Title: Flex Explorer Author: FlexaTech Published: June 30, 2026 Last modified: June 30, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/flex-explorer/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3590745) # Flex Explorer By [FlexaTech](https://profiles.wordpress.org/flexatech/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/flex-explorer.0.2.4.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/flex-explorer/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/flex-explorer/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/flex-explorer/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/flex-explorer/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/flex-explorer/) ## Description Flex Explorer adds a simple, read-only file browser to the WordPress admin. It lets administrators look through the contents of the `wp-content` directory and preview text files and images without leaving wp-admin or opening an FTP client. It never modifies your site: it cannot create, edit, upload, rename, move or delete files. You can download an individual file, or a whole folder as a ZIP, for offline viewing, and the originals are always left untouched. Every request is restricted to the `wp-content` directory, is limited to administrators, and is verified with a nonce. **Features** * Browse folders inside `wp-content` with a breadcrumb path. * List files and folders with size and last-modified date. * Search filenames in the current folder and everything below it. * Preview text and code files inline (up to 2 MB). * Preview common images (JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, BMP, ICO) inline (up to 5 MB). * Download any single file, or the current folder packaged as a ZIP. * Uses the jQuery bundled with WordPress and plain CSS – no build step, no external libraries. **Security** * Access is limited to users with the `manage_options` capability. * On multisite, access is further restricted to network super admins, since a per-site administrator should not be able to read the shared `wp-content` tree. * If the site defines `DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT` as true, Flex Explorer disables itself( including its admin menu) to respect that lockdown. * All AJAX requests are nonce-verified. * Every path is resolved with `realpath()` and confined to the `wp-content` directory; path traversal and symlink escapes are rejected. * `wp-config.php`, `.htaccess` and `.htpasswd` can never be viewed or downloaded, and are skipped when building a ZIP. * Downloads are always sent as attachments (`application/octet-stream`) so the browser never renders file contents inline. * ZIP archives are bounded (file count and total size) and skip symlinks so a large or looping tree cannot exhaust server resources. ## Installation 1. Upload the plugin files to `/wp-content/plugins/flex-explorer`, or install through the WordPress **Plugins** screen. 2. Activate the plugin through the **Plugins** screen. 3. Open **Tools Flex Explorer** from the admin menu. ## FAQ ### Who can use Flex Explorer? Users with the `manage_options` capability (administrators). On a multisite network, access is limited to super admins, because `manage_options` is granted to every per-site administrator while `wp-content` is shared across the network. ### Why is Flex Explorer missing from my admin menu? If your site (or your host) defines the `DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT` constant as true, Flex Explorer disables itself entirely to honour that file-access lockdown. The same applies to per-site administrators on multisite, who are not super admins. ### Can it edit or delete files? No. It never changes anything on disk: it cannot edit, rename, move, upload or delete files. It can browse, search, preview, and download copies (including a folder as a ZIP), but the originals are always left untouched. ### How does search work? Type in the search box to match filenames in the folder you are currently viewing and all of its subfolders. Matching is a case-insensitive match on the file name; results are capped, so narrow your search if you hit the limit. ### Can I download a whole folder? Yes. Use **Download folder as ZIP** to package the current folder (and its subfolders) into a single archive. Very large folders are refused to protect the server, and` wp-config.php`, `.htaccess` and `.htpasswd` are never included. ZIP support requires the PHP `zip` extension. ### Which folders can I browse? Only the `wp-content` directory and its subfolders. Paths outside it, and symbolic links that point outside it, are rejected. ### Why can’t I open wp-config.php? Sensitive files (`wp-config.php`, `.htaccess`, `.htpasswd`) are blocked from viewing by design. ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Flex Explorer” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ FlexaTech ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/flexatech/) [Translate “Flex Explorer” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/flex-explorer) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/flex-explorer/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/flex-explorer/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/flex-explorer/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/flex-explorer/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 0.2.4 * Derive the content root solely from `wp_upload_dir()` and drop the `WP_CONTENT_DIR` fallback, so the browser root is resolved entirely through core location functions with no internal constants. #### 0.2.3 * Resolve the content directory through `wp_upload_dir()` instead of the `WP_CONTENT_DIR` constant, so the browser root follows custom content/uploads locations. * Restore the original `zlib.output_compression` setting after a download streams, keeping the change confined to the single download request. #### 0.2.2 * New: search filenames in the current folder and all subfolders (results are bounded); matching folds multibyte characters where available. #### 0.2.1 * Lowered the ZIP size limit to 50 MB so archives stay within typical shared-hosting execution limits. #### 0.2.0 * New: download an individual file (sent as an attachment, never rendered inline). * New: download the current folder as a ZIP, with file-count and total-size limits, skipping symlinks and blocked files. * Downloads flush pending output buffers and disable on-the-fly compression before streaming, so binary files and archives are never corrupted or truncated. #### 0.1.1 * Security: on multisite, restrict access to network super admins instead of every per-site administrator. * Security: disable the plugin (including its admin menu) when `DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT` is defined as true. * Move the admin page under **Tools** instead of a top-level menu item. #### 0.1.0 * Initial release: read-only browsing of wp-content with inline text and image preview. ## Meta * Version **0.2.4** * Last updated **22 hours ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 5.8 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.0** * PHP version ** 7.4 or higher ** * Tags * [admin](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/admin/)[browser](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/browser/) [download](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/download/)[file manager](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/file-manager/) [files](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/files/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/flex-explorer/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/flex-explorer/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/flex-explorer/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ FlexaTech ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/flexatech/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/flex-explorer/)