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GenTime: Inspect page generation time

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GenTime: Inspect page generation time

by Sybre Waaijer

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Description

GenTime

This plugin shows site administrators the time in seconds of how fast the page is generated in the WordPress top admin bar.

The generation time is calculated from when the server receives the page request to when the number is printed, which is close to the end of the request.

So, just PHP and the database impact this calculation. The time it takes to send the page from the server to your device is not included in this timer.

That’s it, pretty simple!

  1. Install GenTime either via the WordPress.org plugin directory or upload the files to your server.
  2. Either Network Activate this plugin or activate it on a single site.
  3. That’s it!

Change the number of decimals

Use this filter to change the number of decimals shown by the timer. The number defaults to 3, but this filter makes it 4.

add_filter( 'gentime_decimals', fn( $default = 3 ) => 4 );

(Where can I place filters?)

Change the view capability requirement

Add this to wp-config.php to change the user capability required to view the timer:

define( 'GENTIME_VIEW_CAPABILITY', 'manage_options' );

(List of capabilities)

Does what it says on the tin

By Matt Mullenweg (matt) on June 30, 2025

And does it quite well! As an enhancement I'd love to see what queries and remote calls took the longest.

Simple and Perfect

By Alex T (trecartin) on August 22, 2024

Simple, low impact and informative!

Very useful

By freelancesgroup on December 22, 2023

You just activate it and it works without the need for anything else.
It couldn't be simpler 😉

I liked it a lot

Helps you keep an eye on backend performance ⚡

By Bjarne Oldrup (oldrup) on December 4, 2023

Did that object cache have an effect on the back end? Did that PHP 8.2 upgrade change page generation times? Is the server currently bogged down, or am I just impatient?

GenTime is so simple and yet so useful. By having basic page generation timer in the admin bar at all times, it really helps to qualify the website speed over time.

Don't underestimate the importance of backend speed. When managing WordPress websites all day, a few 100 ms at every click, makes a difference.

GenTime is a stable on the sites I administer now. Highly recommended

So fast

By pixeldevs on July 23, 2021

Doesn't bog down the system and works as expected! Better than any other timing plugin I've used.

Great addition!

By wellbeingtips on September 3, 2016

Useful for testing page load speed especially if you have many different page setups.

Thanks!

What a handy plugin!

By Grzegorz.Janoszka on September 3, 2016

I love Sybre's plugins. This one is soo simple, soo useful, no idea how this feature is not included in most seo or all-purpose plugins. Highly recommended for people dedicated to speed up their site!

2.0.0

  • Changed: The plugin has been rewritten to adhere to my latest coding standards — its old functions are no longer available.
  • Changed: This plugin now requires PHP 7.4, from PHP 5.2.
  • Changed: The default timer view capability now defaults to 'manage_options' instead of 'install_plugins'.
  • Removed: Filter 'gentime_minimum_role' is gone. Use constant GENTIME_VIEW_CAPABILITY instead.

1.1.0

  • Added: Now uses WordPress 5.8’s more accurate function, when available, timer_float().
  • Updated: Now uses HTML5 for the styles output.
  • Other: Refactored the plugin to support PHP 5.6 or later, from 5.2 or later.
  • Other: Cleaned up code.

1.0.4

  • Fixed: This plugin is now converted to UNIX line feed.
  • Improved: Early sanitation of translation strings.
  • Updated: POT file.
  • Confirmed: WordPress 4.6 support.
  • Other: The plugin license has been upgraded to GPLv3.
  • Other: Cleaned up code.

1.0.3

  • Fixed: The cache now works as intended.
  • Fixed/Improved: Erroneous order of function checking. Which actually had no impact.
  • Other: gentime_minimum_role filter now converts input to string.

1.0.2

  • Added: POT translation file.
  • Improved: Slightly improved performance (every Herz counts) by adding PHP runtime static cache earlier.
  • Confirmed: WordPress 4.5+ compatibility.
  • Cleaned up code.

1.0.1

  • Changed: Minimum capability from edit_plugins to install_plugins so that the generation time is still shown when the Editor has been disabled.
  • Added: PHP Staticvar caching for capability.
  • Confirmed: 4.4.0+ support.
  • Cleaned up PHP.

1.0.0

  • Initial Release
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