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Swapline

Free WordPress search and replace with serialized data handling, backups and safe imports.

by Jean Galea · github.com/jgalea/swapline

★ 0stars

Install

Download source zip No release zip yet

This is the repository archive. It installs, but the folder name will carry the branch suffix and updates will not flow.

Install straight from GitHub with WP-CLI:

wp plugin install https://github.com/jgalea/swapline/archive/refs/heads/main.zip
No built-in updater. New versions won't appear under Dashboard → Updates. Install new releases yourself, or let Git Updater track the repository.
Readme github.com/jgalea/swapline ↗

Swapline

License Built by

Swapline is a free WordPress plugin for search and replace across database tables, with safe handling of serialized data and JSON.

What it does

  • Search and replace across the tables you pick, with table sizes, select-all and core-only shortcuts.
  • Serialized values are rebuilt with correct byte lengths at any depth, including serialized strings inside serialized strings. Objects are never instantiated (allowed_classes => false).
  • JSON values are matched in their escaped form (https:\/\/…, é) and must still decode after the change.
  • Broken serialized values are left alone and counted.
  • Case-insensitive and regex modes, dry runs, and a side-by-side diff of every changed cell for the last five runs.
  • Unlimited saved profiles.
  • Batched AJAX processing with a progress bar. Tables without a primary key are supported.
  • Multisite: network admin only, tables from every site.
  • Backups of the whole database or selected tables to a gzipped SQL file, written in batches with a progress bar. A search and replace can be applied to the backup file only, which leaves the live site alone and gives you a file to import on a new domain.
  • Backups are kept in a randomly named folder under uploads, closed to the web by .htaccess, web.config and random file names, and downloaded through a nonce- and capability-checked handler. A retention setting keeps the latest backups.
  • A live search and replace can back up the selected tables first.
  • Import a .sql or .sql.gz upload, or one of your backups, with an optional search and replace on the imported data. Every statement is checked before anything runs: only CREATE TABLE, DROP TABLE, INSERT ... VALUES with literal values, LOCK/UNLOCK TABLES and session SET are accepted. Tables load under temporary names and are swapped in with one RENAME TABLE, so a failed import leaves the live database as it was.
  • Importing can keep you logged in and keep the site's siteurl and home.
  • wp swapline run <search> <replace> [<table>...] [--dry-run] [--regex] [--case-insensitive] [--profile=<name>] [--backup].
  • wp swapline backup [<table>...] [--search=<search> --replace=<replace>] and wp swapline import <file> [--search=<search> --replace=<replace>] [--keep-url].

The screen is under Tools > Search & Replace, or Settings > Search & Replace in the network admin.

Requirements

  • WordPress 6.2 or later
  • PHP 8.0 or later

Development

composer install
vendor/bin/phpunit
vendor/bin/phpcs

SWAPLINE_NAIVE_ENGINE=1 vendor/bin/phpunit runs the suite against a bare str_replace, and every test should fail. SWAPLINE_NAIVE_SPLITTER=1 vendor/bin/phpunit --filter SplitterTest does the same for the SQL splitter with explode(';').

Extending

  • swapline_admin_tabs filters the admin tabs (slug => [label, render]).
  • swapline_before_run and swapline_after_run fire around every run, from the admin and WP-CLI.
  • swapline_excluded_tables, swapline_history_size and swapline_max_recorded_changes adjust what's listed and kept.
  • swapline_step_seconds sets how long each backup or import request works before handing back to the browser.
  • swapline_enqueue_assets fires when the admin screen loads its scripts.

License

GPLv2 or later.