The Publisher Desk ads.txt
Ads.txt management tool for publishers in The Publisher Desk portfolio.
Consider an alternative
The Publisher Desk ads.txt shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 4 years ago, and scores 32/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (100+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 4 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.0 (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 The Publisher Desk ads.txt stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| ads | >100 |
| ads.txt | #54 |
| advertising | >100 |
| monetization | >100 |
| publishing | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
About The Publisher Desk ads.txt
From the official readme · v1.5.0Description
This is a WordPress plugin for clients of The Publisher Desk, intended to automatically propagate changes made to The Publisher Desk’s ads.txt file to client websites, while letting them add/retain custom lines as desired.
Functionality
This plugin provides management of the ads.txt file (Authorized Digital Sellers), an initiative from IAB Technology Laboratory, geared towards client of The Publisher Desk. Because the administration of a file outside the wordpress directory can pose challenges depending on the WP/Server configuration, the plugin decides on installation whether to use an actual ads.txt file in the root of the domain, or a quasi-ads.txt file built through a WP option and responding to a server request for “/ads.txt” by providing the contents of that option (containing both custom lines and those associated with TPD’s centralalized list).
Troubleshooting an installation:
If you already have an ads.txt file present on your site, the plugin will rename it to ads-txt-original.txt on installation, and re-rename that file back on de-installation. If your site’s wordpress instance doesn’t have access to files outside of its installation directory and you already have an ads.txt file, the plugin won’t be able to dislodge the existing file and allow the management of the one it creates. You can check whether this has happened if you check your site’s ads.txt file directly (site.com/ads.txt) and there’s no line reading:
“### END TPD ADS TXT ###”
a line that is used by the plugin to demarcate custom entries and The Publisher Desk’s. If this is the case, please deactivate the plugin, rename or remove your existing file, re-activate, and check the file again (you might have to refresh several times depending on caching). If you still don’t see that line and the file looks the same as before the update, please reach out to TPD for assistance.
Final Note: it’s good practice to have a backup of your custom ads.txt lines. We have functionality for retaining your custom lines on plugin updates/re-installs, but it’s good to make sure since it can be a big pain to recollect entries if you lose them.
For developers
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FAQ
The Publisher Desk ads.txt: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 8, 2026
Is The Publisher Desk ads.txt free?
Yes. The Publisher Desk ads.txt is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is The Publisher Desk ads.txt safe to use in 2026?
The Publisher Desk ads.txt shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 4 years ago, and scores 32/100 on our health check.
How many websites use The Publisher Desk ads.txt?
The Publisher Desk ads.txt is active on 100+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 5,942 times since it launched in May 2019. It was downloaded 107 times in the last 30 days.
Does The Publisher Desk ads.txt work with WordPress 7.1?
The Publisher Desk ads.txt is officially tested up to WordPress 6.0.17, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does The Publisher Desk ads.txt need?
The Publisher Desk ads.txt requires PHP 5.2.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was The Publisher Desk ads.txt last updated?
The latest version, 1.5.0, was released on August 18, 2022 (4 years ago).
Who makes The Publisher Desk ads.txt?
The Publisher Desk ads.txt is developed and maintained by PublisherDesk.
What are the best alternatives to The Publisher Desk ads.txt?
The most popular alternatives to The Publisher Desk ads.txt are Google for WooCommerce (800K+ installs), Ad Inserter (300K+ installs) and Head, Footer and Post Injec… (200K+ installs).
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