Syntax Highlighter MT
This plugin works like many of the others that enable the use of the Syntax Highlighter tool. Dynamic plugin loading
Consider an alternative
Syntax Highlighter MT shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites and was last updated 11 years ago, and scores 25/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (100+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 11 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 4.3 (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 Syntax Highlighter MT stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| code | >100 |
| Code Highlight | >100 |
| Highlight | >100 |
| syntax | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Syntax Highlighter MT
From the official readme · v2.2.5Description
This plugin works like many of the others that enable the use of the Syntax Highlighter tool. Dynamic plugin loading
is now available as part of the Syntax Highlighter tool, making brush configuration obsolete.
Available brushes are:
applescript
actionscript3 as3
bash shell
coldfusion cf
cpp c
c# c-sharp csharp
css
delphi pascal
diff patch pas
erl erlang
groovy
hive
java
jfx javafx
js jscript javascript
objc obj-c
perl pl
php
pig
text plain
py python
ruby rails ror rb
sass scss
scala
sql
vb vbnet
xml xhtml xslt html
Changing display themes
The display theme can be changed by navigating to Settings -> Syntax Highlighter MT. The themes available are:
- Default
- Django
- Eclipse
- Emacs
- FadeToGrey
- MDUltra
- Midnight
- RDark
Advanced Usage
Changing the appearance of code
There are many options that can be applied inline to control how your formatted code is displayed. These are appended to the class definition after the brush declaration.
auto-links
Enabled by default. Disabling this turns off link detection in the highlighted section, making URLs non-clickable.
<pre class="brush: java; auto-links: false">
String link = "http://www.megatome.com";
</pre>
class-name
Use this to specify one or more classes that should be applied to the generated highlight element.
collapse
False by default. Forces the highlighted code to be collapsed by default.
first-line
1 by default. Change the starting line number for a section of highlighted code.
<pre class="brush: java; first-line: 20">
String link = "http://www.megatome.com";
</pre>
gutter
Enabled by default. Turn the line numbers on and off.
<pre class="brush: java; gutter: false">
String link = "http://www.megatome.com";
</pre>
highlight
Specify one or more lines to be highlighted.
<pre class="brush: java; highlight: [1, 3]">
String link = "http://www.megatome.com";
System.out.println("Hello World");
System.out.println("Goodbye World");
</pre>
toolbar
Enabled by default. Toggle the toolbar.
<pre class="brush: java; toolbar: false">
String link = "http://www.megatome.com";
</pre>
title
Allows a title to be set for a block of code. This is not in the class, but in the <pre/> or <script/> tags.
<pre class="brush: java" title="Here is some Java">
String link = "http://www.megatome.com";
</pre>
Take a look at http://alexgorbatchev.com/wiki/SyntaxHighlighter for the documentation on using the Syntax Highlighter tool.
Installation
- Unzip the
syntax-highlighter-mtdirectory and upload it to/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
Changelog
This version has been tested with recent WordPress versions, and uses the most recent Syntax Highlighter version. Users should upgrade if these features are desired.
2.2.5
- Verified to work with WordPress 4.1.
2.2.4
- Verified to work with WordPress 3.9.
- Updated docs to describe changing themes. (GitHub Issue #2)
- Properly serve assets over HTTPS as well as HTTP. (GitHub Issue #1)
2.2.3
- Verified to work with WordPress 3.8.
- Updated docs to include advanced usage.
2.2.2
- Added brushes for Pig and Hive QL.
2.2.1
- No functional changes. Just updating the compatible WP version numbers to be the most recent.
2.2
- Added Objective C brush.
Screenshots
For developers
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FAQ
Syntax Highlighter MT: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 30, 2026
Is Syntax Highlighter MT free?
Yes. Syntax Highlighter MT is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Syntax Highlighter MT safe to use in 2026?
Syntax Highlighter MT shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites and was last updated 11 years ago, and scores 25/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Syntax Highlighter MT?
Syntax Highlighter MT is active on 100+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 24,877 times since it launched in October 2009. It was downloaded 71 times in the last 30 days.
Does Syntax Highlighter MT work with WordPress 7.1?
Syntax Highlighter MT is officially tested up to WordPress 4.3.0, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Syntax Highlighter MT last updated?
The latest version, 2.2.5, was released on August 18, 2015 (11 years ago).
Who makes Syntax Highlighter MT?
Syntax Highlighter MT is developed and maintained by iamthechad.
What are the best alternatives to Syntax Highlighter MT?
The most popular alternatives to Syntax Highlighter MT are WPCode (3M+ installs), Code Snippets (1M+ installs) and Head & Footer Code (100K+ installs).
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