Auto Prune Posts
by ramon fincken · Uncategorized
Also makes 17 other plugins · 4.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
Auto deletes expires (prunes) posts after a certain amount of time. On a per category basis (single category, or all at once.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
B 73/100
no flags
Active installs
1K+
≈1.5K estimated
Momentum
+3%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “clean” and “delete” for “cronjob” and “auto expire”. “clean” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “cronjob” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “delete” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “auto expire” sits at #10 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
73 health vs 58 average across 25,736 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.8%
of downloads still active
At least 1K of 54.5K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,764 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 2 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Support resolution
Updated 354 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.8.12, the current branch or newer
4.2★ over 10 reviews, smoothed to 4.12★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
0 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Mark more forum threads resolved — the resolved ratio feeds the ranking.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
31
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.9
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
+0.5
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| prune your tag | #1 | #3 | 0 |
| cronjob | #6 | #5 | down 1 |
| auto expire | #10 | #17 | down 1 |
| expire posts | #16 | #21 | down 4 |
| auto delete | #22 | #21 | down 2 |
| clean your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| delete your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| expire your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| mass your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
13 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 5 listed. 8 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “clean” and “delete” for “cronjob” and “auto expire”. “clean” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “cronjob” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “delete” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “auto expire” sits at #10 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.9K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
2
releases in the last 12 months
12mo ago
latest release · v3.1.1 · 11 Nov 2025
16
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 56% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “1K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.6 years ago; the previous band took 18 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 20 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ mquiggeorgia2.2y ago
This plugin works well to automatically delete old posts on a schedule. We use it to remove everything 2 years old and over to keep website from getting bogged down with stale posts. Thank you!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Bat n Ball3.9y ago
I realise this plugin hasn’t been updated for a while but I just wanted to say it’s great and works well on the most recent version of WordPress. At the time of writing, that was 6.1.1 Cheers 👍
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kenrichman7.1y ago
Needs to be updated; too many errors thrown. Hopefully this will be attended to as it’s a really useful plugin otherwise.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ khizaralikhan8.4y ago
Works Perfectly no errors faced yet
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ angeljs8.5y ago
Thank you for this plugin, it’s saved me a lot of time, trouble and space!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ arroyo29.2y ago
finally found the one that’s working
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ yakisoba9.6y ago
I will use this plugin forever.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ cboseb10.3y ago
When I install the plugin I get this error: Postman: wp_mail has been declared by another plugin or theme, so you won’t be able to use Postman until the conflict is resolved.
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 3 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (3.1.1). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 4.4 Auto Prune Posts <= 2.0.0 - Authenticated (Admin+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-03-03 CVE-2024-10639 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.0.0 Patched in 3.0.0
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8.3
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
1 of 8 pass · checked 29 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you want"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 588 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "clean", "mass" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-04-09 2K+ → 1K+ down after 541 days in tier
- 2022-10-16 1K+ → 2K+ up after 549 days in tier
- 2021-04-15 2K+ → 1K+ down
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
- M Mass Delete Unused Tags 700+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags C
- M Mass Delete Taxonomies 50+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags C
- C Clean WP Dashboard 100+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
- U Upload Janitor 40+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags D
- M Mass Page Remover 20+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
- D DX Remove Unused Custom Fields 10+ installs · 3.5★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Auto Prune Posts into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/auto-prune-posts" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Auto Prune Posts — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Auto Prune Posts: 1K+ active installs, 4.2★ (10 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/auto-prune-posts
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