SSP Debug

by stupidsimpleplugins

Description

SSP Debug provides a complete error logging system built directly into WordPress, helping site owners and developers identify problems without needing access to server error logs.

Key points

Toggle logging on/off.
Choose All or Fatal-only (E_ERROR/E_PARSE/etc.).
Capture uncaught exceptions and shutdown fatals.
Append contextual details (URL, IP, User Agent, User ID) when using Detailed format.
Select a timezone for timestamps (site default, UTC, or friendly region names).
Limit log size (MB) with automatic truncation when the limit is exceeded.
Maintain a custom ignore list (substrings or regex) to filter noise.
Include/exclude sources by scope: MU-plugins, Plugins, Themes, Core/Other.
Download the current log as a file.
Clear the log from the admin screen.
Optional Showcase tab that includes static links to related plugins.

Logs are stored in wp-content/ssp-debug.log.
The admin interface is located under SSP Debug in your WordPress dashboard.

This plugin follows WordPress coding standards (escaping, nonces, WP_Filesystem, wp_date()), is internationalization-ready, and stores everything locally.

Features

Enable/disable logging
All vs. Fatal-only levels
Exception & shutdown fatal capture
Detailed context mode
Timezone selection
Size limit with auto-truncate
Scope filtering (MU/Plugins/Themes/Core)
Ignore list (substring or regex)
Download log
Clear log
Translation ready
Admin UI

External Services

This plugin includes an optional About/Showcase tab containing standard hyperlinks to pages on stupidsimpleplugins.com.
– No data is transmitted automatically.
– No background connections are made by the plugin.
– When a user clicks one of these links, the browser opens the destination page on StupidSimplePlugins.com.
– These links are provided solely for informational and navigational purposes.

For transparency, here are the relevant policies for that website:
– Terms of Service: https://www.stupidsimpleplugins.com/terms-and-conditions/
– Privacy Policy: https://www.stupidsimpleplugins.com/privacy-policy/

Privacy

When Detailed format is enabled, requests may log the current request’s URL, IP address, User Agent, and (if logged in) User ID.
This information is written only to the local file wp-content/ssp-debug.log and never transmitted externally.
The log can be cleared or downloaded at any time from the plugin’s admin page.

Localization

Text domain: ssp-debugging
Domain path: /languages
Load translations from languages/ssp-debugging-{locale}.mo

Installation

Upload the plugin folder to:
wp-content/plugins/ssp-debug/
Ensure the main file is:
wp-content/plugins/ssp-debug/ssp-debug.php
Activate SSP Debug from Plugins Installed Plugins.
Go to SSP Debug in the left admin menu to configure settings and view logs.

Faq

Where is the log file located?

wp-content/ssp-debug.log

Does it replace PHP’s native error_log?

No. It registers handlers for PHP errors, uncaught exceptions, and shutdown fatals and writes them to its own file.

What’s “Detailed” format?

It appends context (URL, IP, User Agent, User ID) to each entry.

Will this slow down my site?

Logging is lightweight, but All mode can increase disk writes. Use Fatal-only in production.

How does size limiting work?

When the log exceeds your MB limit, it truncates to about 70% of that size, keeping the most recent entries.

Can I ignore noisy messages?

Yes. Add substrings or regex (e.g., /deprecated/i) to the Ignore list; matching entries are filtered out.

Is multisite supported?

Yes. Logs are saved in wp-content/ssp-debug.log; settings are per-site.

Reviews

Changelog

1.0.0

Initial release.
Logging for PHP errors, exceptions, and shutdown fatals.
Options for all/fatal level, detailed context, timezone selection, size limit with truncation, scopes, and ignore list.
Download and clear controls.
Optional showcase tab with external link disclosure.
Translation-ready; no external updaters.