Everything below reflects the current release (v1.0.0). Install to first cleanup is typically under ten minutes.
You need WordPress 6.0+ on PHP 7.4+, an administrator login, and the plugin zip plus licence key from your purchase email. Installation never touches your theme or content — the plugin only reads and, on your command, cleans wp_options.
In wp-admin go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the zip from your purchase email, install and activate. It adds an Autoload Watcher item to your admin menu.
Open the plugin and paste the key from your purchase email. Keys are domain-based — no account, no phoning home.
The top of the page shows your total autoloaded weight on a colour-coded gauge: excellent under 300 KB, healthy under 800 KB, then needs-attention and critical. That one number tells you whether you have a problem.
The option table is sorted heaviest-first with a size and share bar. Each row is attributed — core, a named plugin, the theme, a transient or an orphan — with a plain-English description. Start at the top.
For a big row you still use, click Stop autoloading (keeps the data, drops it from the every-page load). For debris, click Delete — it goes to a 20-entry undo trash you can restore from. Core options are protected and cannot be deleted.
Click Purge expired transients for a quick safe win. Then leave it: a daily snapshot builds a 30-day trend so you can see your cleanup working and catch new bloat early.
The screens you'll actually live in.
Your live total against the size bands, with the exact figure and option count. The meter marks the 300 KB, 800 KB and 2 MB thresholds so you always know where you stand.
Every row tagged core / plugin / theme / transient / orphan / unattributed, with the plugin's active-or-inactive state and a description. Known-brand orphans read like “left behind by Yoast SEO, not installed”.
The gentle fix: the option stays in the database but is no longer loaded on every request. Ideal for large rows you genuinely use but don't need on every page.
Removes the option and keeps a copy in a 20-entry trash. Restore puts it back not autoloaded. Around thirty core options WordPress needs are protected and can never be deleted.
One click removes every expired transient and its timeout partner — safe housekeeping, since anything that needs them rebuilds on demand.
Filter the table by option name, and hide WordPress core rows to focus purely on plugin and orphan debris.