Users Metadata Box exposes the wp_usermeta table inside the WordPress user-edit screen. Inspect, edit, add, and delete custom fields on any user account from a clean modal-based UI, without writing SQL or PHP.
What this feature does
Plugins constantly write to wp_usermeta: WooCommerce stores billing addresses there, membership plugins store subscription data, BBPress and bbPress profile extensions store activity counts, and so on. WordPress itself uses it for capabilities, dismissed pointers, and per-user options. None of this is visible from the standard user-edit screen.
Users Metadata Box adds a User Metadata section to every user’s profile page with the same CRUD UI as the Posts and Term metadata boxes: search, sort, add, edit, delete. It’s the fastest way to inspect and adjust user-level data when you’re troubleshooting a stuck account or auditing what plugins have stored.
How to enable it
- Open AdminEase › Users. Click AdminEase in the WordPress admin menu, then switch to the Users tab.
- Toggle Enable Users Metadata Box on. Save settings.
- Open any user’s profile. Go to Users › All Users and click a user. The User Metadata box appears below the standard profile fields.
Settings reference
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Users Metadata Box | Master switch. While on, AdminEase adds the metadata box to every user-edit screen, including your own profile. | Off |
The wp_capabilities meta key controls a user’s roles. Deleting or editing it on your own profile can remove your administrator role and lock you out of the dashboard. Restrict use of this feature to administrators who understand the implications, and never edit wp_capabilities by hand unless you know exactly what you’re doing.
Using the box
Same workflow as the other metadata boxes:
- Search the list with the input at the top.
- Click Edit on any row to open the value modal.
- Click Delete to remove a row after a confirmation.
- Click Add metadata to create a brand-new key/value pair.
What happens behind the scenes
Three AJAX endpoints handle the CRUD operations: adminease_get_user_metadata (read), adminease_update_user_metadata (create or update), and adminease_delete_user_metadata (delete). All three operate on the standard wp_usermeta table.
Common workflows
Audit what a plugin stores per user
Open any user’s profile, search the metadata box for the plugin’s prefix (e.g. woocommerce_, bbp_). You’ll see every key the plugin has written for that user.
Reset a stuck user state
If a plugin’s state for a user has gotten stuck (e.g. a membership flag or a tutorial-dismissed marker), find the relevant key in the box and delete it. The plugin re-creates the key on next use with default values.
Pre-populate fields on a new user
Create a new user, then open their profile and use Add metadata to seed any custom fields the user’s role expects. Useful for membership systems or onboarding flows.
Troubleshooting
I don’t see the metadata box
Check screen options at the top right of the user-edit page and confirm User Metadata is ticked. WordPress occasionally hides newly-registered metaboxes by default.
I edited capabilities and lost admin access
Use a different administrator account to restore the role, or run the following in WP-CLI: wp user set-role <user-id> administrator. If you have no other admin account, contact your host’s support team to fix it via direct database access.
Some keys appear to have empty values
Many WordPress keys store serialised arrays or objects that don’t render usefully as a single string. The display truncates very long or complex values; click Edit to see the full content. Don’t edit serialised values as plain text.