Catch Import Export
Catch Import Export is a simple and easy to use import-export WordPress plugin that is completely free of cost. It addresses the need for importing and exporting of customizer settings from any WordPress theme to…
Use with caution
Catch Import Export works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 30+ sites and was last updated 3 months ago, and scores 52/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (30+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
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 Catch Import Export stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| block-theme | >100 |
| customizer export | #44 |
| customizer import | #64 |
| demo export | #63 |
| full-site-editing | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Catch Import Export
From the official readme · v2.7Description
Catch Import Export is a simple and easy to use import-export WordPress plugin that is completely free of cost. It addresses the need for importing and exporting of customizer settings from any WordPress theme to another website. However, you’ll need to have the same theme or its child theme installed on both sites where you are performing the export/import task. Catch Import Export allows you to move the theme customizer settings from one website to another without having to move the content and database. With the Catch Import Export plugin, you can export the customizer settings in order to reuse it. With the same theme or its child theme installed, you can import the .dat file in another website. Catch Import Export lets you perform the import-export task either from the customizer itself or by visiting the plugin’s setting page in the dashboard. Also, if you’ve ever wanted to backup or export your WordPress Customizer settings, Catch Import Export is a perfect solution for you. Catch Import Export – A Quick and Easy Way to Export and Import Customizer Settings!
For block (Full Site Editing) themes, Catch Import Export can also export a theme’s demo data — its content, navigation, global styles, and customized templates and template parts — as a single ZIP file. When a block theme is active, use the “Export Block Theme Demo” button on the plugin’s settings page (or the wp cie export-fse WP-CLI command) to package the demo, ready to be imported with the Catch Themes Demo Import plugin.
Installation
The easy way (via Dashboard) :
- Go to Plugins > Add New
- Type in the Catch Import/Export in Search Plugins box
- Click Install Now to install the plugin
- After Installation click activate to start using the Catch Import/Export
- Go to Catch Import/Export from Dashboard menu
Not so easy way (via FTP) :
- Download the Catch Import/Export
- Unarchive Catch Import/Export plugin
- Copy folder with catch-import-export.zip
- Open the ftp \wp-content\plugins\
- Paste the plug-ins folder in the folder
- Go to admin panel => open item “Plugins” => activate Catch Import/Export
- Go to Catch Import/Export from Dashboard menu
Changelog
2.7 (Released: June 28, 2026)
- Security: Customizer import now refuses to build PHP objects from an uploaded file, closing an object-injection risk; only plain settings data is accepted
- Bug Fixed: Settings link on the Plugins page no longer appears on unrelated plugins
- Improvement: Catch Themes/Plugins tabs setup now loads only in the admin area, not on every front-end page
- Improvement: License links now use secure HTTPS
- Improvement: Added direct-file-access protection to a few class files and tightened internal value comparisons
2.6 (Released: June 26, 2026)
- Bug Fixed: Export/Import buttons under Appearance > Customize > Catch Import/Export now work again — the Customizer was not loading the plugin’s script, so the buttons had no action (the dashboard export was unaffected)
2.5 (Released: June 21, 2026)
- Added: Block (Full Site Editing) theme demo export — an “Export Block Theme Demo” button on the settings page (downloads a ZIP) and a matching “wp cie export-fse” WP-CLI command; exports content, navigation, global styles and customized templates/parts ready for the Catch Themes Demo Import plugin
- Removed: load_plugin_textdomain
2.4 (Released: May 18, 2026)
- Bug Fixed: Global-scope CTP option loading and CatchThemesThemePlugin require moved into plugins_loaded hook
- Bug Fixed: load_plugin_textdomain() path in class-catch-import-export-i18n.php corrected — was going one directory level too high
- Bug Fixed: matchHeight script now registered before it is listed as a dependency; scripts moved to footer
- Bug Fixed: () in wp_localize_script() replaced with esc_html() for proper escaping
- Bug Fixed: () in customize_options() section title replaced with esc_html()
- Bug Fixed: Raw HTML in add_plugin_meta_links() wrapped with wp_kses(); five duplicate SVG stars replaced with str_repeat()
- Bug Fixed: wp_kses_post() inside JS alert() replaced with esc_js() — prevents broken JS when error message contains quotes or special characters
- Bug Fixed: esc_html() used for URL in JavaScript string replaced with esc_url()
- Bug Fixed: Unsanitized $_REQUEST passed to wp_verify_nonce() — wrapped with sanitize_text_field(wp_unslash()) in both _export() and _import()
- Bug Fixed: @unserialize() with user-uploaded data replaced with maybe_unserialize() — removes error suppression and PHP object injection risk
- Bug Fixed: Loose true == $_REQUEST[‘settings-page’] comparison replaced with strict sanitized check
- Bug Fixed: current_user_can(‘edit_theme_options’) in init() changed to ‘manage_options’ — only administrators should be able to import/export all theme settings
- Bug Fixed: Orphaned nonce field with typo (‘catch_import_export_nounce’) outside any form removed from dashboard-display.php — dead code
- Bug Fixed: Form action URL used esc_html() instead of esc_url(); rebuilt with esc_url(add_query_arg()) for correct URL encoding
- Bug Fixed: Unescaped class attribute echo in catch-import-export-display.php wrapped with esc_attr()
- Bug Fixed: include in class-catch-import-export-control.php changed to require_once
- Bug Fixed: Trailing newlines inside href attribute values in sidebar.php removed
- Bug Fixed: Theme name used in Content-disposition header sanitized with sanitize_file_name()
- Compatibility check up to version 7.0
2.3.1 (Released: February 25, 2026)
- Bug Fixed: Fixed JS enqueue path for adding catch themes tab item in Themes add theme section
2.3 (Released: February 16, 2026)
- Bug Fixed: WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput.UnsafePrintingFunction
- Bug Fixed: WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput.OutputNotEscaped
- Bug Fixed: WordPress.Security.NonceVerification.Recommended
- Bug Fixed: WordPress.WP.AlternativeFunctions.unlink_unlink
- Bug Fixed: WordPress.WP.I18n.MissingTranslatorsComment
- Bug Fixed: WordPress.WP.I18n.NoHtmlWrappedStrings
- Bug Fixed: missing_direct_file_access_protection
- Bug Fixed: WordPress.WP.I18n.TextDomainMismatch
- Bug Fixed: plugin_header_invalid_plugin_uri
- Bug Fixed: trunk_stable_tag
Screenshots
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FAQ
Catch Import Export: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 27, 2026
Is Catch Import Export free?
Yes. Catch Import Export is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Catch Import Export safe to use in 2026?
Catch Import Export works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 30+ sites and was last updated 3 months ago, and scores 52/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Catch Import Export?
Catch Import Export is active on 30+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 6,315 times since it launched in October 2018. It was downloaded 125 times in the last 30 days.
Does Catch Import Export work with WordPress 7.1?
Catch Import Export is officially tested up to WordPress 7.0.6, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Catch Import Export need?
Catch Import Export requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Catch Import Export last updated?
The latest version, 2.7, was released on June 28, 2026 (3 months ago).
Who makes Catch Import Export?
Catch Import Export is developed and maintained by Catch Themes.
What are the best alternatives to Catch Import Export?
The most popular alternatives to Catch Import Export are Create Block Theme (20K+ installs), Dynamic Header & Navigation… (200+ installs) and Enable bbPress for Block Th… (100+ installs).
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