ActivityPub for WordPress

Tag: migration

  • 7.1.0 — Polishing Tables

    This release is mostly made up of behind-the-scenes improvements, but one update you’ll notice right away is the refreshed Followers table. It now looks and feels much more like the standard WordPress admin tables: you can customize it with screen options to hide columns or change how many followers are shown per page, and you can now delete individual followers using inline action links. We also polished the layout by increasing information density and improving the readability of date columns.

    We’ve made migrations easier to kick off by automatically resolving account aliases and saving their ID form. That means you can now paste in WebFinger IDs, profile URLs, etc. and the plugin handles the rest, as long as it resolves to an ActivityPub profile.

    This release also fixes a long-time annoyance: unfederated posts (like those published before the plugin was activated or imported later) will no longer be sent out to followers just because they were updated. For now, we use a simple cutoff for posts older than a month, which should cover the majority of those cases.

    Coming Soon: Following Others!

    Most of the work that went into this release is still invisible, hiding behind a feature flag in Advanced Settings (you can find it by opening Screen Options in the ActivityPub settings screen).

    There’s really no functionality around it yet, beyond following accounts from other instances, as we have yet to start processing incoming posts and adding the ability to interact with them. But if you just can’t wait to show your appreciation for other accounts by following them, go wild!

    Behind the same feature flag, we’ve also added initial beta support for Fediverse Starter Kits. This lets new users follow a set of recommended accounts from a predefined list, following the format proposed by @dansup for Pixelfed. For now, only Actor objects are supporteded, but we’re hoping to expand that over time.

    Full Changelog

    Added

    • Added a first version of the Follow form, allowing users to follow other Actors by username or profile link.
    • Added initial support for Fediverse Starter Kits, allowing users to follow recommended accounts from a predefined list.
    • Ensure that all schedulers are registered during every plugin update.
    • Followers and Following list tables now support Columns and Pagination screen options.
    • The featured tags endpoint is now available again for all profiles, showing the most frequently used tags by each user.
    • The following endpoint now returns the actual list of users being followed.

    Changed

    • Follower tables now look closer to what other tables in WordPress look like.
    • Improved Account-Aliases handling by internally normalizing input formats.
    • Minor performance improvement when querying posts of various types, by avoiding double queries.
    • Set older unfederated posts to local visibility by default.
    • Step counts for the Welcome checklist now only take into account steps that are added in the Welcome class.
    • Table actions are now faster by using the Custom Post Type ID instead of the remote user URI, thanks to the unified Actor Model.
    • The following tables now more closely match the appearance of other WordPress tables and can be filtered by status.

    Fixed

    • Ensure correct visibility handling for Undo and Follow requests
    • Ensure that the Actor-ID is always a URL.
    • Fixed a bug in how follow requests were accepted to ensure they work correctly.
    • Fixed an issue where the number of followers shown didn’t always match the actual follower list.
    • Fixed a PHP error that prevented the Follower overview from loading.
    • Fixed missing avatar class so that CSS styles are correctly applied to ActivityPub avatars on the Dashboard.
    • Fixed potential errors when unrelated requests get caught in double-knocking callback.
    • Improved WebFinger fallback to better guess usernames from profile links.
    • Prevent WordPress from loading all admin notices twice on ActivityPub settings pages.
    • Removed follower dates to avoid confusion, as they may not have accurately reflected the actual follow time.
    • Stop purging Follow activities from the Outbox to allow proper Unfollow (Undo) handling.

    Downloads

    Thank you!

    Big thanks to everyone who contributed code, feedback, testing, or encouragement—this community helps make the fediverse more connected with every release. ❤️

    Update to 7.1.0, try it out, and tell us what you think!

  • From Toot to Post: Mastodon Migration Made Easy

    If you’ve been posting on Mastodon and want to bring those posts into your WordPress site, the new importer makes that possible. It’s a beta feature, but it already handles the basics well—and helps you keep more of your content in one place.

    Keep What You Create

    Social platforms can come and go—or just change in ways you didn’t expect. Maybe your Mastodon server shuts down, or the people running it move on. When that happens, it’s easy to lose your old posts and the history you’ve built up.

    The Mastodon importer helps you take control by bringing your posts into your WordPress site, where you own the content and can decide how it’s stored, shared, and presented. You’re not just copying things over—you’re giving your content a more permanent home.

    Getting Started

    The import process is user-friendly and follows a clear workflow:

    1. Log into your Mastodon account and go to Preferences > Import and Export.
    2. Request your archive and download the ZIP file when it’s ready.
    3. Open the WordPress Mastodon Importer and upload your file.
    4. Choose an author for your imported posts and decide whether to include media files or just the text.

    Once uploaded, you can assign imported posts to a specific author and choose whether to include image attachments with your posts or just import the text content.

    The importer processes your posts from the Mastodon outbox.json file, filtering to include only public posts while skipping boosts. Each post maintains its original publication date, content, and media. If your posts include images, video, or audio, the importer brings those in too and adds them to the post automatically.

    Screenshot of a Mastodon post showcasing redesigned WordPress email notifications, including examples of new follower and mention emails.
    Screenshot of a WordPress blog post about ActivityPub integration showing redesigned email notification templates on a green background.

    Your Posts, Rebuilt

    The importer transforms your Mastodon content into a rich block editor experience. Your posts convert into proper paragraph blocks while maintaining their original formatting. Images are organized into gallery blocks with captions intact, while videos and audio files transform into their respective media blocks for optimal playback.

    Hashtags from your Mastodon posts are converted to WordPress tags, preserving your content’s organizational structure and discoverability.

    When a post is part of a conversation, the importer adds a reply block at the beginning of your post that embeds the original post you were responding to. This keeps the conversation flow clear and provides context for your response.

    All these blocks remain fully editable after import, so you can tweak layouts or adjust media presentation as needed.

    For classic editor users, the importer keeps things simple with standard shortcodes for media. It’s not as fancy as the block version, but it should work reliably with your existing setup.

    It’s a Beta—Your Feedback Counts

    The Mastodon importer is still in beta, and there’s more work ahead—especially when it comes to large archives and better handling of replies. We’ve followed WordPress importer best practices, but real-world use is where things really get tested.

    Tried the importer? Let us know how it went—what worked, what didn’t, and what you’d love to see next. Your feedback helps shape where we take it from here.