yoast/comment-hacks

Make comments management easier by applying some of the simple hacks Joost gathered over decades of using WordPress.

v2.1.7 2026-01-13 12:13 UTC

Requires

• php: >=8.2
• composer/installers: ^1.12.0

Requires (Dev)

• friendsofphp/php-cs-fixer: ^3.75
• php-parallel-lint/php-parallel-lint: ^1.3
• phpcompatibility/phpcompatibility-wp: *
• phpstan/extension-installer: ^1.4
• phpstan/phpstan: ^2.0
• szepeviktor/phpstan-wordpress: ^2.0
• wp-coding-standards/wpcs: ^3.1
• yoast/wp-test-utils: ^1.2
• yoast/yoastcs: ^3.0

GPL-3.0-or-later

• Team Emilia Projects

• comments
• spam
• emails

README

Comment Experience

Make WordPress comments easier to manage with cleaner moderation emails, better routing, comment policy controls, length limits, and tools for following up with commenters.

Why this plugin exists

Core WordPress comments work, but moderation and follow-up can feel clunky. Comment Experience adds practical improvements for site owners and editors who want a cleaner, more manageable comment workflow without replacing the native comments system.

What it helps you do

• Clean up comment notification emails so moderation is easier.
• Require acceptance of a comment policy before submission.
• Forward comments to another email address and optionally trash them.
• Set minimum and maximum comment lengths.
• Redirect first-time commenters to a thank-you page.
• Change a comment's parent ID from the comment edit screen.
• Email an individual commenter from the comments screen.
• Email all commenters on a post from the admin bar.
• Route comment emails to another user from a post's discussion settings.

Installation

From WordPress admin

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New.
2. Search for Comment Experience or comment hacks.
3. Install and activate the plugin.
4. Go to Settings → Comment Experience to configure the available options.

Manual installation

1. Download the plugin zip.
2. Upload the comment-hacks folder to /wp-content/plugins/.
3. Activate the plugin in Plugins.
4. Go to Settings → Comment Experience to configure the available options.

Screenshots

Cleaner comment notification emails

Edit a comment's parent directly from the comment screen

Configure comment length, policy, redirects, email links, and forwarding from one settings screen

Email all commenters on a post from the WordPress admin bar

Contact an individual commenter from the comments list table

Support, issues, and security

• Questions or support: WordPress.org support forum
• Bug reports and feature requests: GitHub issues
• Security reports: Patchstack VDP

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read .github/CONTRIBUTING.md before opening an issue or pull request.

Links

• Plugin page on WordPress.org
• Progress Planner