Philip Newcomer

This plugin makes all custom fields (post meta) visible in the “Custom Fields” meta box on post edit screens.

Show Hidden Post Meta

As a plugin developer, I create hidden post meta all the time and sometimes I need to see it to debug it. This does what it says it does, and well. Its simple and hasn't been updated for a while, but I'm glad it exists!

PS: If you need someone to take this one over, let me know. I'll keep it tested and updated if you're unable to.

Still works on 5.5

Makes hidden post meta visible on post edit screens

JS Morisset

The JSM Show Post Metadata plugin displays post (ie. posts, pages, and custom post types) meta keys (aka custom field names) and unserialized values in a metabox at the bottom of the post editing page.
Note that if you’re using WooCommerce HPOS (High-Performance Order Storage), available since WooCommerce v8.2, then your WooCommerce orders are NOT post objects and you should use the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jsm-show-order-meta/" rel="ugc">JSM Show Order Metadata</a> plugin instead.
There are no plugin settings – simply install and activate the plugin.
<h4>Available Filters for Developers</h4>
Filter the post meta shown in the metabox:
<pre><code>'jsmspm_metabox_table_metadata' ( array $metadata, $post_obj )
</code></pre>
Array of regular expressions to exclude meta keys:
<pre><code>'jsmspm_metabox_table_exclude_keys' ( array $exclude_keys, $post_obj )
</code></pre>
Capability required to show post meta:
<pre><code>'jsmspm_show_metabox_capability' ( 'manage_options', $post_obj )
</code></pre>
Show post meta for a post type (defaults to true):
<pre><code>'jsmspm_show_metabox_post_type' ( true, $post_type )
</code></pre>
Capability required to delete post meta:
<pre><code>'jsmspm_delete_meta_capability' ( 'manage_options', $post_obj )
</code></pre>
Icon for the delete post meta button:
<pre><code>'jsmspm_delete_meta_icon_class' ( 'dashicons dashicons-table-row-delete' )
</code></pre>
<h4>Related Plugins</h4>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jsm-show-comment-meta/" rel="ugc">JSM Show Comment Metadata</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jsm-show-order-meta/" rel="ugc">JSM Show Order Metadata for WooCommerce HPOS</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jsm-show-post-meta/" rel="ugc">JSM Show Post Metadata</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jsm-show-term-meta/" rel="ugc">JSM Show Term Metadata</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jsm-show-user-meta/" rel="ugc">JSM Show User Metadata</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jsm-show-registered-shortcodes/" rel="ugc">JSM Show Registered Shortcodes</a></li>
</ul>

JSM Show Post Metadata

I've started recently to use this plugin to discover post meta values, I must say it's cleaner than other plugins I've used before.

Thanks for the latest update release 2.0.0, the ability to have post meta updated without having to load the page is pretty awesome.

I use the plugin almost everyday. I recommend it to anyone who wants to see what's in post meta.

Keep it up!

Useful and Very Clean Post Meta Viewer Plugin

It's great for letting me see hidden metadata without having to open up the database.  Plus, it's great for allowing non-technical users to see the information without the risk of sending them to the database.  

Super helpful tool!


I'm definitely not making full use of its potential but, for what I need it, it has proved to be dependable and very useful.



Thank you for sharing your work.


Helpful and dependable


Very handy and usefull when I work on post types


Very handy when I work on post types


This plugin is incredibly helpful when converting and managing legacy websites, especially for uncovering all kinds of hidden metadata - even the obscure ones.


Thanks a lot for this great plugin!

Show post metadata (aka custom fields) in a metabox when editing posts / pages - a great tool for debugging issues with post metadata.

Show Hidden Post Meta vs JSM Show Post Metadata