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Init Recent Comments – Templated, Modern, Minimal

Init Recent Comments – Templated, Modern, Minimal

By Hao Nguyen
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Description

Init Recent Comments is a developer-friendly plugin that lets you display the latest comments anywhere via a simple shortcode. It uses clean HTML, minimal CSS, and fully customizable templates.

No widgets, no bloated options. Just lightweight, extendable code — made for real sites.

Key design goals:

  • Templated rendering with override support from themes
  • Clean CSS you can disable or replace
  • REST-ready architecture (future-proof)
  • No jQuery, no nonsense

Perfect for blogs, news sites, or anyone who wants a better way to show active discussions.

This plugin is part of the Init Plugin Suite — a collection of minimalist, fast, and developer-focused tools for WordPress.

GitHub repository: https://github.com/brokensmile2103/init-recent-comments

Features

  • Simple shortcode: [init_recent_comments]
  • Template-based rendering (comment-item.php, wrapper.php)
  • CSS can be disabled to use your theme’s design
  • No widgets, no jQuery, no frontend bloat
  • Developer-ready: extend with filters, REST, and lazy loading (planned)
  • Translation-ready (.pot included)

Usage

Use the shortcode anywhere:

[init_recent_comments number="5" maxheight="400px"]

Attributes:

  • number – Total comments to show (default: 5)
  • maxheight – Optional max height with scroll and hidden scrollbar (example: 300px)

To override templates, create the folder in your theme:

your-theme/
└── init-recent-comments/
    ├── wrapper.php
    └── comment-item.php<h3>Filters for Developers</h3>

This plugin provides multiple filters to help developers customize caching behavior and performance for recent comments, reviews, and total comment count queries.

init_plugin_suite_recent_comments_ttl
Control the cache TTL (in seconds) for recent comments.
Applies to: Recent Comments Query
Params: int $ttl

init_plugin_suite_recent_comments_query_args
Allows developers to modify or extend the WP_Comment query arguments before the query runs.
Applies to: Recent Comments Query
Params: array $args

init_plugin_suite_recent_reviews_ttl
Control the cache TTL (in seconds) for recent reviews.
Applies to: Recent Reviews Query
Params: int $ttl

init_plugin_suite_total_comments_ttl
Control the cache TTL (in seconds) for total approved comment counts by post type.
Applies to: Total Comments Query
Params: int $ttl, array $post_types

init_plugin_suite_total_by_posts_ttl
Control the cache TTL (in seconds) for total approved comment counts across multiple post IDs.
Applies to: Total by Post IDs Query
Params: int $ttl, array $post_ids

License

This plugin is licensed under the GPLv2 or later.
You are free to use, modify, and distribute it under the same license.

Screenshots

  • Settings page with CSS toggle

Installation

  1. Upload the plugin folder to /wp-content/plugins/
  2. Activate via Plugins Init Recent Comments
  3. Use the shortcode [init_recent_comments] in any page or widget
  4. Optional: Visit Settings Init Recent Comments to disable built-in CSS

FAQ

Can I disable the plugin’s CSS?

Yes! Go to Settings Init Recent Comments and check the box to disable built-in styling.

Can I customize the comment HTML?

Absolutely. Copy templates/comment-item.php and templates/wrapper.php to your theme to override the output.

Will this plugin slow down my site?

No. It uses get_comments() with sane defaults, no extra queries, no JavaScript.

Reviews

There are no reviews for this plugin.

Contributors & Developers

“Init Recent Comments – Templated, Modern, Minimal” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

Translate “Init Recent Comments – Templated, Modern, Minimal” into your language.

Interested in development?

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

Changelog

1.4 – November 5, 2025

  • Introduced new user-specific shortcodes:
    • [init_plugin_suite_user_recent_comments] — display recent comments made by a specific user
    • [init_plugin_suite_user_recent_reviews] — display recent reviews made by a specific user
    • Backward-compat maintained: [init_user_recent_comments] and [init_user_recent_reviews]
  • Both shortcodes reuse existing template system (wrapper.php / review-wrapper.php), ensuring UI consistency
  • Fully supports pagination, theme mode, max height, and query argument overriding through filters
  • Added new helpers for fetching user data:
    • init_plugin_suite_recent_comments_get_user_comments()
    • init_plugin_suite_recent_comments_get_user_reviews()
  • Implemented separate cache groups for user comments & user reviews
    • TTL fully customizable via filters (init_plugin_suite_user_recent_comments_ttl, init_plugin_suite_user_recent_reviews_ttl)
  • Updated review item template:
    • Display reviewer name and avatar resolved from user_id instead of relying on non-existing author_name
    • Fallback support for anonymous reviewers
  • Internal improvements and cleanup for code reliability and maintainability

1.3 – November 4, 2025

  • Added new filter init_plugin_suite_recent_comments_query_args allows developers to modify or extend the comment query args before running get_comments()
  • Improved recent comments retrieval function:
    • Supports overriding query parameters via filter (e.g., filter by post_type, change number, include meta_query, etc.)
    • Maintains full backward compatibility
  • UI update for Reply-to context:
    • Recent comment items now display “Replying to {Author}” when the comment has a parent
    • Added minimal CSS styling (non-intrusive, inherits container background)
  • Codebase refinements:
    • Minor internal cleanups for readability and maintainability
    • Consistent filter naming across features to match the plugin’s prefix standard

1.2 – October 12, 2025

  • Enhanced caching flexibility for existing functions:
    • Added TTL filter support to init_plugin_suite_recent_comments_get_comments()
    • Added TTL filter support to init_plugin_suite_recent_comments_get_reviews()
    • Added TTL filter support to init_plugin_suite_recent_comments_get_total_comments()
  • Introduced new helper function init_plugin_suite_recent_comments_get_total_by_posts() for counting total approved comments across multiple post IDs
  • Separated cache group for comment totals (init_comment_totals) to improve cache isolation and performance
  • Developers can now customize cache durations via filters
  • Default TTL values remain unchanged (0 for comments/reviews, 5 minutes for totals)
  • Minor internal optimizations for stability and consistency

1.1 – October 1, 2025

  • Added new shortcode [init_recent_reviews] for displaying recent reviews
  • Introduced prefixed shortcodes [init_plugin_suite_recent_comments] and [init_plugin_suite_recent_reviews] for better naming consistency
  • Maintained backward compatibility: old shortcodes [init_recent_comments] and [init_recent_reviews] still work
  • Added template override support for review wrapper (init-recent-comments/review-wrapper.php)
  • Unified CSS handling and options across both comments and reviews shortcodes

1.0 – June 16, 2025

  • Initial release
  • Static shortcode [init_recent_comments]
  • Basic settings page to toggle CSS
  • Template override support
  • Clean CSS with disable option

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