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Deep Search & Replace

Site-wide search & replace for WordPress that finds text wherever it is actually stored: Elementor, Gutenberg/block themes, classic themes and ACF.

by lazyz33 · github.com/lazyz33/deep-search-replace

★ 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/lazyz33/deep-search-replace/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/lazyz33/deep-search-replace ↗

Site-wide search & replace for WordPress that finds text wherever it is actually stored: Elementor, Gutenberg/block themes, classic themes and ACF.

Why ordinary search & replace misses things

Where the text lives How it is stored How this plugin handles it
Elementor (_elementor_data) JSON with — escapes JSON-aware replace, validated, then Elementor CSS/element cache cleared
Gutenberg / ACF blocks HTML + JSON in `` comments Block comments are treated as JSON, HTML as HTML
ACF fields, options pages, widgets, Customizer Post meta / options, often PHP-serialized Serialized data is rebuilt with correct lengths (objects are never instantiated)
Content typed in the editor —, —, —, — All encoded forms matched ("Encoded forms")
Theme templates, block theme parts/ templates/ patterns/ Files Theme files tab: scan, preview, replace with backup
-- turned into a dash by WordPress, SEO title separators, plugin output Generated at render time Live output filter rewrites the final HTML

Usage (Tools > Deep Search & Replace)

  1. Rules: the em dash → , preset is loaded. Keep Absorb spaces on so word — word becomes word, word instead of word , word.
  2. Database: Dry run first, check the examples, then Replace now. Revisions are skipped by default. Slugs, GUIDs, meta keys and option names are never changed.
  3. Theme files: scan, review line-by-line changes, replace. Originals are saved to uploads/dsr-backups/.
  4. Live output filter (optional): a safety net for anything not stored in the database.
  5. History & undo: every run can be undone. Values edited after the run are left alone.
  6. Restore pages: if only some pages should go back, open Restore pages on a run, find the page (filter by type / post type, search by title or ID, 50 per page) and click Restore original. That puts back the page's title, content, all its fields (Elementor, ACF), its Yoast row and its changed revisions; the rest of the run stays replaced. Options, terms, users and comments are listed as their own items. Runs made before 1.3.0 are indexed once (in batches) the first time the list is opened.

WP-CLI

wp dsr replace --dry-run          # em dash preset, report only
wp dsr replace --files            # database + active/parent theme files
wp dsr replace --search="Acme Inc" --replace="Acme LLC"
wp dsr history
wp dsr undo <run-id>
wp dsr restore <run-id> <post-id>                 # one page only
wp dsr restore <run-id> <option-id> --type=option

Notes

  • Take a full database backup before the first real run anyway.
  • If a third-party theme gets updated, file changes are overwritten. Use a child theme or the live output filter.
  • CDN caches (Cloudflare etc.) are not purged automatically. Purge them after a run.
  • Tests: php tests/replacer-test.php