WP Basic Authentication
Basic Authentication for protected your development WordPress site like .htpasswd
Solid choice
WP Basic Authentication is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 2K+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 4 months ago, and scores 68/100 on our health check.
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 WP Basic Authentication stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| authentication | #8 |
| Basic auth | #1 |
| protected | #18 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 5 reviews
About WP Basic Authentication
From the official readme · v1.2.1Description
WP Basic Authentication is a plugin for protected your development WordPress site like .htpasswd and support Docker and Kubernetes (K8s)
Features:
- Easy for setting Basic Authentication
- Basic Authentication works like .htpasswd
- Protected development website or demo website without .htpasswd
- Support Docker and Kubernetes (K8s)
- The plugin is lightweight.
Installation
- Upload
wp-basic-authentication.zipto the install plugin page - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Go to Authentication in the left-hand menu to start setting the plugin
Frequently asked questions
How to setting the plugin?
Go to Authentication in the left-hand menu to start setting the plugin
How to disable Authentication if I forgot the credentials
Rename or delete ‘wp-basic-authentication’ directory in plugins directory via FTP or commend line
Password Migration (v1.1.0+)
If you’re updating from a version older than 1.1.0, your existing password will be automatically migrated to the new secure hashed format. You don’t need to change your password – the plugin will handle this automatically and show you a success message in the WordPress admin.
Changelog
1.2.1
- Tested up to WordPress 7.0
- Use CSS custom properties for admin color scheme compatibility
1.2.0
- Add REST API (/wp-json/) authentication toggle
- Add path exclusion list for health checks, webhooks, and other endpoints
- Add IP allowlist to bypass authentication for trusted addresses
- Add production environment warning when plugin is active
- Add uninstall cleanup — plugin options are now removed on deletion
- Fix output escaping for translatable strings with HTML
- Refactor shared password hash detection into a single helper function
1.1.2
- Fix password authentication failure caused by double-hashing during save
- Fix hash detection to support all WordPress password hash formats
- Fix warning message HTML on settings page
1.1.1
- Fix small issue on setting page
1.1.0
- Hash password with automatic migration from older versions
- Automatic password migration for users updating from pre-1.1.0 versions
- Tested up to WordPress 6.9
1.0.3
- Tested up to WordPress 6.5
- Separate protected frontend and wp-login page
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best WP Basic Authentication alternatives
All authentication plugins →
FAQ
WP Basic Authentication: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 26, 2026
Is WP Basic Authentication free?
Yes. WP Basic Authentication is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is WP Basic Authentication safe to use in 2026?
WP Basic Authentication is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 2K+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 4 months ago, and scores 68/100 on our health check.
How many websites use WP Basic Authentication?
WP Basic Authentication is active on 2K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 52,177 times since it launched in September 2020. It was downloaded 1,241 times in the last 30 days.
Does WP Basic Authentication work with WordPress 7.1?
WP Basic Authentication 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.
What PHP version does WP Basic Authentication need?
WP Basic Authentication requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was WP Basic Authentication last updated?
The latest version, 1.2.1, was released on May 25, 2026 (4 months ago).
Who makes WP Basic Authentication?
WP Basic Authentication is developed and maintained by nutttaro.
What are the best alternatives to WP Basic Authentication?
The most popular alternatives to WP Basic Authentication are Limit Login Attempts (300K+ installs), WPS Limit Login (100K+ installs) and Two Factor (100K+ installs).
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