Permalink Manager is a WordPress plugin that lets you edit URLs directly from the admin dashboard. WordPress allows you to change a post's slug and choose a permalink structure for blog posts, but more advanced changes, such as removing /portfolio/ from custom post type URLs or adding a category name before a post slug, usually require custom rewrite rules.
Permalink Manager lets you make these changes without writing code. You can edit the full URL of any content item, define a separate URL structure for each content type, and automatically redirect visitors from previous URLs to the new ones.
This repository contains the source of Permalink Manager Lite, the free version published on WordPress.org and developed by Maciej Bis.
Quickstart guide · Documentation · Lite vs Pro · Changelog
If you are new to the plugin, these three guides explain how it works:
- How to set up custom permalinks in WordPress: the two ways of working with the plugin, editing one URL at a time or changing the format for a whole content type, and where each option is in the dashboard.
- How to edit permalink structures for post types and taxonomies: build a URL format from tags such as the post slug, a category or a custom taxonomy term, and apply it to new or existing content.
- How redirects work in Permalink Manager: what happens to the old address when a permalink changes, and how visitors and search engines are sent to the new one.
| If you want to… | Read |
|---|---|
Remove the base from custom post type or taxonomy URLs (/portfolio/my-project/ → /my-project/) |
Remove custom post type and taxonomy slugs |
| Put a category or custom taxonomy term in custom post type URLs | Add taxonomy slugs to custom post type permalinks |
| Shorten nested URLs by removing parent slugs | Remove the parent slug from child permalinks |
| Use a different URL structure for each language (WPML, Polylang) | Multilingual permalinks |
| Get rid of the "-2" WordPress adds to repeated slugs | Allow duplicate slugs |
| Change WooCommerce product and category URLs | WooCommerce permalinks guide and removing /product/ and /product-category/ |
| Add custom field values to URLs (ACF, Pods, Toolset, Meta Box) | Custom fields in WordPress permalinks |
The free version covers posts, pages and custom post types. It includes single-URL editing, permalink structures, removing post type bases, taxonomy terms in custom post type URLs, translated permalinks and automatic redirects.
Permalink Manager Pro adds:
- URLs for categories, tags and custom taxonomy terms.
- Full WooCommerce support: product categories, tags and attributes, SKUs in URLs and coupon URLs.
- Custom fields in permalinks.
- Extra and external redirects.
- REST API endpoints.
The feature comparison lists every difference.
From WordPress.org (recommended): in your dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New, search for "Permalink Manager", then install and activate it.
From this repository:
- Download the repository as a ZIP file and unzip it.
- Rename the folder to
permalink-manager. GitHub names itPermalink-Manager-masterby default, and keeping the WordPress.org folder name means future updates go to the same plugin. - Copy it to
/wp-content/plugins/and activate it from thePluginsscreen.
After activation, the plugin's tools and settings are under Tools → Permalink Manager.
Requirements: WordPress 5.3 or newer and PHP 5.4 or newer. The current release is tested up to WordPress 7.1.
- API functions: save, update and regenerate custom permalinks from your own code.
- Filters for custom permalinks: change the default permalink format for selected posts or terms and work with the stored permalink and redirect arrays.
- REST API (Pro): read and update custom permalinks and redirects over the WordPress REST API.
- Performance and limitations: custom permalinks are stored in a single database row, which keeps lookups fast. Read this before using the plugin on a site with tens of thousands of URLs.
It also works with Yoast SEO, Rank Math and SEOPress, keeping canonical URLs, sitemaps and breadcrumbs in line with your custom permalinks (details). Compatibility with other plugins and themes is covered in the third-party support guide.
- First, check the list of common issues.
- For help with the free version, use the WordPress.org support forum.
- If you have found a bug in the code, you are welcome to open an issue here. Include your WordPress, PHP and plugin versions and the steps to reproduce it.
- Pro users can contact the developer directly.
Permalink Manager is free software released under the GNU General Public License v2.