Htaccess File Editor – Safely Edit Htaccess File

83 Quality Score

Active Installs

21/30

At 40,000 active installs this is a niche but meaningful install base, well behind broad redirect tools like Redirection but on par with other file-level editors.

Update Freshness

25/25

The plugin was updated in May 2026 and tested against WordPress 7.0, which signals active upkeep, though the very low PHP requirement (5.2) suggests an older codebase.

User Rating

15/15

A perfect 100 from 102 reviewers indicates overwhelmingly positive user sentiment, though the sample is modest and easy for a small group of enthusiastic users to skew.

Support Health

8/15

With zero support threads in the repository, the support health indicator cannot be meaningfully evaluated, which is a real risk for a plugin that can break your site if misused.

WP Compatibility

15/15

Compatibility scores maximum because it supports WordPress 4.0 onward, is tested with 7.0, and runs on PHP 5.2, giving it an unusually wide compatibility window.

Scores higher than 91% of indexed plugins

About

A safe & simple htaccess file editor with automatic htaccess backups & htaccess file syntax testing.

Active Installs 40k+

Rating ★★★★★ 5/5

Last Updated 2026-08-16 1:29pm GMT

Requires WordPress 4.0+

Tested Up To 7.1

Requires PHP 5.2+

✓ No known vulnerabilities

What It Does

Htaccess File Editor provides a WordPress admin interface for viewing, editing, and saving your .htaccess file without using FTP or a file manager. It automatically backs up the file before each change and runs a syntax check to reduce the chance of breaking your site with a bad edit. The plugin is focused on a single, narrow task: safer direct editing of htaccess.

Who It's For

This plugin suits site owners and developers who need to add rewrite rules, redirects, or server directives to .htaccess and prefer doing it from wp-admin rather than over SSH or FTP. It is a good fit for agencies managing multiple WordPress sites who want a consistent, backed-up editing workflow across client installs. It also helps hosting support teams who occasionally need to edit htaccess on behalf of customers.

Who Should Skip It

If you only need simple 301 redirects, the Redirection plugin handles that with a friendlier UI and you should avoid touching htaccess at all. If you are not comfortable reading Apache directives, this plugin will not teach you, and a broken .htaccess can take your site offline instantly.

The Bottom Line

Htaccess File Editor does exactly one thing and does it well, with perfect user ratings and an actively maintained codebase. The lack of any support thread history is a yellow flag, and the low PHP 5.2 requirement hints at legacy code, but for a site owner who specifically needs a safer htaccess editing workflow it is a solid choice. If your needs are limited to URL redirects, Redirection remains the better-known and safer default.

Related Plugins

Redirection 89/100

Pick Redirection if your goal is managing 301 redirects and tracking 404s; it is far more popular at 2,000,000 installs and requires no htaccess knowledge.

WPIDE – File Manager & Code Editor 83/100

Pick WPIDE if you want a full in-dashboard file manager and code editor for more than just .htaccess, with a comparable install count and quality score.

Leverage Browser Caching 78/100

Pick Leverage Browser Caching if your only htaccess need is adding caching headers, as it does that one job without exposing the rest of the file to edits.

Custom PHP Settings 72/100

Pick Custom PHP Settings if you actually need to change PHP runtime values via .user.ini rather than editing Apache htaccess rules.

Htaccess File Editor – Easily Edit, Backup, Restore .htaccess file 69/100

Pick the alternative htaccess editor if you want a direct competitor with a similar feature set and 10,000 installs, useful as a fallback comparison.