Dobsie

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Installation & Setup

Dobsie is a lightweight performance profiler for WordPress. It helps you find out which plugins are using the most database resources, so you can fix slowdowns instead of guessing.

Why This Matters

WordPress sites slow down over time. New plugins, more content, growing databases. But when your site feels sluggish, how do you figure out what’s causing it? You could deactivate plugins one by one and test. Or you could install Dobsie and know in seconds.

Dobsie shows you:

  • Which plugins run the most database queries
  • How long each query takes
  • Where your memory is going
  • What’s clogging up your autoloaded options
  • Whether your server configuration is holding you back

All of this without affecting your visitors, because Dobsie only runs for administrators.

What You’ll Need

  • WordPress 6.0 or newer
  • PHP 7.4 or newer
  • Administrator access (Dobsie only works for users with manage_options capability)

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Installing Dobsie

From a ZIP File

  1. Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress sidebar
  2. Click the Upload Plugin button at the top of the page
  3. Click Choose File, select your ZIP, then click Install Now
  4. Click Activate Plugin

That’s it. No configuration needed. Dobsie starts working immediately.

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What Happens After Activation

Two things appear:

1. The Toast Overlay

A small floating panel appears in the bottom-right corner of every page. It shows real-time performance metrics: page load time, database queries, memory usage, and which plugins are running the most queries.

Only you can see it. Visitors see nothing.

Full guide: The Toast Overlay

2. The Profiler Page

A new page appears at Tools > Dobsie in your admin menu. This is where the deep analysis lives: four tabs covering everything from autoloaded options to cron health to slow query patterns.

Full guide: The Profiler Page

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Quick Start: Finding Your Slowest Plugin

Here’s the fastest way to find out what’s slowing your site down:

  1. Visit any page on your site (frontend or admin)
  2. Look at the toast overlay in the bottom-right corner
  3. The top sources section shows which plugins are running the most queries, ranked by time
  4. If you want more detail, go to Tools > Dobsie > Deep Scan
  5. The Deep Scan shows every query, grouped by plugin, with execution times

The plugin at the top of the list is your biggest database consumer. That doesn’t always mean it’s a problem, because some plugins legitimately need lots of queries. But if a plugin is running hundreds of queries on a simple page load, that’s worth investigating.

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Safe for Production?

Yes, with caveats.

  • The toast overlay adds minimal overhead. It’s safe to leave on while you diagnose issues.
  • The Overview tab reads existing data, so no extra load.
  • Deep Scan enables SAVEQUERIES, which records every query with its stack trace. This adds overhead. Use it for diagnosis sessions, then close the tab.
  • Server Health runs filesystem and configuration checks. Fine for occasional use, not something you’d leave open.

Dobsie doesn’t create database tables, doesn’t store historical data, and doesn’t phone home. Deactivate it when you’re done and it’s like it was never there.

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What’s Next?

How can we help?