Documentation
WP SysPeek Docs
How WP SysPeek reads server metrics from inside wp-admin without root access, what each reading actually means, and why some hosts can give you more than others.
On this page
Overview
WP SysPeek is a WordPress plugin that surfaces the state of the server hosting your site — CPU load, memory, disk, and your site's own resource usage — on a screen inside wp-admin, next to the site the numbers belong to.
It exists because of a gap: when a site is slow, the person paying for the server usually cannot tell whether the host is struggling, the plan is undersized, or a plugin is eating the machine. The host, meanwhile, receives a ticket that says "my site is slow" with nothing attached to it.
What it is not: it is not a security scanner, not a performance optimiser, and not an APM that traces individual requests. It reports what the server reports.
Requirements
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| PHP | 7.4 or newer |
| Hosting | Shared, VPS, managed or dedicated — all supported |
| Root access | Not required |
| SSH access | Not required |
| Agent or daemon | None. The plugin is the whole install |
Installation
Planned — the plugin is not on WordPress.org yet.
- Install. From wp-admin, go to
Plugins → Add New, search for “WP SysPeek”, and install it. - Activate. No configuration, licence key or account is required for the free version.
- Read. Open
Tools → SysPeek. Readings appear immediately; there is no data collection period to wait through.
Reading without root
The phrase “no root access required” is not a workaround — it describes where the numbers come from. WP SysPeek does not escalate privileges, open a shell, or install anything outside WordPress. It reads what PHP is already permitted to read as the web server user.
On a typical Linux host that includes the load average, the memory and disk figures the kernel exposes to any process, and the values PHP knows about itself. None of that requires ownership of the machine, which is why the same plugin works on a £3 shared plan and a dedicated server.
The trade-off is honest and worth stating: a sysadmin with a shell can see more than this plugin can. What you get is the subset of the truth that is visible from inside the site — which is exactly the subset you were previously missing.
Metrics reference
Each reading, where it comes from, and how reliably it is available.
| Reading | Typical source | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| CPU load average | sys_getloadavg() | Common; disabled on some shared hosts |
| Memory in use | memory_get_usage(), kernel memory info | Site-level always; machine-level varies |
| Disk free / total | disk_free_space(), disk_total_space() | Usually available; reflects your quota |
| PHP limits | ini_get() | Always |
| PHP / MySQL version | PHP runtime, database handshake | Always |
| Site resource usage | WordPress runtime measurement | Always |
| Response latency | Outside request to your public URL | Planned — Pro |
On containerised and managed platforms, disk and memory figures usually describe your allocation rather than the physical machine — which is the number you actually want.
Incidents
An incident is recorded the moment a resource peaks or crosses its limit — CPU held high, disk crossing a threshold, memory spiking. Each entry keeps what happened and when, so a slowdown someone reported yesterday can be checked rather than guessed at.
Incidents are recorded locally on your own site.
Uptime alerts
Planned — Pro.
When the server peaks or goes down, WP SysPeek sends a short message to WhatsApp or Telegram: the metric and the time. A recovery message follows when the reading returns to normal, so an alert always resolves rather than leaving you to check manually.
Alerts are off until you connect an account. The message contains the metric and timestamp only — no page content and no visitor data. See Data and privacy.
History
Planned — Pro.
Readings are kept on record so you can see how the server behaves over weeks rather than at the instant you happened to look. The point is evidence: it is the difference between telling your host “it feels slow” and showing them when it was slow.
Hosting compatibility
WP SysPeek does not depend on a particular host, control panel, or plan tier. If a host runs WordPress on PHP 7.4 or newer, the plugin runs there.
The hosting companies named on the home page are the environments it is being built for. They are not partners and have not endorsed this plugin. Naming a host is not a guarantee every reading will be available there — see When a value is unavailable.
Data and privacy
Metrics are read and displayed on your own site. Two features work by leaving it, and only those two:
- Latency testing has to measure your site from somewhere else, so it requests your public URL and nothing more.
- Uptime alerts have to reach you, so they send the metric and the time through WhatsApp or Telegram.
The full policy for this website is in the Privacy Policy.
Status and roadmap
| Capability | Tier | Status |
|---|---|---|
| CPU, memory, disk, site usage | Free | Planned for launch |
| PHP and MySQL environment | Free | Planned for launch |
| Incidents | Free | Planned for launch |
| Realtime monitoring | Pro | Planned |
| Latency testing | Pro | Planned |
| Uptime alerts | Pro | Planned |
| History | Pro | Planned |
Nothing above has shipped. Join the waitlist to hear once, when it does.