Admin Bar User Switching
An admin bar “Switch to User” option is provided which on hover provides a search box where you can query a user to switch to. The results are links to switch to that user. This plugin is great for when you are building…
Consider an alternative
Admin Bar User Switching shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 2K+ sites, is rated 4.8/5 and was last updated 4 years ago, and scores 28/100 on our health check.
- No update in 4 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.0 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Admin Bar User Switching stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| user switching | >100 |
| users | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 from 12 reviews
About Admin Bar User Switching
From the official readme · v1.4Description
This plugin was originally developed by Mark Wilkinson.
An admin bar “Switch to User” option is provided which on hover provides a search box where you can query a user to switch to. The results are links to switch to that user. This plugin is great for when you are building sites for clients and it is beneficial to see the site as your logged in client see’s it.
And there is an optional mode where you can use a custom keyboard combination, say ‘su’, and it activates the form where you search for users, and then you can use keyboard arrows to navigate the list of results, and the return key to switch to the selected user. The same combo can be used to focus the ‘Switch Off’ link, following a return to simulate a click.
To activate this feature and set the custom keyboard combination, aka magic word, you need to use the abus_ajax_args and add a ‘magicWord’ variable.
Note that keyboard navigation is not dependant on the custom keyboard combination, and can be used out of the box.
Installation
To install the plugin:
- Upload to the
/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
Frequently asked questions
How do I switch to a user?
As with the User Switching plugin you can still use the “Switch To” link on the users overview page – nothing changes there. However the point of this plugin is that it gives you a Switch to User link in the WordPress admin bar. This reveals a search box where you can search for a users username. The results of this search are clickable to “Switch To” that user. And there is an optional mode where you can use a custom keyboard combination, say ‘su’, and it activates the form where you search for users, and then you can use keyboard arrows to navigate the list of results, and the return key to…
What can be entered into the username search box?
You can enter a user ID, part of / exact username, URL, email, or display name, WordPress automatically chooses the best fields to match to based on your input. See here for more information on wildcard searches. Clicking submit with nothing in the search box will search all users except the current logged in user.
Has the plugin any filters or actions for developers?
It does indeed, although not too many! The following filters can be used. abus_switch_to_text – allows developers to change the text that is displayed in the admin menu which, when on hover shows the search box abus_form_output – this filter can be used to change the markup of the form which is used in the plugin for user searching abus_switch_back_text – this filter is used to change the text shown to switch back to the original logged in user abus_switch_to_url – this filter is used to alter the redirect url for different users as the filter is passed to switch to user user object…
Changelog
Update through the WordPress admin as notified.
1.4 – 2021-17-12
- Fixed – Fixed Undefined Variable $port.
1.3 – 2021-22-10
- Fixed – Deprecated error.
1.2 – 2020-02-11
- Update – WordPress 5.3 compatibility
- Tweak – Update and modernize the codebase
1.1.1
- Only enqueue js if the user is logged in
- Do not seperately enqueue jQuery as it is already stated as a dependency
1.1
- Add keyboard navigation
- Add magic-word feature, keyboard-only usage of the plugin
- Focus search input on clicking the admin-bar button – thanks to @shadyvb for work on these features
- Allow search on any user fields rather than just the login or username
- Make the search query parameters extensible with a filter so developers can easily edit them
- Escape calls to $_POST in the ajax search function
1.0.6
- Make the capability (edit_users by default) needed to be able to switch to users be filterable.
Screenshots
For developers
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Best Admin Bar User Switching alternatives
All user switching plugins →
FAQ
Admin Bar User Switching: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 27, 2026
Is Admin Bar User Switching free?
Yes. Admin Bar User Switching is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Admin Bar User Switching safe to use in 2026?
Admin Bar User Switching shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 2K+ sites, is rated 4.8/5 and was last updated 4 years ago, and scores 28/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Admin Bar User Switching?
Admin Bar User Switching is active on 2K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 50,696 times since it launched in November 2014. It was downloaded 276 times in the last 30 days.
Does Admin Bar User Switching work with WordPress 7.1?
Admin Bar User Switching is officially tested up to WordPress 6.0.16, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Admin Bar User Switching need?
Admin Bar User Switching requires PHP 5.6 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Admin Bar User Switching last updated?
The latest version, 1.4, was released on May 24, 2022 (4 years ago).
Who makes Admin Bar User Switching?
Admin Bar User Switching is developed and maintained by Saad Iqbal.
What are the best alternatives to Admin Bar User Switching?
The most popular alternatives to Admin Bar User Switching are User Switching (200K+ installs), WP User Switch (1K+ installs) and Subaccounts for WooCommerce (200+ installs).
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