Quick Navigation Interface
Quick Navigation Interface provides a new way to navigate through the Administration Panels, combining the speed of keyboard shortcuts with the ease of a graphical user interface.
Consider an alternative
Quick Navigation Interface shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 50+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 6 years ago, and scores 37/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (50+ active installs)
- No update in 5 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 5.6 (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 Quick Navigation Interface stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| keyboard | >100 |
| navigation | >100 |
| shortcuts | >100 |
| wp-admin | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 5 reviews
About Quick Navigation Interface
From the official readme · v1.0.1Description
Quick Navigation Interface provides a new way to navigate through the Administration Panels, combining the speed of keyboard shortcuts with the ease of a graphical user interface.
Just press g or ` — the backtick character, usually located above the tab key — to bring up the interface, and then start typing part of the name of any screen, post, page, etc. As you type, you’ll be shown a list of matching links. Use the Up and Down keys to move between them, and press Enter to open one.
This was inspired by Ubuntu’s Dash and HUD, and is also similar to the Spotlight feature in OS X.
Changelog
Version 1.0.1 fixes several minor bugs in the 1.0 release. If you're experiencing any problems, please update.
v1.0.1 (2019-11-19)
- [FIX] Restore ability to search posts for users in Chrome/Safari on sites without SSL certificates.q
- [FIX] Expire stale cached content indexes that are missing the
typefield added in v1.0. - [FIX] Fix several minor errors in browser console.
v1.0 (2019-11-13)
- [NEW] The
gkey now also opens the interface, in addition to the ` (backtick) key. - [NEW] Highlighting a link shows a preview of its URL, so you can know where it will take you.
- [NEW] Links for menu items include their parent menu title, if applicable.
- [NEW] The type of link is now displayed (post, page, menu item, etc).
- [NEW] The plugin can now be translated on WordPress.org.
- [NEW] Front end rebuilt in React, using Gutenberg’s library of UI components, the REST API, and local storage.
- [FIX] Removed duplicate on-page links from the results.
- [FIX] Fixed conflict with using backtick key within Gutenberg editor.
Breaking Changes:
- [REMOVED] The
['shortcuts']['close-interface']item in the array passed to theqni_optionsfilter has been removed. QNI now uses theModalcomponent provided by Gutenberg, which only uses theEscapekey to close it. - [REMOVED] The
qni_template_pathandqni_template_contentfilters have been removed, and files likeqni-interface.phpin your theme will no longer be used. This is because the plugin now declares the templates in React. There aren’t currently any plans to make them customizable.
v0.7 (2019-02-14)
- [SECURITY] Prevent leaking private post titles.
v0.6 (2016-03-10)
- [FIX] Add compatibility with WordPress 4.5 / Backbone 1.2.3 by concatenating JavaScript files in order of dependence.
v0.5 (2015-11-01)
- [FIX] Properly display HTML entities in post titles.
v0.4 (2015-08-14)
- [UPDATE] Close button markup updated to match WordPress 4.3.
Screenshots
For developers
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FAQ
Quick Navigation Interface: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 27, 2026
Is Quick Navigation Interface free?
Yes. Quick Navigation Interface is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Quick Navigation Interface safe to use in 2026?
Quick Navigation Interface shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 50+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 6 years ago, and scores 37/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Quick Navigation Interface?
Quick Navigation Interface is active on 50+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 6,468 times since it launched in May 2015. It was downloaded 54 times in the last 30 days.
Does Quick Navigation Interface work with WordPress 7.1?
Quick Navigation Interface is officially tested up to WordPress 5.6.21, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Quick Navigation Interface need?
Quick Navigation Interface requires PHP 5.6 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Quick Navigation Interface last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.1, was released on December 9, 2020 (6 years ago).
Who makes Quick Navigation Interface?
Quick Navigation Interface is developed and maintained by Ian Dunn.
What are the best alternatives to Quick Navigation Interface?
The most popular alternatives to Quick Navigation Interface are Save with keyboard (3K+ installs), Cool Virtual Keyboard (70+ installs) and Onscreen Keyboard (50+ installs).
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