Init Recent Comments – Templated, Modern, Minimal

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
Filters for Developers

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.

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

1. 

   Settings page with CSS toggle

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