Title: Sigma Search &amp; Replace
Author: Younes JFR.
Published: <strong>August 13, 2025</strong>
Last modified: February 2, 2026

---

Search plugins

![](https://ps.w.org/sigma-search-replace/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=3344137)

![](https://ps.w.org/sigma-search-replace/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=3344137)

# Sigma Search & Replace

 By [Younes JFR.](https://profiles.wordpress.org/symptote/)

[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/sigma-search-replace.1.0.0.zip)

 * [Details](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/sigma-search-replace/#description)
 * [Reviews](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/sigma-search-replace/#reviews)
 *  [Installation](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/sigma-search-replace/#installation)
 * [Development](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/sigma-search-replace/#developers)

 [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sigma-search-replace/)

## Description

**Sigma Search & Replace** is a comprehensive WordPress plugin that allows you to
search and replace content throughout your WordPress database with ease and safety.
Whether you’re migrating a site, changing domain names, or updating content across
multiple posts, this plugin provides a user-friendly interface to handle complex
database operations.

#### How It Works

 1. **Search Phase** – The plugin searches through your database tables to find matches
 2. **Review Results** – View detailed reports of what will be changed before proceeding
 3. **Replace Phase** – Safely execute the replacement with progress tracking
 4. **Completion Report** – Get a detailed summary of all changes made

#### Key Features

 * **Selective Table Processing** – Choose which tables to include in operations
 * **Two-Step Safety** – _Search_  review  _Replace_; nothing changes until you 
   click replace.
 * **Case Sensitive/Insensitive Search** – Full control over search sensitivity
 * **GUID Protection** – Option to skip WordPress GUIDs to maintain data integrity
 * **Serialized-Data Support** – Detect and update strings stored inside PHP-serialized
   arrays or objects without breaking their structure.
 * **Real-time Search Progress** – Live progress tracking with detailed reporting;
   click Stop to cancel mid-run.
 * **Real-time Replace Progress** – Live progress tracking with detailed reporting;
   click Stop to cancel mid-run.
 * **Batch Processing** – Handles large databases efficiently with configurable 
   batch sizes
 * **Detailed Search Preview** – Comprehensive user-friendly interface showing exactly
   what was found and changed
 * **Detailed Reports & Logs** – Per-table hit counts, replacement summaries, and
   error logs.
 * **Multisite Ready** – Network admin: any site; sub-site admin: own site only.
 * **Modern React Interface** – Clean, intuitive user interface built with React
 * **REST API Integration** – Secure API endpoints for all operations

#### Perfect For

 * **Site Migration** – Moving WordPress sites to new domains or servers
 * **URL Updates** – Changing domain names or switching between HTTP/HTTPS
 * **Content Updates** – Bulk updating text, links, or other content across your
   site
 * **Development** – Updating staging site URLs for local development
 * **Maintenance** – Cleaning up old content or updating deprecated information

#### Safety Features

 * **Backup Warnings** – Multiple reminders to backup your database before making
   changes
 * **Dry Run Capability** – Preview what will be changed without making actual modifications
 * **Table Validation** – Ensures database tables are valid before processing
 * **Smart Change Detection** – Skips updates if values changed after the search.
 * **Site URL Safeguard** – Automatically detect and delay site URL edits to the
   end to avoid breaking the process.
 * **Error Handling** – Comprehensive error handling and logging

#### Technical Features

 * **Efficient Processing** – Handles large databases with memory-conscious batch
   processing
 * **Timeout Management** – Automatic timeout handling for long-running operations
 * **Security** – Proper authentication and authorization checks
 * **Logging** – Comprehensive logging system for troubleshooting

## Screenshots

 * [[
 * Main search and replace interface with form inputs
 * [[
 * Table selection screen showing database tables
 * [[
 * Search progress with real-time updates
 * [[
 * Detailed search results before replacement
 * [[
 * Preview the changes in each table, broken down by rows and cells
 * [[
 * Replacement progress tracking
 * [[
 * Settings page with configuration options
 * [[
 * System information and logs page

## Installation

This section describes how to install the plugin. In general, there are 3 ways to
install this plugin like any other WordPress plugin.

#### 1. Via WordPress dashboard

 * Click on ‘Add New’ in the plugins dashboard
 * Search for ‘sigma-search-replace’
 * Click ‘Install Now’ button
 * Activate the plugin from the same page or from the Plugins dashboard

#### 2. Via uploading the plugin to WordPress dashboard

 * Download the plugin to your computer from (https://wordpress.org/plugins/sigma-
   search-replace/)
 * Click on ‘Add New’ in the plugins dashboard
 * Click on ‘Upload Plugin’ button
 * Select the zip file of the plugin that you have downloaded to your computer before
 * Click ‘Install Now’
 * Activate the plugin from the Plugins dashboard

#### 3. Via FTP

 * Download the plugin to your computer from (https://wordpress.org/plugins/sigma-
   search-replace/)
 * Unzip the zip file, which will extract the ‘sigma-search-replace-x.x.x’ directory
 * Upload the ‘sigma-search-replace’ directory (included inside the extracted folder)
   to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory in your web space
 * Activate the plugin from the Plugins dashboard

#### For Multisite installation

 * Log in to your primary site and go to “My Sites” » “Network Admin” » “Plugins”
 * Install the plugin following one of the above ways
 * Network activate the plugin (Note that the main site will search/replace in the
   whole network tables, single sites will only have access to their tables)

#### Where the plugin menu will be displayed?

 * The plugin page can be accessed via “Dashboard” » “Tools” » “SSR Replace” or 
   via the left menu “SSR Replace” or via the network dashboard for multisite “SSR
   Replace” (You can change this via the plugin settings)

## FAQ

### Can I search specific database tables only?

Yes, you can select which database tables to include in your search and replace 
operations.

### Is it safe to use this plugin?

Yes, when used properly. The plugin includes multiple safety features and warnings,
but you should **always backup your database** before performing any search and 
replace operations. The plugin will remind you to do this.

### Will it break serialized data?

No. The plugin unserializes, replaces, then re-serializes values so data remains
valid.

### Can I undo changes made by the plugin?

The plugin doesn’t have a built-in undo feature, which is why backing up your database
beforehand is crucial. The detailed reports can help you understand what was changed.

### Does it work with multisite installations?

Yes. Network admins can target any site tables; sub-site admins are limited to their
own tables.

### Will it work with large databases?

Yes, the plugin is optimized for large databases using batch processing and memory-
efficient techniques. However, performance depends on your hosting resources. In
some cases (especially on low-memory or shared environments) it may not be possible
to complete the process reliably.

### What happens if the process times out?

The plugin has built-in timeout management in the search phase and can automatically
resume where it left off.

## Reviews

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/05e34df4bdd0930cbe0174610ba3cec16961a88a7a6dfe6adf98bc869db826f1?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Perfect! Search and replace with text preview](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/perfect-search-and-replace-with-text-preview/)󠁿

 [alamea](https://profiles.wordpress.org/alamea/) February 22, 2026 1 reply

Fantastic! It shows me a clear text preview of which posts I’m changing a word in,
and it’s incredibly fast. Since the plugin comes from Younes Sigma series, where
I’ve been using Advanced Database Cleaner for many years, it provides me with an
extra layer of security and trusted when making deeper changes to the database. 
Thanks, Younes, for another great feature!

 [ Read all 1 review ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sigma-search-replace/reviews/)

## Contributors & Developers

“Sigma Search & Replace” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.

Contributors

 *   [ Younes JFR. ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/symptote/)
 *   [ issamox2008 ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/issamox2008/)

[Translate “Sigma Search & Replace” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/sigma-search-replace)

### Interested in development?

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/sigma-search-replace/),
check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/sigma-search-replace/),
or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/sigma-search-replace/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/sigma-search-replace/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

## Changelog

#### 1.0.0 – 13/08/2025

 * Initial release: let’s search the world!

## Meta

 *  Version **1.0.0**
 *  Last updated **2 months ago**
 *  Active installations **40+**
 *  WordPress version ** 5.0 or higher **
 *  Tested up to **6.9.4**
 *  PHP version ** 7.0 or higher **
 *  Language
 * [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/sigma-search-replace/)
 * Tags
 * [find](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/find/)[replace](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/replace/)
   [search](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/search/)[search replace](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/search-replace/)
 *  [Advanced View](https://test.wordpress.org/plugins/sigma-search-replace/advanced/)

## Ratings

 5 out of 5 stars.

 *  [  1 5-star review     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sigma-search-replace/reviews/?filter=5)
 *  [  0 4-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sigma-search-replace/reviews/?filter=4)
 *  [  0 3-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sigma-search-replace/reviews/?filter=3)
 *  [  0 2-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sigma-search-replace/reviews/?filter=2)
 *  [  0 1-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sigma-search-replace/reviews/?filter=1)

[Add my review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sigma-search-replace/reviews/#new-post)

[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sigma-search-replace/reviews/)

## Contributors

 *   [ Younes JFR. ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/symptote/)
 *   [ issamox2008 ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/issamox2008/)

## Support

Got something to say? Need help?

 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sigma-search-replace/)

## Donate

Would you like to support the advancement of this plugin?

 [ Donate to this plugin ](https://www.sigmaplugin.com/donation)