Installation and licensing

WP Debug Toolkit (WPDT) is a WordPress plugin distributed as a zip file. You install it like any other plugin, then activate a license key to unlock the modules you purchased.

Installing the plugin

You have two options for installing WPDT.

Option A: Upload through WordPress admin

1. Download the wpdebugtoolkit-{version}.zip file from your account at wpdebugtoolkit.com.
2. Go to Plugins > Add New Plugin in your WordPress admin.
3. Click Upload Plugin.
4. Choose the zip file and click Install Now.
5. Click Activate Plugin.

Option B: Upload via FTP or file manager

1. Unzip wpdebugtoolkit-{version}.zip on your computer.
2. Upload the wpdebugtoolkit folder to wp-content/plugins/ on your server.
3. Go to Plugins in your WordPress admin and activate WP Debug Toolkit Pro.

After activation, a new WP Debug Toolkit menu appears in the WordPress admin sidebar.

Activating a license key

A license key unlocks the modules included in your purchase. Without a license, the plugin loads and you can toggle debug constants (WP_DEBUG, WP_DEBUG_LOG, WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY), but all module features remain locked.

To activate your license:

1. Go to Debug Toolkit > Settings.
2. Open the License tab.
3. Paste your license key into the field.
4. Click Activate License.

The page confirms activation and shows which modules are unlocked.

WP-CLI alternative

wp dbtk license activate XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

Example output:

Activating license...
Success: License activated. Tier: Pro. Modules: viewer, query, email.

Check the current license status:

wp dbtk license status

Understanding modules

WPDT uses a modular licensing system. Each module unlocks a distinct set of features.

Module	What it unlocks
Viewer	The standalone error log viewer — a React app deployed to your web root that reads debug.log and works independently of WordPress.
Query	Database Monitor — database query logging, slow query detection, N+1 detection, backtraces, and component attribution. Also requires the Viewer module for the Query Viewer interface.
Site Monitor	Email notifications — automated alerts when PHP errors occur, with customizable email templates and rate limiting.
Pro	All modules bundled (Viewer + Query + Site Monitor).

What works without a license

Even without an active license, WPDT provides:

• Toggle WP_DEBUG, WP_DEBUG_LOG, and WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY from the admin dashboard
• View debug constant status
• Access Site Health integration checks

Module-specific features (the standalone viewer, query logging, email notifications) require an active license for the corresponding module.

Deactivating and transferring a license

Each license key has a site activation limit. To move your license to a different site, deactivate it on the current site first.

1. Go to Debug Toolkit > Settings > License.
2. Click Deactivate License.
3. On the new site, install WPDT and activate the same license key.

WP-CLI alternative

Deactivate the license on the current site:

wp dbtk license deactivate

Then activate on the new site:

wp dbtk license activate XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

Note: If you deactivate the plugin without deactivating the license first, the site activation remains counted against your limit. You can release activations from your account at wpdebugtoolkit.com.

Checking license status

To see your current license details from the command line:

wp dbtk license status

Example output:

+---------+---------------------------+
| Field   | Value                     |
+---------+---------------------------+
| Status  | Active                    |
| Tier    | Pro                       |
| Plan    | Pro Annual                |
| Expires | 2027-03-15 00:00:00       |
| Modules | viewer, query, email      |
+---------+---------------------------+

Use --format=json to get machine-readable output:

wp dbtk license status --format=json