Plugin profile · observed daily since 02 Aug 2026

Read Text File

Active installs60+ rounded
Current authorAaron Sonnenberg
Owner changesNone while we have been watching
Last release14 years ago 15 Sep 2011
Support no recent threads
Releases on record1
Ratingno ratings yet
Added to directory14 Sep 2011
Requires WP3.0
Requires PHPfalse
Version lag3.9 behind
Tested up toWP 3.2.1 WordPress is now on 7.1

PluginPedia reports published data and observable changes. It does not rate plugin quality or safety, infer intent, or make recommendations. These are observations rather than a verdict. How this works

Ownership

Held by Aaron Sonnenberg throughout, with no change of ownership observed since daily tracking began on 02 Aug 2026.

Full observed history, including every field transition

Adoption

How widely the plugin is installed, and what the people running it think of it. WordPress.org rounds install figures to one significant digit, so they describe an order of magnitude rather than a headcount.

Very early-stage: 60+ active installs. Too few installs to read anything into adoption. That is a gap in the evidence, not a mark against the plugin.

2 downloads a day over the last 7 days, falling 50% against the 7 days before. Downloads are counted exactly and without a ceiling, so they show movement the rounded install figure cannot.

08 Aug 2026peak 11/day10 Sep 2026
No ratings on record, so there is no sentiment to report.

Daily record

Every field we record, one column per observation. Fields that never moved are named once rather than repeated across every column. A row of identical numbers would be padding.

Field28 Aug29 Aug30 Aug31 Aug01 Sep02 Sep03 Sep04 Sep05 Sep06 Sep07 Sep08 Sep09 Sep10 Sep
Downloads that day0110001100000011

Unchanged throughout: ratings total (0) · active installs (60+) · version (0.1) · support threads (0) · threads resolved (0)

40 days of observation, most recent 14 shown.

Maintenance

When it was last released, and how far its declared compatibility has drifted from current WordPress.

Added to directory14 years ago 14 Sep 2011
Requires WP3.0
Requires PHPfalse
Version lag3.9 behind

Is anyone still maintaining this?

  • No release in 5,474 days (15.0 years). The last was 15 Sep 2011.
  • Declares compatibility only up to WordPress 3.2.1, while 7.1 is current. The author has not confirmed it runs on the last 39 releases.
  • Aaron Sonnenberg publishes no other plugin in the directory, so there is no wider activity to compare against.

A plugin that does one thing correctly may need no changes for years; a long gap is not, by itself, evidence of neglect.

History

Everything dated that this registry holds about the plugin, most recent first. Releases carry the author’s own release date; everything else is dated to when it was observed.

  1. 02 Aug 20261 month ago
    First observed by PluginPediaDaily snapshots of this plugin’s directory record begin here. Everything above this line is observed; anything before it comes from fields the API itself reports.
  2. 08 Mar 201313 years ago
    Dormancy threshold crossed540 days since the last release (2011-09-15). Dormancy is a maintenance observation, not a judgement about the owner.
  3. 15 Sep 201114 years ago
    Version 0.1 released
  4. 14 Sep 201114 years ago
    Added to the WordPress.org directoryReported by the plugin API as the date this plugin was added.

What we know, and what we don’t

Everything on this page in one place, including the gaps, so that nothing here is mistaken for a clean bill of health.

What we know

  • It has been held by Aaron Sonnenberg for all 40 days we have observed it.
  • It was last released 14 years ago (15 Sep 2011).
  • Its author declares it tested up to WordPress 3.2.1; WordPress is now on 7.1.
  • WordPress.org reports 60+ active installs.

What we don’t know yet

  • Nobody has rated it. The first rating that arrives shows up here.
  • No forum threads were open in the two months we measure, so how responsive its support is cannot be said. One new thread starts answering that.

What can’t be known

  • Whether the quiet is neglect or a finished plugin. That is the author’s intent, which no dataset records, and a stable plugin can need no changes for years.

Every record on this site, this one included, works under the same limits. We read what WordPress.org publishes about a plugin, never the plugin’s own code, so nothing here says whether a plugin is well built or safe. Install counts reach us already rounded; a change smaller than a band step doesn’t show. We don’t track security advisories yet. For anything older than our first observation we rely on the plugin’s public release log, where one exists. What this registry can and cannot see

Similar plugins

This plugin has not been updated in a long time. These carry the same tags and describe themselves in the same terms, so they are a starting point for a replacement, not a recommendation. Check them yourself.

Easy Footnotes

Easy Footnotes lets you quickly and easily add footnotes throughout your WordPress posts using a simple shortcode in the text editor.

8,000+ installs4.8★ (33)updated 26 Aug 2026
read
JSM file_get_contents() Shortcode

A safe and reliable WordPress shortcode for PHP's file_get_contents() function.

300+ installs5.0★ (1)updated 13 Aug 2026
fileshortcode
Store file uploads for Contact Form 7

When this is active, attachments sent trough Contact Form 7 shortcode [file ] will be stored in your Media Library

1,000+ installs5.0★ (7)updated 22 May 2026
file
eRecht24 Legal Texts

Outputs legal texts via shortcode and Gutenberg block — manually entered or synchronised from the eRecht24 API.

50,000+ installs5.0★ (1)updated 18 Aug 2026
shortcode
m1.DownloadList

This plugin easily displays the folders and files from a selected directory. It can be placed by shortcode in any post.

400+ installs4.7★ (21)updated 18 Aug 2026
file
Lyode Dynamic Typing Animation

Create stunning dynamic text animations with multiple effects (typewriter, glitch, neon, etc.) using shortcodes and page builder integrations.

40+ installsupdated 28 Aug 2025
textshortcode

Grouped from the tags each author chose for their own plugin, so the grouping is only as good as those tags.

Reach out about this record

Corrections, missing context, or anything else about Read Text File: a person reads every submission, and corrections get a reply within 5 business days.

The record is never silently edited, and your email is never published.