Download Plugin

Description

  1. Just activate this plugin.
  2. You can see Download link below each plugin name on plugins page.
  3. Click on any of them and that plugin’s zip will be downloaded to your computer.
  4. Cheers!

Must-have utility plugin that allows you to download any plugin directly from WordPress Dashboard!

WordPress download plugin is a utility plugin that does one thing, and does it perfectly. It may sound simple, but this feature plugs a hole in current set of WordPress plugin functionality. As a site admin you must be aware that you can search and install WordPress plugins directly from the dashboard, or you can upload the plugin as zip files, assuming you received it from another site (for example, a commercial plugin). Once installed, all plugins list themselves inside Dashboard -> Plugins page. After deactivating and deleting them, they simply disappear. All files are removed from the server instantly. WordPress does not allow you to backup or download the plugins before you jettison them from your site. If you also manage your server and are fairly comfortable doing so, you may find a more contrived way to download installed plugins via directory manager app or FTP. Obviously, this requires more than a single click and not for everyone.

What exactly are plugins and how this plugin helps you save time or bail you out from difficult situations? Plugins are files and/ or directories, which are created inside your WordPress installation (defined by WordPress) when you first install them. Both active and deactivated files reside inside them. When you upload zip package of a plugin, WordPress extracts it and places the directory inside it in the plugins folder. Our plugin allows you to reverse the process. It will convert any plugin installed on your site into a zip package ready to be reinstalled later or moved to another site. It accomplishes this by simply adding a new link “Download” under the plugin title to already existing links. It is a single click process and hardly takes any time. Our plugin does not create any other page in the dashboard or clutter menus. It is lightweight, efficient and completely invisible until you need it.

So why would you need it? While there can be many reasons, here are the primary we think you will find it useful.

A. Backup

The foremost and most common reason – when you wish to make backup of the plugin for future installation.

B. Premium/ Commercial Plugins

If you have purchased the plugin from a vendor site, you may want to make a backup of your new purchase to make sure you have it handy if the vendor is no longer available or your account is expired. Please note: Do check terms of use for commercial plugins on publisher’s site.

C. Migrating to a different site

So you have found yourselves dependent on some specific plugins that you want to use on all of your sites? You can download these plugins from your current site do a folder on your hard disk from where you can upload to your other sites.

D. Preserving Changes

If you DIY type and made modifications to plugin files to suit your requirements, you will want to make sure you have an archived copy of the plugin if the files get overwritten by an update etc.

Starter Guide

Checkout Download plugin guide for more information.

Recommended Plugins (Free Download From WordPress.org)

Download Theme Plugin: allows you to download any theme from your WordPress admin panel’s Appearance page.

User Registration and Login Plugin: Take total control of end-to-end user registration process on your site with RegistrationMagic plugin.

User Profiles and Membership Plugin: Build awesome user profiles, restrict content and launch memberships with ProfileGrid plugin.

User Events and Calendar Plugin: Manage user events, sell tickets and publish event calendar with EventPrime plugin.

Screenshots

  • Download link below each plugin name. Click on any of them and that plugin's zip will be downloaded to your computer.

Installation

  1. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
  2. Extract the zipped file and upload the folder download-plugin to /wp-content/plugins/ directory.

Reviews

April 28, 2021
This plugin has great functionality. I love being able to quickly move plugins from one site to another. Who hasn't run into issues where plugin authors get greedy and start adding ads and other crap to plugins. I love being able to move the versions I want easily. That being said, this plugin does dangerous things to your site. It changes the PHP post_max_size and upload_max_size amounts to 640MB. This is huge! The problem is that the amount of memory PHP needs per instance is in accordance with this number. So setting upload_max_size to 640MB makes it so every user can use up to 640MB of server RAM. It also allows users to upload huge, potentially dangerous files to your site. I highly recommend deactivating this plugin except for when you are actually using it.
September 22, 2019
Good plugin, does what you expect. I'd rate higher BUT - the most recent version (1.5.1) is stupid. Adding features nobody wants. Little images to your plugins, making it display less per screen, and often breaks the styling of the page shifting elements behind the dashboard menu.
September 7, 2019
It does not download anything. I switched to Download Plugins and Themes from Dashboard plugin that works perfectly
Read all 13 reviews

Contributors & Developers

“Download Plugin” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

“Download Plugin” has been translated into 6 locales. Thank you to the translators for their contributions.

Translate “Download Plugin” into your language.

Interested in development?

Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.

Changelog

1.5.9

  • Fixed: A security issue related to authorization check.

1.5.8

  • Fixed: An issue with scripts and styles restrictions.

1.5.7

  • Fixed: An issue with server memory size.

1.5.6

  • New: Intro popup
  • Removed: Promotions
  • Fixed: Some UI issues

1.5.5

  • UI Update.
  • Fixed: Minor issues.

1.5.4

  • Compatibility update for WordPress 5.7

1.5.3

  • Compatibility fixes with macOS.
  • Added WordPress 5.4 compatibility.

1.5.2

  • Fixed a bug

1.5.1

  • Fixed a bug
  • UI Tweaks

1.5.0

  • New Feature: You can now download multiple plugins!
  • New Feature: You can now upload and install multiple plugins simultaneously.

1.1.0

  • Now works with macOS and Linux!
  • Bug fixes

1.0.3 – 20/9/2017

  • Checked compatibility with WordPress version 4.8.

1.0.2 – 16/7/2016

  • Improved security of download.

1.0.1 – 5/4/2016

  • Added support for WordPress translations.

1.0.0 – 1/3/2016

  • Initial Release