Title: File Editor Screen
Published: April 10, 2023
Last modified: July 7, 2025

---

# File Editor Screen

## In this article

 * [Edit Plugins](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/plugins/editor-screen/?output_format=md#edit-plugins)
    - [Plugin Files](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/plugins/editor-screen/?output_format=md#plugin-files)
    - [Documentation Lookup](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/plugins/editor-screen/?output_format=md#documentation-lookup)
 * [Update File](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/plugins/editor-screen/?output_format=md#update-file)

[ Back to top](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/plugins/editor-screen/?output_format=md#wp--skip-link--target)

Among the many user-editable files in a standard WordPress installation are the 
[Plugins](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) files. Though it should be rare that you
need to change a Plugin code, the **Plugin File Editor Screen** allows you to edit
those Plugin files.

You can find this editor in the following places depending on your theme:

 * If you are using a [Block theme](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/block-themes/),
   this editor will be listed under Tools.
 * If you are using a Classic theme, this editor will be listed under Appearance.

![Edit Plugins Screen](https://i0.wp.com/raw.githubusercontent.com/WordPress/Advanced-
administration-handbook/main/assets/edit-plugins.png?ssl=1)

![Edit Plugins warning](https://i0.wp.com/raw.githubusercontent.com/WordPress/Advanced-
administration-handbook/main/assets/edit-plugins-warning.png?ssl=1)

## 󠀁[Edit Plugins](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/plugins/editor-screen/?output_format=md#edit-plugins)󠁿

The built-in Plugin File Editor allows you to view or change any Plugin PHP code
in the large text (or edit) box that dominates this Screen.

If a particular file is writeable you can make changes and save the file from here.
If not, you will see the message **You need to make this file writable before you
can save your changes**.

The name of the Plugin file being edited shows up at the top of the text box. Since
Plugin files are pure text, no images or pictures can be inserted into the text 
box.

You can select a Plugin to edit from the dropdown menu on the top right. Just find
a Plugin name and click “Select”.

### 󠀁[Plugin Files](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/plugins/editor-screen/?output_format=md#plugin-files)󠁿

Below the Plugin Selection Menu is a list of the Plugin files that can be edited.
Click on any of the file links to place the text of that file in the text box.

Be very careful editing activated plugin files. The editor does not make backup 
copies. If you introduce an error that crashes your site, you cannot use the editor
to fix the problem. In such a case, use FTP to either upload a functional backup
of the problem file or change the folder name of the _/plugins/_ folder under _/
wp-content/_, which effectively deactivates all plugins until the folder is renamed
correctly.

### 󠀁[Documentation Lookup](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/plugins/editor-screen/?output_format=md#documentation-lookup)󠁿

Under the editor, there is a dropdown menu listing function names found in the Plugin
file you are editing. By selecting a function and clicking the “Lookup” button, 
you can view its documentation on [Code Reference](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/)
or [PHP](https://www.php.net/).

## 󠀁[Update File](https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/plugins/editor-screen/?output_format=md#update-file)󠁿

Remember to click this button to save the changes you have made to the Plugin file.
After clicking this button you should see a splash message at the top of the screen
saying “File edited successfully”. If you don’t see that message, then your changes
are not saved! Note that if a file is not writeable the Update File button will 
not be available.

First published

April 10, 2023

Last updated

July 7, 2025

Edit article

[ Improve it on GitHub: File Editor Screen ](https://github.com/WordPress/Advanced-administration-handbook/edit/main/plugins/editor-screen.md)

Changelog

[ See list of changes: File Editor Screen ](https://github.com/WordPress/Advanced-administration-handbook/commits/main/plugins/editor-screen.md)

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