Description

Advanced Custom Fields has not changed how you author fields in a decade: you click
through a UI, one field at a time. Meanwhile every developer has an AI that writes
JSON perfectly well. The missing piece was never generation – it was safe
application.

FieldPilot is an AI & JSON Copilot and configuration patch engine for ACF. Paste JSON, see exactly
what will change, apply only that, and roll back if you were wrong.

The rule the whole plugin is built around:

Nothing changes except what the JSON asked for.

Set one field to required and that is the only byte that moves. Instructions,
conditional logic, wrapper classes, field keys and every other field in the group
come out byte-identical.

What it does

Partial updates. Change one setting on one field. ACF’s own importer can only
replace a whole field group; this changes precisely what you named.
Diff preview. Every change is shown before anything is written – added,
removed, moved, and every setting that differs, old value to new.
Target Isolation & Sibling Protection. Target any node in a nested ACF tree
(Repeater subfield, Flexible Content layout) with guarantees that sibling branches
are untouched.
Conflict detection. Changing a field’s type, renaming a field that holds
content, deleting something with data in it – each stops and asks, with the
trade-offs spelled out. It never guesses.
Snapshot and rollback. Every batch is snapshotted with its complete field tree.
One click restores the exact prior configuration. If a write fails verification,
it rolls back automatically.
Interactive Custom Field Builder (All 4 ACF Tabs). Dynamic controls for General,
Validation, Presentation, and Conditional Logic across all 36 ACF field types with
responsive width, return formats, choices, sub-fields, layouts, and bulk appending.
Deep 4-Tab Settings Mapping. Full parameter mapping for General, Validation,
Presentation, and Conditional Logic across all 36 ACF field types.
Deep nesting. Groups, Repeaters, Flexible Content layouts and Clone fields,
at any depth, targeted by human path: ["Agent", "Contact", "Social"].
Reads sloppy JSON. AI output uses group for field_group, description for
instructions, true where ACF wants 1. All of it is normalised rather than
rejected, so you paste instead of hand-fixing.
Reads native ACF exports too, in both directions.
REST API and WP-CLI with full parity, so deployments can do everything the UI
can.
Knows what it cannot touch. Field groups registered in PHP, or loaded from
acf-json and not yet synced, are physically unpatchable. The plugin detects them
up front and says so, instead of silently writing orphaned rows.

AI, without an AI dependency

The plugin never calls a language model. It publishes a schema and generates a
ready-to-paste prompt – including your field group’s current structure, so the model
stops inventing field names – and you use whatever AI you already pay for.

No API keys. No per-seat model cost. No site data leaving your server. No vendor to
be locked to. It works fully with zero configuration, and it keeps working when a
provider changes its pricing.

Requirements

WordPress 6.5+, PHP 8.1+, ACF 6.2+ (free or PRO). On ACF 6.8+ payloads are validated
against ACF’s own shipped field-type schemas, so validation tracks ACF automatically.
Repeater, Flexible Content, Clone and Gallery require ACF PRO; payloads using them on
a free install are refused with a clear message rather than a cryptic error.

Screenshots

Import screen with JSON editor, Custom Field Builder, and prompt generator

Diff preview showing exact target locus, scope isolation, and changes — Import screen with JSON editor, Custom Field Builder, and prompt generator

Installation

Upload the plugin to /wp-content/plugins/fieldpilot-for-acf/, or install it through Plugins -> Add New.
Activate it. ACF must already be active.
Go to FieldPilot in the admin menu.

FAQ

Will this overwrite my existing fields?: No. An update changes only the settings your JSON names. Every other setting, and
every other field, is preserved exactly. Field keys are never regenerated, so no
existing content is ever orphaned by an update.
What happens if something goes wrong?: Every batch is snapshotted before the first write, then verified afterwards by
re-reading what was saved. If the result does not match the plan, the snapshot is
restored automatically and you are told nothing was changed. You can also roll back
any past change manually from the History screen.
Can I delete fields?: Yes, but deliberately. The plugin scans for stored content first – including values
inside repeaters, which a name-based search would miss – and a delete that would
orphan content requires explicit confirmation.
Why can’t it edit my field group?: If a group is registered in PHP with acf_add_local_field_group(), it does not live
in the database, so nothing can be written to it. If it comes from an acf-json file
that has not been synced, the same applies. The Dashboard labels every group so you
know in advance; for JSON groups, sync them into the database first.
Does it work with ACF free?: Yes, for every field type ACF free provides. Repeater, Flexible Content, Clone and
Gallery are ACF PRO features.
Does it need an API key?: No. The plugin contains no AI integration at all – it generates prompts for whichever
AI you already use.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“FieldPilot – AI & JSON Copilot for ACF” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Harsh Prajapati

Translate “FieldPilot – AI & JSON Copilot for ACF” into your language.

Interested in development?

Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.

Changelog

1.0.22

Fixed: Prevented premature sample diff cleanup and sidebar guide flash when transitioning from Step 8 to Step 9.
Fixed: Instantly hide previous overlay and spotlight before navigating across screens.

1.0.21

Added: Non-revocable, disabled sample row in History table when empty to cleanly demonstrate rollback functionality.
Fixed: Ensured Step 8 targets conflict box directly instead of falling back to sidebar controls.
Fixed: Flawless step transitions between Import (Step 8) and History (Step 9).

1.0.20

Fixed: Replaced collapsed empty notice in History screen with styled empty card to fix spotlight rendering.
Fixed: Ensured backward step navigation from History to Import page restores editor tab and diff preview.
Enhanced: Robust retry and auto-recovery for tour spotlights across all screen transitions.

1.0.19

Added: Visual 10-step guided onboarding tour with target spotlight overlay.
Added: Direct Settings and Schema & Operations Guide action links on Plugins screen.
Added: Replay tour action on Dashboard and Settings screens.
Enhanced: Completely eliminated demo data from code, history screen, and UI.
Enhanced: Polished tour modal styling, close button, and diff review layout.

1.0.18

Maintenance release.

1.0.17

Maintenance release.

1.0.15

Maintenance release.

1.0.14

Hardened: Removed –file option and arbitrary file write from WP-CLI export command in favor of standard shell output redirection.

1.0.13

Security: Converted Export admin screen to POST method with explicit nonce verification and permission checks.
Security: Sanitized and validated all components of uploaded JSON file structures before processing.
Security: Added explicit capability checks to all form and file submission handlers.

1.0.12

Added: Side-by-side split review workbench in Tab 2 with live diff preview rendering directly alongside JSON editor.
Added: Target field group selector in JSON editor toolbar for dynamic template group assignment.
Added: Glowing pulse animation on Apply button once safety checklist checkboxes are confirmed.
Enhanced: Step 2 in AI tab split into clear sequential sub-steps (2A: Copy & Open AI, 2B: Paste AI Output).
Fixed: Cleaned up append button labeling to avoid double plus signs.

1.0.11

Added: Prominent bottom action bar (+ Append Field to Queue) directly below the 4 ACF tabs in the Custom Field Builder.
Added: Instant Enter key triggers on all builder fields to append specifications immediately from any tab.
Added: Visual indicator badge confirming when fields are added to the queue.

1.0.10

Added: Comprehensive in-app Schema & Operations Developer Guide in Tab 3 covering all 8 operations, target scope resolution, 4 ACF tabs parameter mapping, 36 field types reference matrix, and 1-click template loaders.
Fixed: Resolved DOM hierarchy and removed duplicate intent textarea in AI Prompt tab.
Fixed: Prevented WordPress admin footer (#wpfooter) from overlapping content.
Fixed: Standardized AI steps into full-width sequential workflow and aligned editor action buttons.

1.0.9

Added: Complete 36 ACF field type template patches in the JSON Editor template selector across 6 clean optgroups.
Enhanced: Reordered workflow tabs so Tab 1 is “1. Generate with AI” (default) and Tab 2 is “2. JSON Editor & Import”.
Enhanced: Interactive step guidance animations (pulsing ready states) when fields are queued to direct the user toward generating prompts and pasting responses.
Fixed: Standardized button alignments, heights (36px), and flex centering across all action bars.
Enhanced: AI prompt generator with compound multi-field examples and full 4-tab token parsing.

1.0.8

Added: Full 4-tab interactive Custom Field Builder (General, Validation, Presentation, Conditional Logic) with dynamic type-adapting controls for return format, choices, sub-fields, layouts, post types, taxonomy, toolbar, button label, min/max/step, allowed MIME types, maxlength, placeholder, prepend, append, textarea rows, wrapper classes, and conditional logic.

1.0.7

Added: Complete 4-tab parameter mapping (General, Validation, Presentation, Conditional Logic) and comprehensive specifications across all 36 ACF field types.
Added: Width and instructions controls in the Interactive Custom Field Builder with Enter key shortcuts.
Enhanced: Detailed user guide and complete JSON property mapping documentation in README.md and readme.txt.

1.0.6

Added: Interactive Custom Field Builder in AI tab allowing developers to specify project-specific field names, choose from all 36 ACF types, toggle required flags, and append specs into prompt.
Enhanced: AI prompt generator with deep parameter rules, return formats, choice schemas, and bulk multi-field addition examples.

1.0.5

Fixed: SchemaValidator now accepts 0/1 integer booleans alongside boolean true/false to prevent false warning notices with ACF internal storage format.

1.0.4

Added: Multi-field bulk append without overwriting when clicking quick idea chips.
Added: Categorized quick dropdown covering all 36 ACF field types.
Added: Quick “Clear text” action in AI prompt tab.

1.0.3

Fixed: TreeReader exportArray now populates complete field trees via acf_get_fields prior to export, guaranteeing byte-for-byte snapshot and rollback integrity.
Enhanced: Standardized button heights, flex vertical centering, Dashicons alignment, and AI launcher pills.

1.0.2

Fixed: Diagnostics SelfTest export method to prevent TypeError on live ACF installs.
Added: Tab navigation URL hash synchronization (#editor, #ai, #guide).

1.0.1

Fixed: adding a field produced a spurious warning about its key.
Import screen rewritten around numbered steps and tabs.
Added “Insert an example” template picker.
Added read-only mode and Diagnostics Self-Test runner.

1.0.0

Initial release.