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Plugins

Activate and deactivate plugins without leaving the page

Type the plugin name. Toggle it on or off. Stay where you are.

3 min read May 2026 activate / deactivate plugin

Plugin management shouldn't require the Plugins page

You're debugging a conflict. You need to deactivate a plugin to test if it's causing the issue. The standard flow: navigate to Plugins, scroll through the list, find the plugin, click Deactivate, wait for the page reload, navigate back to where you were, test, then go back to re-activate.

For a 2-second toggle, that's a lot of clicking around.

What most people do instead

Navigate to Plugins pageLeave your current page, scroll through 20+ plugins, click toggle, wait for reload, navigate back.
WP-CLI via SSHwp plugin deactivate plugin-name. Requires server access most site managers don't have.

A better way: toggle from anywhere

Open the navigator. Type activate plugin or deactivate plugin followed by the plugin name. Hit enter. The plugin toggles instantly. You never leave the page you're on.

TrueCommander
WooCommerce deactivated
WooCommerceDeactivated

Self-protection built in. The deactivate command won't let you deactivate TrueCommander itself. If multiple plugins match your search, it lists all matches so you can pick the right one.

How it works

1
Type the plugin nameFuzzy matches against installed plugins. Partial names work — "woo" finds WooCommerce.
2
Plugin toggles instantlyUses WordPress's standard activate/deactivate functions. Same hooks fire as the Plugins page.
3
Confirmation in the navigatorShows plugin name and new status. Already active/inactive states handled gracefully.
DetailValue
Commandsactivate plugin [name], deactivate plugin [name]
MatchingFuzzy — partial plugin names work
Multiple matchesLists all matches for you to choose
SafetyCannot deactivate TrueCommander itself
Can be used in

Real example

You're staring at a WooCommerce product page where the Add to Cart button disappeared after installing a new reviews plugin yesterday. Classic CSS conflict. You need to confirm it's the new plugin before filing a support ticket.

You open the navigator and deactivate the reviews plugin. Reload the product page. Add to Cart is back. That's the culprit — confirmed in 10 seconds without ever leaving the product page.

You re-activate it immediately from the navigator. The button disappears again. Now you have a clear bug report: "Your plugin hides the Add to Cart button on single product pages." Screenshot attached, plugin version noted, sent to the developer.

The entire debug cycle — deactivate, test, re-activate, report — took under a minute. On the standard Plugins page, just the navigation back and forth would have taken longer than that.

Per-command guides

Each toggle has its own detail page with command-specific notes on fuzzy matching, self-protection, and safe failure modes.

Goes further with TrueCommander

Ready?

Toggle plugins without the detour.

This is one of 91 commands. All included with every license.

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