A self-configuring extremum-seeking controller includes a dither signal generator, a communications interface, a phase delay estimator, and a bandwidth estimator. The dither signal generator identifies a stored dither frequency, generates a dither signal having the stored dither frequency, and uses the dither signal to perturb a control input for a plant. The communications interface provides the perturbed control input to the plant and receives an output signal from the plant resulting from the perturbed control input. The phase delay estimator estimates a phase delay between the output signal and the dither signal. The bandwidth estimator estimates a bandwidth of the plant based on the estimated phase delay. The dither signal generator updates the stored dither frequency based on the estimated bandwidth.