Description
Halcyon Admin tunes the WordPress admin for people who prefer a steady, low-distraction workspace. It doesn’t add a settings page, a dashboard widget, or a notice — it just changes three things wp-admin does by default, and gets out of the way.
What it does
- Resizable admin menu — drag the right edge of the left menu to resize; width is saved per user and honored by the block editor.
- Reduced motion by default — disables CSS transitions, jQuery animations, and the WordPress 7 view transitions for users who haven’t opted in. Honors
prefers-reduced-motion. - Sensible default — sets Fresh as the default admin color scheme for new users. Users can pick a different scheme through WordPress’s standard profile color-scheme picker.
All preferences are per-user and stored as user meta. There is no global settings page, no telemetry, and no external network calls.
Why “Halcyon”?
Halcyon means calm and peaceful. The plugin’s only job is to make wp-admin feel that way — without forcing choices on users who like it the way it is.
Must-use install
To load Halcyon Admin as a must-use plugin (no activation needed, no update prompts):
- Copy the
halcyon-admin/folder towp-content/mu-plugins/halcyon-admin/. -
Create a new file at
wp-content/mu-plugins/halcyon-admin-loader.phpcontaining:<?php
/**- Plugin Name: Halcyon Admin (mu-plugin loader)
- Description: Loads Halcyon Admin from a mu-plugins subdirectory.
*/
defined( ‘ABSPATH’ ) || exit;
require_once DIR . ‘/halcyon-admin/halcyon-admin.php’;
Halcyon Admin will be loaded automatically on every request and won’t appear in the Plugins screen.
Screenshots
Installation
- Upload the plugin folder to
/wp-content/plugins/, or install via the Plugins Add New screen. - Activate Halcyon Admin.
- Optional: open your profile screen to adjust the three settings.
FAQ
-
Does it work with the block editor?
-
Yes. The block editor’s layout offsets follow your saved menu width, so resizing works the same in the editor as in the main admin.
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Does it work on mobile or touch devices?
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The drag-to-resize handle is desktop-only (mouse / trackpad). On touch devices, the menu uses the default WordPress width. Reduced motion and the color-scheme default work everywhere.
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Does it work on multisite?
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Yes. All preferences are per-user meta, so each user across the network can have their own settings.
-
Drag the menu edge to a new width — it saves automatically. To restore the WordPress default, open your profile screen, leave the menu-width field empty, and save.
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Can I disable individual features?
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Yes, each feature can be turned off independently:
- Animations — toggle in your profile under Users Profile Halcyon Admin.
- Menu width — drag the menu edge back to a different width; it saves automatically and is per user.
- Color scheme — pick a different scheme through WordPress’s standard profile color-scheme picker.
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What data does the plugin store about me?
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Three user-meta keys, all local to your WordPress install:
halcyon_admin_animations_enabledhalcyon_admin_color_scheme_chosenhalcyon_admin_sidebar_width
No data is sent off-site, no cookies are set, no external services are contacted. All stored data is removed automatically when the plugin is uninstalled.
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Does it conflict with other admin-customization plugins?
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Generally no, but two plugins adjusting the same thing (admin color scheme, sidebar width, or animation state) will produce whichever loads last. Test any existing admin-customization plugins after activating Halcyon Admin.
Reviews
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Contributors & Developers
“Halcyon Admin — Reduced Motion & Resizable Sidebar” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Halcyon Admin — Reduced Motion & Resizable Sidebar” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.5
- Readme fix: the mu-plugin install code block was rendering with the
phplanguage hint as inline text and the__DIR__constant being eaten as bold markdown. Switched to 4-space indented syntax (the WordPress readme parser does not support fenced code blocks). - Add plugin page banner:
banner-772x250.pngandbanner-1544x500.png(source artwork JPG, converted to PNG per WP.org spec). - Refresh screenshots: replaced with accurate captures from a fresh WP 7.0 install — one Halcyon Admin checkbox in the profile section, plus a real-drag demo of the resizable menu.
- Tighten the “What it does” copy and FAQ so the description matches the actual plugin UI (no implied “three settings” claim; color-scheme description points to WordPress’s standard picker).
- No code changes.
1.0.4
- Readme improvements: clearer “what it does” overview, mu-plugin install with copy-paste loader snippet, expanded FAQ, and privacy/data clarification. No code changes.
1.0.3
- Code quality: address Plugin Check tool findings. Escape
$widthoutput in the initial sidebar CSS, sanitize the AJAXwidthinput withabsint(), and add a defensivecheck_admin_referer()to the profile save handlers (save_profile,mark_explicit_choice). No functional change.
1.0.2
- Renamed to Halcyon Admin. New slug, text domain, namespace, asset handles, and user meta keys. Stored preferences are not migrated.
1.0.1
- Set Tested up to: 7.0. Add languages directory for translations.
1.0.0
- Initial release.