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WP Live CSS Editor icon
Possibly abandoned Tested up to 3.6.1 #87 in css

WP Live CSS Editor

A CSS live Editor that allows you to preview realtime CSS changes and then save your changes. It saves dated backups of each save, so you can go back if it breaks, and you should erase backups once on a while. It’s a…

Active installs100+100+ tier
Downloads · 30d195▲ +4.3% vs prev. 30d
Rating2.5/510 reviews
Health score27/100At risk
All-time downloads46.8KSince May 2011
Support resolved—No recent threads
RequiresWP 2.7PHP any
Downloads · 7d46▼ -11.5% week over week
Our verdict

Consider an alternative

WP Live CSS Editor shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 2.5/5 and was last updated 13 years ago, and scores 27/100 on our health check.

  • Small user base (100+ active installs)
  • Mixed reviews — 2.5/5 from 10 ratings
  • No update in 13 years
  • Only tested up to WordPress 3.6 (latest is 7.1)

How does it stack up?

Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support

Daily downloads

4913Jul 1Aug 14Sep 28
Yesterday6
Daily average (1y)5
Peak day18Sep 14, 2026
Last 12 months1.7K

Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.

Rankings

Where WP Live CSS Editor stands today

WordPress.org search rankings

Live position in the plugin search, top 100
KeywordPositionCompeting pluginsCategory
css >100 10,000 Best css plugins →
designer >100 1,305 Best designer plugins →
developer >100 10,000 Best developer plugins →
editor >100 10,000 Best editor plugins →

Version adoption

Share of active sites per release.

  • 13.09100.0%

Rating breakdown

★★★★★★★★★★ 2.5 from 10 reviews

  • 5★30.0%
  • 4★0.00%
  • 3★10.0%
  • 2★10.0%
  • 1★50.0%

About WP Live CSS Editor

From the official readme · v13.09

Description

A CSS live Editor that allows you to preview realtime CSS changes and then save your changes.
It saves dated backups of each save, so you can go back if it breaks, and you should erase backups once on a while.
It’s a port from a Drupal module Live CSS http://drupal.org/project/live_css by guybedford http://drupal.org/user/746802
Now using ACE editor http://ace.ajax.org/
Tested on WordPress 3.6. But needs more testing !

=capabilities.php problem (not bug) SOLVED !=

Ok, now I did the correct thing and created an action to the wp_loaded hook to init the plugin, then,
check whether the user can “erase themes” which is an Admin capability only, so the plugin only works if you are an admin.
No need to modify the capabilities.php nor anything else.

Some users have had problems in former 12.05 release with their site being inaccesible after installing the plugin.
It all seemed to be part of the same problem with the capabilities.php file that is discussed here:
https://wordpress.org/support/topic/fatal-error-call-to-undefined-function-wp_get_current_user-4?replies=32

It works nice and perfect for me, but still needs testing !!!

Hola mundo !

Este plugin está basado en el módulo de [Drupal Live CSS] (http://drupal.org/project/live_css) de [guybedford] (http://drupal.org/user/746802)

Es un editor de CSS que te permite editar en directo todas las hojas de estilo CSS de tu web, ver los cambios y guardar sobre la marcha.
Está pensada para usarla al diseñar la web, por lo que conviene desactivarlo o desinstalarlo una vez terminada. Cada vez que se guardan los cambios se genera una copia de seguridad fechada, para que puedas volver atrás si hace falta.
Utiliza ACE como editor.

Sólo los administradores pueden usar el plugin.

Importante !!!

Hacer copia de respaldo de los archivos CSS antes de probarlo !
Aunque el plugin genera automáticamente copias de seguridad fechadas en el mismo directorio en que estén los archivos modificados, siempre conviene tener una copia del estado general de la cosa antes de empezar a trastear.
Si no funciona al guardar o hacer la copia de seguridad aparece un mensaje con las rutas del archivo que se intentaba modificar, la de la copia de seguridad y tal vez un mensaje de error. Lo más seguro es que el problema sea de permisos. Los CSS que quieras editar deberían tener permiso de escritura 755.

Instalación

La instalación es la típica de cualquier plugin de wordpress. Desempaquetar el zip en wp-content/plugins, y listo. No hay que tocar los temas ni hacer nada más que activarlo desde el panel de administración.
No tiene opciones ni página propia en el panel de administración.
Probado en WordPress 3.3.2, tienes que ser un administrador para poder usarlo.

Utiliza ahora el hook wp_loaded que arregla el problema de la versión anterior que se discutía aquí: https://wordpress.org/support/topic/fatal-error-call-to-undefined-function-wp_get_current_user-4?replies=32

Más información

http://drupal.org/project/live_css  Live CSS
http://drupal.org/user/746802       guybedford
http://drupal.org/user/78427
http://mozillalabs.com/skywriter/2011/01/18/mozilla-skywriter-has-been-merged-into-ace/
http://www.ajax.org/
http://ace.ajax.org/

https://codex.wordpress.org/AJAX_in_Plugins
http://briancray.com/2009/08/19/wordpress-head-element/
http://www.devlounge.net/code/using-ajax-with-your-wordpress-plugin
http://amiworks.co.in/talk/simplified-ajax-for-wordpress-plugin-developers-using-jquery/

http://drupal.org/project/cssedit   Realtime CSS Editor
http://drupal.org/user/78427        tjholowaychuk

Installation

Upload the wp-live-css-editor folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress

IMPORTANT: Tested on WordPress 3.3.2, now you have to be an administrator to use it.

capabilities.php problem (not bug) SOLVED !

Ok, now I did the correct thing and created an action to the wp_loaded hook to init the plugin, then,
check whether the user can “erase themes” which is an Admin capability only, so the plugin only works if you are an admin.
No need to modify the capabilities.php nor anything else.

Some users have had problems in former 12.05 release with their site being inaccesible after installing the plugin.
It all seemed to be part of the same problem with the capabilities.php file that is discussed here:
https://wordpress.org/support/topic/fatal-error-call-to-undefined-function-wp_get_current_user-4?replies=32

File structure:

  • /wp-content/plugins/wp-live-css-editor/
  • /wp-content/plugins/wp-live-css-editor/wp-live-css-editor.php
  • /wp-content/plugins/wp-live-css-editor/wp-live-css-editor.js
  • /wp-content/plugins/wp-live-css-editor/wp-live-css-editor-css.css
  • /wp-content/plugins/wp-live-css-editor/readme.txt
  • /wp-content/plugins/wp-live-css-editor/JSON.php
  • /wp-content/plugins/wp-live-css-editor/screenshot-1.jpg
  • /wp-content/plugins/wp-live-css-editor/ace/

Changelog

Just the usual, deactivate plugin, replace files, activate.

13.09

Big thanks to pingram3541 for his forum posts that corrected some very ugly bugs.
I’ve been very busy and away from computers for a while. Better late than never.

  • Fixed saving issue that wreaked the file by creating ugly and recursive escape chars \\\\\\\\\: https://wordpress.org/support/topic/backslahes-added-css-broken
  • Fixed theme ‘setting’ that should allow better reading. Kept twilight, though, still you can change the theme manually editing both the js and php files: https://wordpress.org/support/topic/background-color-or-themes
  • Moved it all down below the wp admin bar so the css selector isn’t hidden: https://wordpress.org/support/topic/sidebar-28px-top-for-wpadmin-menu
  • Fixed messing around with admin pages: https://wordpress.org/support/topic/editor-left-open-causes-admin-to-break

12.06

  • pluggable.php and capabilities.php load order problem that made the site inaccesible SOLVED using the wp_loaded hook

12.05

  • Updated from guybedford’s module http://drupal.org/project/live_css
  • Dropped less suport for simplicity
  • You have to be logged in as an administrator to see and use the plugin
  • Uses ACE editor which solves most of commented bugs and needed features (wild slashes, search in the css editor, undo keyboard shortcuts…)

11.05

  • First Commit ! release 2011-05-15
  • Now using wp_enqueue_scripts adn wp_enqueue_styles to correctly inject stylesheets and scripts
  • Not for production sites, just for design and development time. Needs roles and permissions settings, though only logged in users can actually save changes, any visitor can see it in action.
  • If it doesn’t save changes, it’s probably a permission problem with the CSS file (Or you are not logged in)
  • Will need to clean up backups manually via FTP when you are done, as they might be a lot and counting ! A restore version system would come in handy…
  • Seems to be fixed, but for a while the plugin was inflating the CSS files in each save by swarming trillions of slashes before every single and double quote
  • Fixed a BUG where relative urls wouldn’t find the wp-admin/admin-ajax.php file, thanks to Gary Cao’s wonderful tips: http://www.garyc40.com/2010/03/5-tips-for-using-ajax-in-wordpress/#js-global
  • Please ! Backup your CSS files before using it the first time, just in case !
  • No plugin options nor admin page
  • A JSON helper for older PHP versions is there, but untested yet.
  • A floating window / drawer might be better than narrowing the whole page.

Full changelog on WordPress.org →

Screenshots

The live css editor with the header changed to red
The live css editor with the header changed to red

For developers

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Best WP Live CSS Editor alternatives

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FAQ

WP Live CSS Editor: quick answers

Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.

Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 29, 2026

Is WP Live CSS Editor free?

Yes. WP Live CSS Editor is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.

Is WP Live CSS Editor safe to use in 2026?

WP Live CSS Editor shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 100+ sites, is rated 2.5/5 and was last updated 13 years ago, and scores 27/100 on our health check.

How many websites use WP Live CSS Editor?

WP Live CSS Editor is active on 100+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 46,812 times since it launched in May 2011. It was downloaded 195 times in the last 30 days.

Does WP Live CSS Editor work with WordPress 7.1?

WP Live CSS Editor is officially tested up to WordPress 3.6.1, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.

When was WP Live CSS Editor last updated?

The latest version, 13.09, was released on September 28, 2013 (13 years ago).

Who makes WP Live CSS Editor?

WP Live CSS Editor is developed and maintained by funlab.

What are the best alternatives to WP Live CSS Editor?

The most popular alternatives to WP Live CSS Editor are WPCode (3M+ installs), Code Snippets (1M+ installs) and Simple Custom CSS Plugin (100K+ installs).

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