Fix first
One list, ranked by cost, with what each problem is, where it is and what to do about it. It is the screen Paul Bunyan opens on.
Paul Bunyan for WordPress · Since 1999
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.
File:lineon every finding
43 codeseach with its own fix page
10–20 msper request on our test site*
*Measured on one WooCommerce test site, logged in, 20 loads per page. Runs on any host. No server extension.
Any hostA plugin and nothing else. Shared hosting too.
Plugin, file and lineEvery finding points at the code behind it.
Data stays localThe free edition records into your own database.
Safety switchTurns itself off if its own cost climbs.
Since 1999A name developers have relied on for decades.
Fix firstPB codesSlow queriesRepeated queriesOutside callsEmail timingPHP errors, groupedWP-Cron & Action SchedulerWeb VitalsCost per pluginCompare two requestsAI reportLogging functions
From messages to meaning
You turned on debug mode. Now what?
The usual advice stops at WP_DEBUG or turning plugins off one at a time. The first gives you a log nobody explains. The second takes an afternoon and tells you nothing about why. Paul Bunyan starts where that advice stops.
Example log. Thousands of repeats, one real failure buried in the middle.
What Paul Bunyan shows instead Fix first
01
One fatal error, first in the listThe request it happened in, and the plugin, file and line.
PB-220102
Repeated notices, counted onceThousands of identical lines grouped into one row with a count.
PB-220203
Each one tied to its pluginSo you know whose code to update, report or replace.
File:lineHow it works
Three steps to your first finding.
No code changes and no server extension. It installs like any other plugin.
-
01
Install from WordPress.org
Search “Paul Bunyan” under Plugins › Add New and activate it. That is the whole setup.
-
02
Let your site run
Load a few pages, or leave it for a while. It records every request: hooks, queries, outside calls, email, jobs and errors.
-
03
Open Fix first
One ranked list of what to fix. Each item has its PB code, the plugin, file and line, and what to do about it.
Try it yourself
One checkout. See where the time goes.
Paul Bunyan broke this checkout down and showed what the buyer was waiting for. Step through the two fixes and watch the time come off.
Checkout on a WooCommerce test store
POST /checkout/
RecordedPOST /checkout/
1,315ms
Everything else499 ms
Emails542 ms
Push notifications274 ms
PB-2301Email sent while the visitor waits✓ fixed
PB-2401Slow call to another service while the visitor waits✓ fixed
Recorded by Paul Bunyan on our own WooCommerce test store. Your site will differ. Following one order across checkout, emails and background jobs is part of Professional.
Inside the plugin
Every screen answers one question.
Real screens, recorded on our test sites. Everything here is in the free edition.
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.
Small footprint
About 10 to 20 ms per request on one WooCommerce test site, logged in, 20 loads per page. It measures its own cost and shows it to you.
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.
AI report
Copy or download a report of your findings and paste it into any AI assistant. On WordPress 6.9+, AI tools can read findings directly.
Any host
A plugin and nothing else. No server extension, no root access, shared hosting included.
Compare two requests
Put a slow request beside a fast one and see which hooks, queries and outside calls made the difference.
Why it is different
Stop guessing which plugin it is.
The two things everyone tries first, side by side with what Paul Bunyan records.
| Question | The debug log | Turning plugins off one at a time | Paul Bunyan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Names the plugin, file and line | ~ For errors only | ~ By elimination, eventually | ✓ For every finding |
| Shows slow code, not just errors | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ Queries, hooks, outside calls, email |
| Catches the requests nobody was watching | ~ Errors only | ✕ No | ✓ Every request is recorded |
| Groups thousands of repeated notices | ✕ Every line repeats | ✕ No | ✓ One row with a count |
| Ranks what to fix first | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✓ By cost, with what to do |
| Safe on a live site | ~ Public by default, and it grows | ✕ Features break while you test | ✓ A safety switch turns it off if its cost climbs |
Is your debug.log public? How to check, protect and clear it
Who it is for
For whoever gets the call when the site is slow.
Find the cause on a client site, and show your work.
One developer finds the slow plugin with the free plugin. The team adds Professional for every site it looks after.
- Findings that name the plugin, file and line, ready to send to a client or a plugin author
- An AI report you can paste into any AI assistant
- Professional: plans for 10 or 50 sites, and live against staging side by side
- Professional: temporary support access with a sign-in link, no password
A slow checkout costs orders. See what the buyer waited for.
Order emails, payment and shipping calls, and repeated queries often run while the customer waits. Paul Bunyan shows which one, and whose code sent it.
- Every checkout request broken down: emails, outside calls, queries and hooks
- WP-Cron and Action Scheduler jobs that run late or fail
- Web Vitals from your visitors’ own browsers
- Professional: follow one order across checkout, emails and background jobs
Log from your own code. Read it beside everything else.
Your messages land in the same request timeline as the hooks, queries and outside calls around them, so a user’s “it is slow” becomes evidence.
pb_info()and the otherpb_functions, with levels and timings- The
paul_bunyan_logaction does nothing when the plugin is not installed pb_scope()times any block of your own code- Users can copy their support details or AI report straight into your ticket
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.
pb_info(),pb_warn()and friends for your plugin or themepb_scope()to time any block of your own codepb_context,pb_eventandpb_markto tie requests into one trail- The
paul_bunyan_logaction keeps your code working with or without the plugin
// 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→499ms
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%.
10–20ms per request
Small enough to leave running.
Paul Bunyan's own cost, measured on one WooCommerce test site, logged in, 20 loads per page. If its cost climbs, the safety switch turns it off by itself.
Results from individual investigations. Your site will differ.
A useful free tool. Room to grow.
Start free. Add Professional when you need it.
The free plugin records everything and stays free. Nothing in it is locked, timed or switched off later. Professional pays for continued development and support.
Paul Bunyan
Records everything. Every screen.
$0free on WordPress.org
On as many sites as you like.
- 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
- AI report, export and delete your data
- Support on the WordPress.org forum
Professional
A separate add-on to the free plugin.
$59/ year
For 1 live site. Staging copies are free.
- History of 30 days or 13 months
- Alerts and an email report
- “Got slower” detection after an update
- WooCommerce order trails
- Ask AI with the AI service you choose
- Support tickets, answered within 1 business day
Yearly, renews automatically. Refunds within 14 days.
Is there a free trial of Professional?
The free plugin is the trial. It records everything and every screen works, so you can see what Paul Bunyan finds on your site before you buy.
What does “3 days of detail, 7 days of summary” mean?
For 3 days the free plugin 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.
Do staging copies count toward my sites?
No. Staging and local copies do not count toward the site limit. Only live sites do.
What happens if my plan lapses?
Professional keeps working, and your recorded data is not deleted.
Free answers
Plain answers for slow and broken sites.
Guide
Which plugin is slowing down my WordPress site?
Measure what each plugin costs per request, in place of switching them off one at a time.
GuideWhy is my WooCommerce checkout slow?
Usually order emails, payment and shipping calls, or repeated queries, run while the customer waits.
ErrorThere has been a critical error on this website
How to find the exact plugin, file and line behind it, and get the site back.
ErrorAllowed memory size exhausted
Raising the limit is the quick fix. Finding what used the memory is the real one.
Logging tools since 1999
A familiar name. Built for WordPress.
Paul Bunyan began 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, Levon's Wake
- 1999The Y2K years
- 2000Diamond Sierra
- 2011Version 3.0, the last for Windows
- 2026Paul Bunyan for WordPress
Install it. Load a few pages. Open Fix first.
No code changes and no server extension. Within minutes you have a ranked list of what is costing your site the most, and where it lives.
Free on WordPress.org from November. The link will appear here when the listing is approved.