful when debugging scripts. SAVEQUERIES Stores database queries in a global array for later analysis. Useful for identifying slow queries but adds overhead — disable when not needed. WP_DISABLE_FATAL_ERROR_HANDLER Disables WordPress’s “recovery mode” so you see the actual PHP fatal error instead of “There has been a critical error on this website.” 🤝 Support & Documentation Need help? We offer: Free Support — Post in the WordPress.org support forum Documentation — Visit glimbyte.ie for guides and tutorials Express Support — Fast turnaround for urgent issues via glimbyte.ie/support 🌐 Works Great With Query Monitor — Use alongside for deeper debugging Debug Bar — Compatible with Debug Bar and its add-ons Any caching plugin — Clear cache after toggling debug constants Managed WordPress hosts — Works on most hosts including Kinsta, WP Engine, SiteGround Credits Developed with ❤️ by Glimbyte — WordPress Development & Support. Special thanks to the WordPress community for feedback and suggestions. Privacy Policy Developer Debug Mode does not collect, store, or transmit any personal data. All settings are stored locally in your WordPress database and wp-config.php file. The optional support contact form (available in the plugin settings) sends data directly to Glimbyte’s support team. This data is handled according to Glimbyte’s Privacy Policy. Additional Info Contribute Found a bug or have a feature request? We’d love to hear from you! Support Forum: wordpress.org/support/plugin/developer-debug-mode Website: glimbyte.ie Translations Want to help translate Developer Debug Mode into your language? Visit translate.wordpress.org to contribute.

Variable Inspector allows you to easily inspect your PHP $variables in a visually clean manner at a central dashboard in wp-admin. It aims to be an easy and useful enough dev and debug tool. It provides a single-line code to inspect your variable (see “How to Use” below). Nothing is shown to site visitors nor being output on the frontend, and the $variable content is nicely formatted for review using var_dump(), var_export() and print_r() on the inspector dashboard in wp-admin. It’s a real time-saver for scenarios where Xdebug or even something like Ray is not ideal or simply an overkill. For example, when coding on a non-local environment via tools like Code Snippets, WPCodeBox, Scripts Organizer or Advanced Scripts. Additionally, because it is a regular WordPress plugin, you simply install, activate and use without the need for complicated configuration. What Users Say “Huge time-saver when working with PHP variables.” ~Jeff Starr “Works great! Love this thing.” ~Josh “Every developer need it. You can debug easily every variable.” ~Pexle Chris “All I need. Enough to test the function of snippets. Works flawless.” ~@tesig “It does what it does very well, and doesn’t try to do everything.” ~@swb1 How to Use Simply place the following line anywhere in your code after the $variable_name you’d like to inspect: do_action( 'inspect', [ 'variable_name', $variable_name ] ); If you’d like to record the originating PHP file and line number, append the PHP magic constants __FILE__ and __LINE__ as follows. do_action( 'inspect', [ 'variable_name', $variable_name, __FILE__, __LINE__ ] ); This would help you locate and clean up the inspector lines once you’re done debugging. Give Back A nice review would be great! Give feedback and help improve future versions. Github repo to contribute code. Sponsor my work with as little as USD 1 monthly or one-time. PRO Version If you need something more versatile for larger, more complex projects, these PRO features might come in handy: vi( $variable ) inspector to replace the do_action() above and automatically includes the file path and line number. Or, use vis( $variable_name, ‘variable_name’ ) when inspecting in/via code snippets plugins (Code Snippets, WPCodeBox, Scripts Organizer, etc.) or custom code module of page builders (Bricks, Oxygen Builder, etc.) dump_print_r and dump_print_tree viewers: both viewers combines var_dump and print_r, with the later allowing for collapsing and expanding data nodes, which is especially useful for inspecting long and complex arrays and objects. kint viewer: an advanced viewer with table view for multi-dimensional arrays, node access path info, capability to search inside variables, pop-up window viewing and advanced info for your complex objects, e.g. available methods and static class properties. Categorize and filter results by color. This, for example, allows you to categorize $variables according to which stage they’re in inside your code. Add counter or notes to inspection results. Another way to tag $variables and provide context for the inspection results. Search filter: easily find certain $variables by name and type. View up to 250 results. The free version is limited to 25 results. Individual and bulk deletion of results. Easily clean up your inspection dashboard from obsolete results you no longer need to reference. You can also select certain variables in bulk. Click here to see a screenshot of the PRO version or see below in the screenshots section. What PRO Users Say “I was looking for a tool like this for a while. Great solution! Love this thing.” ~Marco Frodl “I have used it for a couple of days and it has helped me a lot to go faster when debugging.”” ~Javier Sor “I’ve only just started using it and it really helps me get my head around the code of a plugin I’m trying to customise” ~Tim Dickinson “I’ve been testing it and I really like it. It helps a lot and saves a lot of time in development. It’s also compatible with Oxygen, Bricks, WPCodeBox, etc.” ~Juan Jose Gonzalez, oxygenados.com “I just bought this! Great plugin – thank you for the hard work!” ~Tim Dickinson “I used to use Ray locally, I’m also using Xdebug a lot .. if I need to debug some variables, I use Query Monitor. I bought this, because the UI is nice, it has all those good features from both worlds.” ~Peter Morvay “Worth the buy! It is really good… great for debugging. Specially, when you want to write custom code or understand some snippet ChatGPT gave you.” ~John D Get the PRO version now! Check These Out Too Admin and Site Enhancements helps you to easily enhance various admin workflows and site aspects while replacing multiple plugins doing it. System Dashboard: Central dashboard to monitor various WordPress components, processes and data, including the server. Debug Log Manager: Log PHP, database and JavaScript errors via WP_DEBUG with one click. Conveniently create, view, filter and clear the debug.log file. WordPress Newsboard: The latest news, articles, podcasts and videos from 100+ WordPress-focused sources.