Fix first
One list, ranked by cost, with what each problem is, where it is and what to do about it.
PAUL BUNYAN FOR WORDPRESS
Find out what is slowing down your WordPress site, and which line of code is doing it.
Paul Bunyan records every request on your site, then gives you one ranked list of what to fix first. Each item names the plugin, the file and the line.
Runs on any host. No server extension. Adds about 10 to 20 ms per request on our test sites.
FROM MESSAGES TO MEANING
You turned on debug mode.
Now what?
Most advice on a slow or broken WordPress site ends in the same two places: turn on WP_DEBUG, or deactivate your plugins one at a time. The first gives you a log file nobody explains. The second takes an afternoon and tells you nothing about why. Paul Bunyan starts where that advice stops.
wp-content/debug.log
[02:14:07] PHP Deprecated: Dynamic property …
[02:14:07] PHP Deprecated: Dynamic property …
[02:14:08] PHP Notice: Translation loading …
[02:14:09] PHP Fatal error: Memory exhausted …
[02:14:11] PHP Deprecated: Dynamic property …
[02:14:12] PHP Notice: Translation loading …Thousands of repeats. One real failure buried in the middle.
What Paul Bunyan shows instead
01
One fatal error, first in the listThe request it happened in, and the plugin, file and line.
02
Repeated notices, counted onceThousands of identical lines grouped into one row with a count.
03
Each one tied to its pluginSo you know whose code to update, report or replace.
Illustrative comparison.
ONE REQUEST, BROKEN DOWN
One checkout.
See where the time goes.
Every request is broken down like this, so you can see what the customer was waiting for and which code spent the time.
Everything else · 499 msEmails · 542 msPush notifications · 274 ms
Recorded by Paul Bunyan on our own test store. Emails and push notifications were sent while the buyer waited.
WHAT YOU GET
The evidence behind the problem.
Everything below is in the free edition. It starts recording the moment it is installed, with no code changes.
File and line
Slow queries, outside calls, emails and PHP errors, each traced to the plugin, file and line responsible.
Requests nobody was watching
The 2 a.m. checkout, the scheduled job that overran, the admin page that timed out. Kept for you.
Your own log lines
Ten logging functions for your plugin or theme, in the same timeline as everything else.
Small footprint
About 10 to 20 ms per request on our test sites. It measures its own cost and shows it to you.
Any host
A plugin and nothing else. No server extension, no root access, shared hosting included.
FOR DEVELOPERS
Log from your own code.
Read it in one timeline.
Your messages land beside the hooks, queries, outside calls and emails of the same request, with levels and timings. Explain why a branch ran, why validation stopped, or whether a job finished.
Use the action form and your code keeps working with or without Paul Bunyan installed.
How the logging action works
Pass a level, a component, a message and an optional data array to paul_bunyan_log. If Paul Bunyan is not active, nothing listens and nothing happens. Keep personal data, keys and tokens out of log messages.
PHP
// Safe whether or not Paul Bunyan is installed.
do_action(
'paul_bunyan_log',
'info',
'shop',
'Cache warmed',
array( 'items' => 24 )
);
// Or call the functions directly.
pb_info( 'shop', 'Pulled SKUs from supplier' );
pb_warn( 'shop', 'SKUs missing a price', array( 'count' => 3 ) );FROM OUR INVESTIGATIONS
What the measurements showed.
1,315 → 499 ms
Checkout work the buyer was waiting for.
On a WooCommerce test store, Paul Bunyan showed that emails and push notifications were sent while the buyer waited. Moving that work out of the way cut checkout time by 62%.
0.3 s vs 8.7 s
A fast server. A slow page.
On a client site before launch, the server answered in 0.3 seconds but the page took 8.7 seconds in a real browser. The cost was marketing tags, not the server.
Results from individual investigations. Your site will differ.
A USEFUL FREE TOOL. ROOM TO GROW.
Start with Lite.
Add Professional when you need it.
Lite is free and stays free. Nothing in it is locked, timed or switched off later. Professional pays for continued development and support.
Lite
FreeRecords everything. Every screen.
- Fix first, PB codes and setup checks
- Plugins, Database, Messages and Background screens
- Logging functions for your own code
- 3 days of full detail, 7 days of summary
- Export and delete your data
- Support on the WordPress.org forum
Professional
From $59/yrA separate add-on to Lite, for ongoing work.
- History of 30 days or 13 months
- Alerts by email or webhook
- “Got slower” detection after an update
- WooCommerce order trails
- Ask AI with the AI service you choose
- Support tickets, answered in 1 business day
$59 a year for 1 site, $149 for 10, $299 for 50. Staging copies are free.
What does “3 days of detail, 7 days of summary” mean?
For 3 days Lite keeps everything it recorded. From day 4 to day 7 it keeps every request, anything slow or failed, anything with a PB code, browser timing and cost per plugin, and drops the routine detail.
LOGGING TOOLS SINCE 1995
A familiar name.
Built for WordPress.
The first Paul Bunyan shipped in 1995 as a message logger for Windows developers, published by Levon's Wake and later Diamond Sierra. It recorded the component, file and line behind every message, and it was used inside Fortune 100 companies through the Y2K years.
It spread the way developer tools do: one developer used it, the team adopted it, and it went along to the next job. This is the same idea, rebuilt for WordPress and PHP by the same people.
- 1995First releases
- 1999The Y2K years
- 2000Diamond Sierra
- 2026WordPress
Install it. Load a few pages.
Open Fix first.
Get it free on WordPress.org Free on WordPress.org from November. The link will appear here when the listing is approved.