An official WordPress browser extension is currently in development, which aims to provide access to commonly used site controls, hosting details, and developer-focused tools directly from the browser toolbar.
Planned initially for Chrome and Safari, the project aims to address a long-standing issue where the WordPress admin bar, while providing quick access to commonly used actions, sits within the website viewport and can affect how administrators view and test sites from a logged-out visitor’s perspective.
How the project took shape
The effort is being led by Jake Goldman (President & Founder of 10up) and Fabian Kägy (Director of Editorial Engineering at 10up) after Matt Mullenweg encouraged the development of an official browser extension for WordPress.
Matt created the browser-extension channel on Slack on April 25, 2026 and said, “This is a perhaps forward invitation to Jake Goldman to bring the great work he’s done with https://github.com/jakemgold/wp-detective and Fabian Kägy is rolling with to go crazy with a official WordPress extension Jake Goldman you are the Maison Head aka Creative Director aka Lead Developer of this project so just take it wherever you want to go with it”.
The extension is intended to solve a tradeoff surrounding the WordPress admin bar, which offers convenient access to editing actions and shortcuts, but can also affect how websites are viewed during testing, “ WordPress’s admin bar is convenient — Edit Post, the jump-to-admin link, a few plugin add-ons — but it lives inside the website’s viewport. That gets in the way when you’re checking how a site behaves for a logged-out visitor, especially with sticky navigation, parallax, or designs that key off the full browser height (100vh layouts, raindrop scroll effects, anything immersive). “
They also highlighted that plugins often add their own shortcuts and controls too. The usual workaround is to disable the admin bar, which solves the front-end viewing issue, but also makes it harder to quickly jump back into wp-admin or edit content.
The team said the extension focuses on the actions users rely on most during day-to-day site management, “ For most everyday work, Edit this page, jump to admin, and a handful of host or developer shortcuts cover 80-90% of what most site managers reach for.”
It moves those frequently used actions into the browser toolbar, keeping the admin bar available when needed without leaving it constantly inside the website viewport.
What the browser extension can do
The extension ca automatically detect whether a website is powered by WordPress or not. If it’s not, the icon on the browser toolbar will indicate it with a grey slashed icon.
For sites created with WordPress, it will have a grey icon without a slash over it. The icon will turn blue once logged in.
The extension automatically detects whether a website is running WordPress by checking signals such as REST API references, generator tags, asset paths, and body classes.
Once on the front end, the extension provides various quick access to edit pages/posts, wp-admin, one-click log out, and a new content menu (post, page, media, and user).
Besides these, the extension also provides the ability to detect site information such as the active theme, plugins, and identify hosts.
There is also access to several developer tools, such as highlight blocks, mobile preview, bypass page cache, and clear site data.
The extension also does not include telemetry, analytics, or third-party tracking and operates locally as stated, “ No telemetry, no analytics, no third-party tracking. The extension does its work locally — reading the page you’re on and (when you’re signed in as an admin) calling the site’s own REST API for theme and plugin information. Nothing leaves your browser for any service outside the WordPress site you’re already visiting.”
Jake Goldman has requested wider testing on the WordPress Browser extension, “ Before we begin moving through directory and App Store submissions, we’d love to see wider testing.”
Interested users can join the browser extensions Slack channel for discussions and feedback, and also make use of the project’s GitHub repository.