Documentation

Requirements

WP Quick Palette has minimal server requirements and works with any standard WordPress installation.

No external dependencies, no build tools, no REST API conflicts. The plugin uses standard WordPress AJAX (wp-admin/admin-ajax.php) for all server communication.

Installation

From WordPress.org (recommended)

1. Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin in your WordPress admin.
2. Search for WP Quick Palette.
3. Click Install Now, then Activate.

Manual upload

1. Download the plugin ZIP from WordPress.org.
2. Go to Plugins → Add New Plugin → Upload Plugin.
3. Choose the ZIP file and click Install Now.
4. Activate the plugin after installation.

First Launch

Once the plugin is activated, press Ctrl+G (Windows / Linux) or Cmd+G (Mac) from any WordPress admin page. The command palette overlay will appear.

Type at least 2 characters to perform your first search. Results are returned from posts, pages, and any other post types you've enabled in Settings.

Opening & Closing

The palette is a modal overlay that appears on top of the current admin page. It does not navigate away from your current page unless you activate an item.

The keyboard shortcut can be changed to Ctrl+K or Ctrl+/ from Settings → Quick Palette → General.

Keyboard Navigation

Once the palette is open you can navigate entirely by keyboard.

Arrow-key navigation skips hidden items (e.g. items inside a collapsed filter group) so you always land on a visible result.

Search Tabs Pro

WP Quick Palette has three search scopes accessible via tabs at the top of the palette:

• Content — searches posts, pages, and all enabled custom post types. Available in Lite and Pro.
• Users — searches WordPress users by display name, username, and email. Pro
• Admin — client-side search of all admin menu items and submenus the current user can access. Pro

Click a tab to switch, or use the search prefix shortcuts to jump directly (see below).

Search Prefixes Pro

Type a prefix at the start of your query to jump to a search tab without clicking.

The prefix is stripped before sending the search — typing u:john searches for "john" in users, not for the literal string "u:john".

Favorites

Any search result can be starred to add it to your favorites. Favorites persist across sessions and are stored per user.

Adding a favorite

Hover over any result to reveal the ⭐ star button on the right side. Click it to toggle the item as a favorite. The star fills when the item is in your favorites.

Viewing favorites

When the palette is opened with no active search query, the Favorites panel is visible on the right side. It shows all your starred items in the order you added them (or your custom drag-reordered order).

Reordering favorites

Drag the handle icon next to any favorite to reorder it. Your new order is saved automatically after a short debounce.

History

Every item you navigate to from the palette is automatically logged in your personal history. History is stored per user and is never visible to other users.

History appears in the left panel when the palette is opened with no query. Items are sorted by most recently visited. Duplicate entries (same item visited multiple times) show the latest timestamp.

You can clear your history from the History panel header.

History Limit Pro

By default, history retains the last 50 items. Pro users can adjust this between 10 and 200 items from Settings → Quick Palette → Pro Features → History Limit.

Older items are automatically pruned when the limit is reached. Stale items (for deleted posts) are removed the next time you open the palette.

Alt+1–9 Keyboard Shortcuts

Your first 9 favorites are accessible globally via Alt+1 through Alt+9 — even when the palette is closed. This lets you jump to your most important pages without opening the palette at all.

The order corresponds to the order shown in the Favorites panel. Reorder your favorites to control which items get which shortcut slot.

When the palette is open, the same shortcuts work inside it — the Dashboard Widget (Pro) also displays which shortcut is assigned to each favorite.

Saved Searches Pro

Saved Searches let you create and name preset queries — useful for workflows you repeat often, like "Draft posts updated this week" or "All WooCommerce products in stock".

Creating a saved search

1. Type a search in the palette.
2. Click the save icon (💾) in the search bar, or press it via the input actions bar.
3. Enter a name for your preset and click Save.

Running a saved search

Click the bookmarks icon (🔖) in the search bar to open the Saved Searches dropdown. Click any preset to run it instantly.

Reordering saved searches

Drag the handle icon in the dropdown to reorder saved searches. The new order persists across sessions.

Built-in presets

Administrators can configure site-wide built-in search presets from Settings → Quick Palette → Pro Features → Saved Searches. These are visible to all users (filtered by role if applicable).

Import / Export Pro

Import/Export lets you back up and move your favorites and saved searches between sites.

Exporting

Go to Settings → Quick Palette → Import / Export and click Download Export File. This exports your personal favorites and (if you're an administrator) all custom saved searches to a JSON file.

Importing

On the same page, either upload a JSON file or paste the JSON directly into the text field. Choose your import mode:

• Merge — Adds new items from the import, keeps existing ones. Duplicates (same type + ID) are skipped.
• Replace — Overwrites all your current favorites and saved searches with the imported data.

Dashboard Widget Pro

The Dashboard Widget adds a "My Favorites — Quick Palette" widget to the WordPress dashboard. It shows your starred items with one-click access links.

Each item displays the item title, type label (Post, Page, User, Admin…), and — for the first 9 items — the corresponding Alt+N keyboard shortcut badge.

Stale favorites (pointing to deleted posts or removed users) are filtered out automatically when the widget renders.

The widget includes an Open Palette button at the bottom showing the configured keyboard shortcut.

Settings Reference

All settings are at Settings → Quick Palette in the WordPress admin.

General

Search

Search tabs (Content / Users / Admin) are a Pro feature. Lite users get the Content tab only.

Appearance

Pro Features

Appearance & Theme

The palette supports three colour modes:

• Light — Always light, for all users. Admin-enforced.
• Dark — Always dark, for all users. Admin-enforced.
• Auto — Follows the operating system's colour scheme preference. When set to Auto, each user can override their personal preference from the gear icon in the palette title bar.

The Density setting controls spacing. Compact mode reduces padding, font sizes, and icon sizes to fit more results on screen. Like theme, density is a per-user preference that the admin can set a default for.

Keyboard Shortcuts