Extension Profiles

Extension Profiles lets WordPress administrators create named ”profiles” that define which plugins should be active. When a profile is activated, only the plugins in that profile are loaded for your session. Other plugins are filtered out without actually being deactivated in the database.

This is ideal for:

• Development and testing – Quickly switch between different configurations without activating/deactivating plugins one by one.
• Troubleshooting – Isolate conflicts by creating minimal profiles.
• Performance testing – Compare site performance with different plugin sets.

How It Works

Extension Profiles uses a Must-Use (MU) plugin that intercepts the active plugins list before WordPress loads them. This approach:

• Never actually deactivates plugins in the database.
• Only affects the current user’s session (via a secure cookie).
• Has zero overhead when no profile is active.
• Preserves all plugin settings and data.

Features

• Taxonomy-style admin page – Familiar interface for creating and managing profiles under the Plugins menu.
• Admin bar switcher – Quickly activate or deactivate profiles from the WordPress admin bar.
• Dependency support – Automatically includes required plugins when WordPress 6.5+ ”Requires Plugins” headers are present.
• Per-session isolation – Each user can activate their own profile independently.
• Plugins page notice – Clear warning banner on the Plugins page when a profile is active.

Requirements

• WordPress 6.5 or higher (for dependency resolution).
• PHP 7.4 or higher.
• Write access to the wp-content/mu-plugins/ directory.