DataPrune

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About this tool

DataPrune is a bulk-deletion and database-cleanup plugin for WordPress. It lets you remove any type of content — posts, pages, media, comments, users, taxonomy terms, and metadata — with precise filters and conditions, without ever risking a 503 timeout thanks to its AJAX batch processing engine . Whether you manage an automated content site (e.g. WP Automatic / ValvePress), a high-traffic blog, or a large e-commerce store, DataPrune gives you full control over what stays and what goes. ✨ Key Features 8 deletion modules, each with dedicated filters: 📄 Posts / Pages / CPT — filter by status (published, draft, private, pending, scheduled…), date range, categories, tags, authors, post type. Option to also delete associated media in one click. 🖼️ Media & Attachments — delete orphaned media (not linked to any post and not used as featured image), filter by MIME type, minimum file size, and upload date range. Protected media (site logo, favicon, header/background image) are never deleted. 🔁 Revisions — delete all post revisions or only those older than a specific date range. 🗑️ Trash — permanently empty the WordPress trash, by content type. 💬 Comments — delete spam, pending, approved or trashed comments with date filter. 👤 Users — delete users by role, registration date, and activity (users with no published posts). Administrators and the currently logged-in user are always protected. 🏷️ Taxonomy Terms — delete empty terms (no associated posts) for any taxonomy. 🔑 Post Meta & User Meta — delete metadata records by key and optional value. ⏱️ Scheduled Auto-Deletion Create automatic deletion tasks that run on a recurring schedule (hourly, twice daily, daily, weekly, monthly): Choose deletion type, filters, and frequency Enable/disable each task independently Run any task manually on demand Option to also delete associated media when auto-deleting posts Ideal for sites that auto-publish content (WP Automatic, RSS importers, etc.) ♻️ Recovery System Every permanent deletion is saved in a dedicated database table before being executed: Visual grid with thumbnail previews for media and posts Text search by title Filters by type (post/media), deletion date range, restoration status One-click restore — posts are restored as drafts with all meta and taxonomy terms Activity log with user, timestamp and item count for every operation 🔒 Security Features Safe mode (Trash) — move items to trash instead of permanent deletion (recoverable) Confirmation dialog — JavaScript confirmation before every bulk operation Protected media detection — automatically excludes site logo, favicon, header image, background image, WooCommerce placeholder, and any media protected via the wbdp_protected_media_ids filter Admin protection — administrators and the current user can never be deleted Nonce verification on every request manage_options capability check on every action Activity log with configurable retention period ⚡ No More 503 Timeout All deletion operations use AJAX batch processing : the browser sends small batches of 50–100 items at a time, showing a real-time progress bar. No single request ever exceeds the server timeout, even with tens of thousands of items. 🌐 Multilingual Default language: Italian Full English (en_US) translation included Ready for any language via standard .po / .mo files 🤝 WP Automatic / ValvePress Integration DataPrune is specifically optimized for sites using WP Automatic by ValvePress : * Auto-generated images are stored as WordPress attachments linked to posts * The “Delete associated media” option removes both the article and its generated image in a single operation * Orphaned images left by previously deleted articles are detected and cleaned up automatically * Scheduled tasks can be configured to delete posts + media on a recurring basis ❤️ Support the Project DataPrune is free and open-source software, released under the GPL v2 license. If it saves you time and keeps your database healthy, please consider making a small donation to support its continued development and maintenance. Donate via PayPal

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Getting started

Upload the dataprune folder to /wp-content/plugins/ Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress Navigate to DataPrune in the admin sidebar Configure Security Settings before running your first deletion Important: After activation, go to Settings and verify: – ✅ Safe mode (Trash) is enabled for your first operations – ✅ Logging is enabled – ✅ Confirmation dialog is enabled

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Frequently asked questions

Will this plugin delete my site logo or favicon? No. DataPrune automatically detects and protects the site logo ( custom_logo ), favicon ( site_icon ), header image, background image, and WooCommerce placeholder image. These are never treated as orphans. Can I recover deleted items? Yes, if the item was permanently deleted through this plugin. Before every permanent deletion, a snapshot of the item (all data, meta, and taxonomy terms) is saved to a dedicated recovery table. You can restore it from DataPrune → Recovery as a draft. Note: if Safe mode (Trash) is active, items go to the WordPress trash and can be recovered from there directly. Why use AJAX batch processing? With thousands of items to delete, a single PHP request would exceed the server’s max_execution_time (usually 30–60 seconds) and return a 503 error. Batch processing splits the work into small chunks of 50–100 items, each processed in a separate request, with a live progress bar. Can I automatically delete old auto-generated posts? Yes. Go to DataPrune → Scheduled and create a new task: – Type: Posts / Pages – Status: Published (or any) – Older than: 30 days (or your preferred period) – ✅ Delete associated media – Frequency: Daily This will automatically delete posts and their images every day. Is it compatible with WooCommerce? Yes. You can delete products (custom post type product ), WooCommerce-specific meta, and product terms. The WooCommerce placeholder image is always protected. What WordPress version is required? WordPress 5.8 or higher. PHP 7.4 or higher. Is the plugin free? Yes, completely free and open-source (GPL v2). If you find it useful, a small donation helps cover development and maintenance costs.

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