Description
Hrefix is a lightweight, 100% local broken link checker for WordPress.
No account. No cloud scanning service. No external API. Hrefix stores and checks links on your own WordPress site using WP-Cron and the WordPress HTTP API.
Popular alternatives moved scanning to hosted cloud services that require accounts. Hrefix keeps the workflow inside WordPress.
Features:
- Extracts links from published posts, pages, and public custom post types.
- Scans
<a href>and<img src>values. - Checks links in small WP-Cron batches.
- Uses HEAD requests with GET fallback for servers that reject HEAD.
- Flags broken links, redirects, and warning states.
- Treats 429 responses and timeouts as warnings until repeated failures.
- Lets you recheck, edit, unlink, or dismiss links.
- Replaces edited URLs in source post content.
- Removes links while preserving anchor text.
- Suggests similar published permalinks for broken internal links.
- Creates simple local 301 redirects for broken internal URLs.
- Includes a Redirects tab for manual add/delete.
- Includes a Dashboard widget with broken/warning counts.
- Settings for batch size, post types, exclusions, and external-link checking.
Everything in the free plugin is functional. There is no locked trialware code.
Screenshots
Installation
- Upload the
hrefixfolder to/wp-content/plugins/, or install it from Plugins > Add New. - Activate Hrefix.
- Go to Tools > Hrefix.
- Click “Start link checking”. Hrefix does nothing in the background and contacts no servers until you do.
- Hrefix will then extract and check links in small WP-Cron batches. You can pause checking at any time.
FAQ
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Does Hrefix use a cloud service?
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No. Link extraction, storage, checking, and redirects are local to your WordPress installation.
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Does Hrefix require an account?
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No.
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What external requests does it make?
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Only the link checks themselves: a HEAD (or GET) request to each URL found in your content, so Hrefix can see whether it still works. These requests start only after you click “Start link checking” in Tools > Hrefix, and you can limit them to your own site by turning off external link checking in Settings. Hrefix does not send tracking data, telemetry, or site data to a third-party API.
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How often are links rechecked?
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Broken links are rechecked daily by default. OK links are rechecked every 7 days by default. Developers can filter these intervals.
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What counts as broken?
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4xx/5xx responses and connection errors are broken. HTTP 429 and timeouts are warnings until they fail 3 consecutive times.
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Can it create redirects?
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Yes. For broken internal links, Hrefix suggests similar published permalinks and can create a local 301 redirect. You can also add redirects manually.
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Where are redirects stored?
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In the local custom table
{prefix}hrefix_redirects. -
What content is scanned?
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Published posts, pages, and selected public custom post types. Configure post types in Tools > Hrefix > Settings.
Reviews
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Contributors & Developers
“Hrefix” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Hrefix” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.0
- Initial release.