Debug Bar Shortcodes
Debug Bar Shortcodes adds a new panel to the Debug Bar that displays the registered shortcodes for the current request.
Consider an alternative
Debug Bar Shortcodes shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 30+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 10 years ago, and scores 31/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (30+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 10 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.4 (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 Debug Bar Shortcodes stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| debug bar | >100 |
| Debug Bar Shortcodes | >100 |
| debugbar | #7 |
| shortcodes | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews
About Debug Bar Shortcodes
From the official readme · v2.0.3Description
Debug Bar Shortcodes adds a new panel to the Debug Bar that displays the registered shortcodes for the current request.
Additionally it will show you:
- Which function/method is called by the shortcode
- Whether the shortcode is used on the current post/page/post type and how (only when on singular)
- Any additional information available about the shortcode, such as a description, which parameters it takes, whether or not it is self-closing.
Want to control the additional information displayed about your own shortcodes ? You can! See the FAQ for more info. - Find out all pages/posts/etc on which a shortcode is used
This plugin is compatible with the LRH-Shortcode list and the Shortcake/Shortcode UI plugins. Additional information about a shortcode provided to these plugins will be taken into account and made available through this plugin too.
Why is it useful to have insight into the shortcodes ?
There are a number of typical uses I can think of:
-
If you are a blog author:
- to know which shortcodes you can use in your posts/pages.
- if you switch plugins or remove a plugin, to know in which posts/pages you need to remove/replace old shortcodes
-
If you are a web designer / web master:
- if you switch plugins or remove a plugin, to know in which posts/pages you need to remove/replace old shortcodes.
- to know which shortcodes you can use in theme files.
- to avoid name conflicts for website specific shortcodes.
-
If you are a developer:
- to avoid name conflicts with shortcodes registered by other plugins/themes.
- to check whether your shortcode registers properly and whether the conditionals are applied correctly.
Important
This plugin requires the Debug Bar plugin to be installed and activated.
Credits
- The additional information functionality is inspired by LRH-Shortcode list and Shortcode reference.
- The finding of shortcode uses throughout the site is inspired by TR All Shortcodes
If you like this plugin, please rate and/or review it. If you have ideas on how to make the plugin even better or if you have found any bugs, please report these in the Support Forum or in the GitHub repository.
Installation
- Install Debug Bar if not already installed (https://wordpress.org/plugins/debug-bar/)
- Extract the .zip file for this plugin and upload its contents to the
/wp-content/plugins/directory. Alternatively, you can install directly from the Plugin directory within your WordPress Install. - Activate the plugin through the “Plugins” menu in WordPress.
Be careful when you use this plugin on a live site. This plugin is intended for development purposes.
Changelog
Added ShortCake support.
2.0.3 (2016-04-29)
- Make loading of text-domain compatible with use of the plugin in the
must-useplugins directory. - Minor housekeeping.
- Tested & found compatible WP 4.5.
2.0.2 (2016-01-10)
- Fix spinner for ajax request which had stopped working since WP 4.2.
2.0.1 (2015-12-26)
- Fix weird table layout on front-end in combination with Twenty-Sixteen theme.
2.0 (2015-12-14)
IMPORTANT: if you are a plugin/theme developer and you were using the 'db_shortcodes_info_{your_shortcode}' filter: the behaviour of this filter has changed from passing an array, to passing an object. Please read the FAQ for information on how to deal with this change !
- Enhancement: Added support for shortcode information available through Shortcake.
- Enhancement: At least try and detect the plugin url if more than one plugin was found in the same directory.
- Bug Fix: Information was not obtained for shortcodes with a closure as callback. (Reflection object was not obtained for closures.)
- Compatibility fix: Minor html change to fix layout for WP 4.4.
- Usability: Improved table header alignment.
- Usability: Row actions now visible on hover over row, not just title.
- Usability: Improved compatibility with Glotpress / WP translations.
- Minor housekeeping.
- Tested & found compatible WP 4.4.
1.0.3 (2014-12-18)
- Added: more detailed information about the WP native
playlistshortcode. - Tested & found compatible WP 4.1.
1.0.2 (2014-09-05)
- Fix compatibility with the Plugin Dependencies plugin.
- Tested & found compatible WP 4.0.
Screenshots
For developers
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FAQ
Debug Bar Shortcodes: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 29, 2026
Is Debug Bar Shortcodes free?
Yes. Debug Bar Shortcodes is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Debug Bar Shortcodes safe to use in 2026?
Debug Bar Shortcodes shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 30+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 10 years ago, and scores 31/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Debug Bar Shortcodes?
Debug Bar Shortcodes is active on 30+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 26,719 times since it launched in December 2013. It was downloaded 71 times in the last 30 days.
Does Debug Bar Shortcodes work with WordPress 7.1?
Debug Bar Shortcodes is officially tested up to WordPress 4.4.34, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Debug Bar Shortcodes last updated?
The latest version, 2.0.3, was released on April 30, 2016 (10 years ago).
Who makes Debug Bar Shortcodes?
Debug Bar Shortcodes is developed and maintained by Juliette Reinders Folmer.
What are the best alternatives to Debug Bar Shortcodes?
The most popular alternatives to Debug Bar Shortcodes are Query Monitor (200K+ installs), ElasticPress Debugging Add-… (800+ installs) and Debug Bar Rewrite Rules (700+ installs).
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