Title: Developer Information
Author: WordPress.org
Published: <strong>February 10, 2016</strong>
Last modified: September 2, 2020

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Search plugins

# Developer information

 You’ve got a cool new plugin and are hoping to give it some exposure. You’re in
the right place. Just [ask us to host it for you](https://wordpress.org/plugins/developers/add/).
You’ll be able to:

 * Keep track of how many people have downloaded it.
 * Let people leave comments about your plugin.
 * Get your plugin rated against all the other cool WordPress plugins.
 * Give your plugin lots of exposure in this centralized repository.

### There are some restrictions

 *  Your plugin must be compatible with the [GNU General Public License v2](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#GPLCompatibleLicenses),
   or any later version. We strongly recommend using the same license as WordPress—“
   GPLv2 or later.”
 * The plugin must not do anything illegal or be morally offensive (that’s subjective,
   we know).
 *  You have to actually use the [Subversion](https://subversion.apache.org/) repository
   we give you in order for your plugin to show up on this site. The WordPress Plugin
   Directory is a hosting site, not a listing site.
 * The plugin must not embed external links on the public site (like a “powered 
   by” link) without explicitly asking the user’s permission.
 *  Your plugin must abide by our list of [detailed guidelines](https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-org/detailed-plugin-guidelines/),
   which include not being a spammer and not abusing the systems.

### Submission is simple

 1.  [Sign up](https://login.wordpress.org/register?locale=en_US) for an account on
    WordPress.org.
 2.  [Submit your plugin for review](https://wordpress.org/plugins/developers/add/).
 3.  After your plugin is [manually reviewed](https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-org/plugin-developer-faq/#questions-about-submissions-and-approval),
    it will either be approved or you will be emailed and asked to provide more information
    and/or make corrections.
 4.  Once approved, you’ll be given access to a [Subversion Repository](https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-org/how-to-use-subversion/)
    where you’ll store your plugin.
 5.  Shortly after you upload your plugin (and a [readme file](https://wordpress.org/plugins/developers/?output_format=md#readme)!)
    to that repository, it will be automatically displayed in the [plugins browser](https://wordpress.org/plugins/).
 6.  Check out the **[FAQ](https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-org/plugin-developer-faq/)**
    for more information.

### Readme files

 To make your entry in the plugin browser most useful, each plugin should have a
readme file named `readme.txt` that adheres to the [WordPress plugin readme file standard](https://wordpress.org/plugins/readme.txt).
You can put your readme file through the [readme validator](https://wordpress.org/plugins/developers/readme-validator/)
to check it.