Desktop Mode

Your WordPress admin, reimagined as a desktop. Every admin screen opens as a draggable, resizable window — edit a post, browse the Media Library, and moderate comments side by side instead of one page at a time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jii_gGbqUx4 Desktop Mode is opt-in per user: one click in the admin bar switches you in, one click switches you back. Nobody else on the site sees any change, and deactivating the plugin restores the classic admin exactly. Zero Core patches — every feature runs through public WordPress hooks. Built and maintained by Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, Jetpack, WooCommerce, and Tumblr. A real desktop

• Windows — drag, resize, minimize, maximize, snap, tile. Every admin page works, including plugin pages.
• Dock & taskbar — the admin menu becomes an icon dock; open windows live in a macOS-style taskbar.
• Virtual desktops (Spaces) — one desktop for writing, another for the store, another for moderation.
• Files on the desktop — drop posts, media, and links onto the wallpaper, organize them into folders, trash them to a Recycle Bin.
• Session restore — reload the browser and every window comes back exactly where you left it.

Make it yours

• Wallpapers — color presets, animated scenes, or your own image.
• Widgets & desktop icons — pin live widgets and shortcuts to the wallpaper; plugins can register their own.

Superpowers

• AI Assistant (optional) — press Cmd+K and ask "Which post had the comment asking for the recipe?" It searches your own content. Off by default; see "External services" below.
• Content Graph — an interactive, zoomable map of how your posts, pages, and products link together.
• Cross-window drag & drop — drag an image from the Media Library window straight into the editor in another window.
• Command palette — the full WordPress command palette plus slash commands from plugins, all under Cmd+K.

Built to be extended Every significant behavior is hookable. Register windows, dock items, wallpapers, widgets, desktop icons, commands, settings tabs, and AI tools from your own plugin — stable desktop_mode_register_* PHP APIs, a typed JavaScript API, and copy-paste examples in the developer docs on GitHub. External services This plugin's optional AI Assistant sends data to OpenAI (https://api.openai.com/v1/responses) when, and only when, an administrator configures an OpenAI API key in Settings → AI. With no key configured, no external requests are made. When the AI Assistant is enabled and a user invokes it (via Cmd+K or the slash-command palette):

• What is sent: the user's prompt, the conversation history for the active session, the chosen model identifier (e.g. gpt-4o-mini), and tool-call metadata. The plugin's built-in tools (search_posts, search_pages, search_comments) run WordPress's native keyword search and may include excerpts of the matching posts/pages/comments in tool results, which are then sent back to OpenAI as part of the agentic loop.
• When it is sent: on user-initiated AI requests, and (if enabled) on comment-save hooks for spam analysis. Comment spam analysis runs server-side as part of the comment-insert flow. Posts, pages, and taxonomy terms are not sent automatically.
• Why it is sent: to obtain model completions and tool-call decisions that drive the AI Assistant.
• Who provides the service: OpenAI, L.L.C. — see the OpenAI Terms of Use and the OpenAI Privacy Policy.

The AI Assistant's provider layer is also extensible: third-party plugins may register additional providers via desktop_mode_register_ai_provider(). Those providers may send data to other endpoints; review each plugin's own privacy disclosure separately. No other external services are contacted by this plugin.

1. Upload the plugin folder to /wp-content/plugins/, or install via Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
2. Activate the plugin through the Plugins screen in WordPress.
3. Click the desktop icon in the admin bar's top-right corner. The admin reloads inside the desktop shell.
4. Click the same icon again at any time to return to the classic admin.

Optional: enable the AI Assistant

1. Open Settings → AI inside desktop mode.
2. Paste an OpenAI API key and pick a model.
3. Press Cmd+K (or Ctrl+K) anywhere in desktop mode to open the AI palette.

0.9.3

• Rewrite WordPress.org plugin page, leaner copy, video embed, screenshots
• Review: doc/comment accuracy, security hardening, and cleanups across the plugin

0.9.2

• Persist welcome-dialog dismissal when Desktop Mode is disabled
• Welcome dialog reappears on every page when the admin is served from an origin that differs from site_url

0.9.1

• Make native list windows opt-in (Beta) instead of opt-out
• Scope AI to comment spam + native-search assistant
• Feat/unfocus window effects
• Fix placement, gear/Help, and dock⇄desktop visibility bugs
• Fix Guidelines-experiment 404 noise, duplicate welcome dialog, and unused-preload warnings
• Add "View activity footprint" row action in Users list

0.9.0

• Gate per-user REST routes on desktop mode enabled
• Refine recycle bin badge styling and sync on stop
• Clear comments selection after applying action
• Don't let a failing sync block the agent
• Make the AI-disabled error link to AI Settings

0.8.9

• Improve drag-and-drop handling in chromeless bridge and iframe bridge
• The whole shell loads faster, especially the first time you open wp-admin
• Open an app from the wallpaper or from the dock — it's the same window now (no more two copies floating around)
• Minimize a window and the dock icon shows it's minimized — even if you opened it from the desktop icon
• Click "+ New" twice and you get two editors. Drafting a post and want to start another? Just click again
• "Switch to Desktop Mode" always takes you to the dashboard, so you know where you're starting from
• Resizing a window and accidentally letting go over the desktop no longer minimizes everything
• WooCommerce: the "Add Order" button is back on the Orders page
• "Add New" buttons (Add Post, Add Order, Add anything) stay visible inside every plugin page
• After we ship a fix, you get it on your next page load — no more "try refreshing twice"

0.8.8

• Align dock badge with in-window update count
• Make every dock scrollable, keep system tiles pinned
• No more flash when you create, move, or delete a file or shortcut on the desktop
• Trashing a folder that contained other folders now works (used to silently fail)
• Drag an image from the Media Library straight into a Gutenberg post, it now inserts
• Edit User screen: the form is centered instead of pinned to the left
• Title-bar icons (Help, etc.) are now visually centered
• Sticky notes powered by WP Guidelines

0.8.7

• Bump Tested up to WordPress 7.0
• Fix plugins window stale-nonce 'Cookie check failed' on long-running sessions
• Fix plugin .zip drop routing to Media Library uploader
• Add server-side search to entity list views
• Rename Browse tab to Add Plugin
• Drag and drop improvements

0.8.6

• Light indicators for native-window-target dock icons
• Additional fixes and polish
• Add compatibility layer for Divi script dependencies and tests
• Show plugin icons
• Open off-site menu items in a new browser tab

0.8.6-rc1

• Tag cloud & category mindmap: search, clustering, server cache
• Drag & Drop from local desktop
• Implement loading skeletons and staggered animations for file tiles
• Arrow-key shortcuts + Overview-from-Show-Desktop fix
• Shortcuts popover, dock-style tooltips, reorder
• Add Featured Plugins View and Ribbon Component
• Add "Automatic Updates" column and related functionality to Plugins window
• Add window notices feature with persistent dismissal and server sync
• Polish four framework surfaces for plugin authors
• Disable focus on other window actions
• Add Media section to "My WordPress" + uniform preview-pane hook surface
• Refactor My WordPress to use <wpd-tile> + add post status ribbons
• Allow deactivating plugins in CMO desktop & dock
• OS-file drop — progress UI, live refresh, cancel cleanup, CMO
• Group-by selector + click-to-deselect + focused-icon centering
• Test against PHP 8.3 and 8.4
• Enhance minimize/restore behavior to preserve pre-minimize state and add cross-state transition tests

0.8.5

• Shared folders, heartbeat widget, and heartbeat-pipeline hardening
• Recycle Bin: show item type badges inline next to title
• Plugins window: expandable rows with rich plugin details
• Remember native window size across opens
• Fix blank plugin icons in the Plugins window
• Restore "Show desktop on wallpaper click" as an opt-in setting
• Fix plugin update refresh, dock badge, and stuck-row failures
• Trash bin polish: URL badge, live placement badge, no media auto-trash
• Throw on empty REST body to avoid TypeError after self-replace
• Hide Media filter tab when MEDIA_TRASH is off
• Sequence openCurrentPage after restoreSession to avoid duplicate windows
• Fix window refresh issue on new sessions

0.8.4

• Faster Desktop Mode, main bundle cut by 59 %
• "Edit Post" from the front-end admin bar opens nothing
• Cross-page admin-link clicks: state, destructive actions, referer hint
• Warn loudly when a <wpd-*> tag is used without being imported
• Support re-uploading existing plugins, add post-install Activate panel
• Restore the full WordPress command palette inside Cmd+K

0.8.3

• Feat comments as native windows
• Chrome <111 titlebars + duplicate-placement REST 500s
• SW navigation interception caused window-in-window after core update
• Open each post as its own window from the Posts window
• Fix Users window data + live-refresh, plus per-window REST clients
• Session-expiry cascade + Plugins window sync
• Narrow scope to /wp-admin/ and throttle SW reloads
• Plugins window: real updates, not just a phantom badge
• Support plain permalinks for REST URL construction
• Hide registered icons from desktop instead of trashing

0.8.2

• Many fixes and new features
• Add unit test to ensure bridge script skips core AJAX update buttons
• Native Plugins window + <wpd-card>
• Appearance window polish + dock-peek fixes
• Fix upload theme
• Implement favicon resolver and associated tests for desktop mode
• Auto-inject X-WP-Nonce for REST API requests
• Enhance user management functionality in WordPress REST API
• Fix user role updates
• Fix plugin native issues
• Enhance color scheme preview functionality by adding shell scheme flipping
• Fix rearrange icons out of desktop
• Open each post in its own window
• Add item visibility and dock order settings
• Add first-run welcome dialog for Desktop Mode
• Fix dock management
• Refetch desktop placements on Recycle Bin restore

0.8.1

• Framework rework and stability improvements — significant internals refactor, smoother window lifecycle, and more reliable bridging between iframe and native windows.
• Drag and drop reworked end-to-end: calmer pointer behavior, more accurate hit-testing, and reliable handoff across windows.
• Posts, Pages, and Users now open as native desktop windows — direct DOM rendering inside the shell instead of an iframe, faster open, instant interaction, and UI tailored to the windowing model.
• New Content Graph tool — an interactive map of how your content links together. Pan, zoom, and focus a node to explore its neighborhood.
• Cross-page admin link routing in the chromeless bridge so links across the admin stay inside the desktop shell.
• Many bug fixes across the admin bar, Fullscreen toggle, resize handles over iframes, real-time icon refresh on plugin activation, and the PWA shell.

0.5.1

• Code editor and framework improvements.
• Enhanced AI provider integration: third-party providers may register through desktop_mode_register_ai_provider().
• Title-bar button registry with icon painting for plugin authors.
• OS Settings tabs are now extensible via desktop_mode_register_settings_tab_script() / desktop_mode_register_settings_tab().
• AI Copilot extensibility: server-side tool registry (desktop_mode_register_ai_tool()) and client-side wp.desktop.ai.ask() programmatic entry point.
• UI component kit expansion (~25 <wpd-*> web components).
• Backtick hotkey to cycle window focus.
• Unified command palettes via the palette registry.
• OS Settings Help tab.

0.5.0

• Command registration APIs (desktop_mode_register_command_script() / desktop_mode_register_command()) with live install/activate refresh.
• Media-library enhancement enabled by default, with opt-out.
• Dock CSS selectors updated; overflow handling improved. See the GitHub releases page for the full history.