Child Theme Check
Warns you about outdated template files in your child theme and shows a diff view of the changes between parent and child theme template.
Solid choice
Child Theme Check is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 800+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 4 months ago, and scores 67/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (800+ active installs)
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 Child Theme Check stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| check | #8 |
| child | #8 |
| child theme | #6 |
| child theme check | #1 |
| theme | #19 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 8 reviews
About Child Theme Check
From the official readme · v1.0.10Description
Child Themes are used to avoid overwriting your customizations. But if you preserve a file in a child theme, then you maybe preserve a security risk. After an update from the parent theme you always should check the changes and maybe add them to your child theme. This plugin helps you keeping track of these changes in the parent theme.
For full usage of the plugin your parent theme has to define the version of the template file in the header of the PHP file with an additional @version info.
For example: @version 1.0.0
If this is the case you will see a warning if the version of the parent theme file is higher than your child theme file. And you can see the differences between the parent theme file and the child theme file per wp_text_diff()-function like in revisions.
Some posts about this plugin:
- KrautPress (German)
- WP Tavern (English)
- Elmastudio (English)
- Elmastudio (German)
These themes from Elmastudio are already using the @version info in the header:
- Uku
- Uku Light
- Weta
- Pukeko
- Zeitreise
- Werkstatt
- Neubau
- Hawea
Please spread the word and if you are a theme developer, please add this to your themes too! Thanks 🙂
Installation
- Upload the zip file from this plugin on your plugins page or search for
Child Theme Checkand install it directly from the repository - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Activate a child theme and run the child theme check from your tools menu
Frequently asked questions
I just get the error: Parent theme is missing version keyword.
For full usage of the plugin your parent theme has to define the version of the template file in the header of the PHP file with an additional @version info. For example: @version 1.0.0 If this is the case you will see a warning if the version of the parent theme file is higher than your child theme file. And you can see the differences between the parent theme file and the child theme file per wp_text_diff()-function like in revisions.
Changelog
Minor string changes
1.0.10
- Tested with WordPress 7.0
- Adding PHPStan to project
- Fix errors reported by PHPStan and Plugin Check
- General code maintenance
1.0.9
- Tested with WordPress 6.6
1.0.8
- Upublished because of problems with SVN
1.0.7
- Tested with WordPress 6.5
1.0.6
- Fix CSS
1.0.5
- Fix broken layout in WordPress 5.7 (Thanks to Torsten Bulk for the report)
- Fix PHP warning
- Tested up to 5.7
Screenshots
For developers
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Best Child Theme Check alternatives
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FAQ
Child Theme Check: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 27, 2026
Is Child Theme Check free?
Yes. Child Theme Check is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Child Theme Check safe to use in 2026?
Child Theme Check is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 800+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 4 months ago, and scores 67/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Child Theme Check?
Child Theme Check is active on 800+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 22,851 times since it launched in September 2015. It was downloaded 219 times in the last 30 days.
Does Child Theme Check work with WordPress 7.1?
Child Theme Check 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.
When was Child Theme Check last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.10, was released on May 31, 2026 (4 months ago).
Who makes Child Theme Check?
Child Theme Check is developed and maintained by Torsten Landsiedel.
What are the best alternatives to Child Theme Check?
The most popular alternatives to Child Theme Check are WP-Cron Status Checker (5K+ installs), Cron Setup and Monitor (1K+ installs) and Email Test (1K+ installs).
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