README

A WordPress activity log for what matters.

Simple History is a WordPress audit log plugin that logs various things that occur in WordPress and then presents those events in a very nice GUI.
It's great way to view user activity and keep an eye on what the admin users of a website are doing.

Installation

Download from WordPress.org and activate.

Usage

Viewing history events

This screenshot show the user activity feed:

• It has an active filter/search in use:
  • only show changes performed by a specific user
  • it only shows event that are of type post and pages and media (i.e. images & other uploads)
• A thumbnail is shown for the image that is uploaded

Events with different severity

Simple History uses the log levels specified in the PHP PSR-3 standard.

Quick diff lets you see what's changed

Events have context with extra details

Each logged event can include useful rich formatted extra information. For example: a plugin install can contain author info and a the url to the plugin, and an uploaded image can contain a thumbnail of the image.

Premium Add-on

Simple History Premium adds:

• Log Retention – Set retention policies (30d to forever)
• Export – CSV/JSON export of filtered results
• Stats Dashboard – Visual summaries of activity trends
• Custom Events – Manually log important changes via GUI
• Stealth Mode GUI – Control visibility per user (code-free)
• Sticky Events – Pin important events to top
• Ad-Free – Remove promotional content

View details

The free version is fully functional and will remain free. Premium exists to fund ongoing development and provide pro features for agencies/enterprises.

Plugin API

Developers can easily log their own things using a simple API:

<?php

// This is the easiest and safest way to add messages to the log
// If the plugin is disabled this way will not generate in any error
do_action('simple_history_log', 'This is a logged message');

// Or with some context and with log level debug:
do_action(
	'simple_history_log',
	'My message about something',
	[
		'debugThing' => $myThingThatIWantIncludedInTheLoggedEvent,
		'anotherThing' => $anotherThing
	],
	'debug'
);

// Or just debug a message quickly
do_action('simple_history_log_debug', 'My debug message');

// You can also use functions/methods to add events to the log
SimpleLogger()->info("This is a message sent to the log");

// Add events of different severity
SimpleLogger()->info("User admin edited page 'About our company'");
SimpleLogger()->warning("User 'Jessie' deleted user 'Kim'");
SimpleLogger()->debug("Ok, cron job is running!");

You will find more examples in the examples.php file.

Note: Premium users can also add custom events via the GUI at WordPress Admin > Simple History > Add Custom Event without writing code.

Development

Running tests

See the README in tests directory.

Sponsors

Hosting Sponsor

The Simple History website is proudly hosted by Oderland, a Swedish web hosting provider known for their reliable hosting and excellent support.

Support Development

Support the free version of Simple History by becoming a sponsor. You can sponsor using PayPal or becoming a GitHub Sponsor.