Chronocrow Bulk Date Updates

Chronocrow Bulk Date Updates is a WordPress admin plugin for changing publish and modified dates across many posts in one operation.

It exists to handle date corrections and timeline shifts without editing posts one by one. The implemented workflow is deliberately admin-only, limited to published content, and biased toward previewing before writing.

What It Does Now

The plugin adds a screen at Tools -> Bulk Date Updates and lets an administrator:

• select one or more public post types from the admin UI, excluding attachments
• target only published posts
• optionally narrow the selection by:
  • published date range
  • latest or oldest N posts
  • categories and/or tags
• choose which fields to affect:
  • post_date
  • post_modified
• run one of the implemented date update methods:
  • add_days
  • subtract_days
  • match_modified_to_published
• preview the first 10 affected rows in test mode before writing changes
• execute the update through WordPress AJAX from the admin screen
• see a temporary "Recent Activity" table for the current page session

Why It Exists

This codebase solves a narrow operational problem: bulk date maintenance for WordPress content while staying inside wp-admin.

The implementation is optimized for large date-only updates. Instead of calling wp_update_post() per post, it batches work and writes date columns directly to wp_posts for speed.

Main User Flows

Preview changes

1. Open wp-admin/tools.php?page=chronocrow-bulk-date-updates.
2. Choose post types, filters, date fields, and an update method.
3. Leave Test Mode enabled.
4. Submit the form.
5. Review the preview table. Only the first 10 matching posts are shown, even when more will be affected.

Apply changes

1. Start from the same form.
2. Uncheck Test Mode.
3. Submit the form.
4. The plugin updates matching rows in wp_posts.
5. The page shows a success or failure message and fills the temporary activity table.

Match modified date to published date

This method is special:

• the UI locks the date-field checkboxes
• the backend updates post_modified from post_date
• modified_date_offset is applied in minutes
• published date is shown in preview for context, but it is not rewritten by this method unless another method changes it

Current Scope and Non-Features

Implemented now:

• admin page under Tools
• AJAX-based execution through admin-ajax.php
• publish-date and modified-date updates
• dry-run preview
• batch processing and direct SQL writes

Present in the UI but not implemented in backend logic:

• specific_date
• random_range

Not present in this repository:

• REST API
• WP-CLI command
• scheduled/background worker
• persistent audit log table
• custom settings screen
• plugin-specific environment variables
• build step with Composer, npm, or bundling

Tech Stack

• PHP WordPress plugin
• WordPress admin APIs
• WP_Query for candidate selection
• $wpdb for direct updates to wp_posts
• jQuery-based admin JavaScript
• plain CSS for the admin page

The repository does not declare a plugin-specific PHP or WordPress minimum version in code.

Setup

Install

1. Put the plugin directory in wp-content/plugins/chronocrow-bulk-date-updates.
2. Activate Chronocrow Bulk Date Updates in WordPress.
3. Open Tools -> Bulk Date Updates.

Activation currently adds one option:

• bduk_version

No database table is created by the active code path.

Relevant Admin Routes and Endpoints

Admin screen:

• wp-admin/tools.php?page=chronocrow-bulk-date-updates

AJAX endpoint:

• POST wp-admin/admin-ajax.php
• action=bduk_bulk_date_updates_action

Request requirements enforced by the plugin:

• authenticated WordPress admin session
• capability manage_options
• nonce for bduk_bulk_date_updates_nonce

Project Structure

chronocrow-bulk-date-updates/
├── chronocrow-bulk-date-updates.php
├── uninstall.php
├── includes/
│   ├── class-bduk-plugin.php
│   ├── class-bduk-date-resolver.php
│   └── admin/
│       └── admin-page.php
├── js/
│   └── admin.js
├── css/
│   └── admin.css
└── languages/
    └── chronocrow-bulk-date-updates.pot

What each file does:

• chronocrow-bulk-date-updates.php: plugin bootstrap, constants, dependency loading, and startup
• uninstall.php: guarded uninstall cleanup for plugin-owned options
• includes/class-bduk-plugin.php: main orchestration class for admin hooks, AJAX handling, validation, preview generation, batched writes, and lifecycle helpers
• includes/class-bduk-date-resolver.php: shared date calculation for preview and live updates
• includes/admin/admin-page.php: form markup and inline UI behavior for conditional fields
• js/admin.js: AJAX form submission, status messages, preview rendering, activity table rendering
• css/admin.css: admin layout and presentation
• languages/chronocrow-bulk-date-updates.pot: generated translation template for WordPress.org packaging

Operational Rules That Matter

• only published posts are targeted
• maximum limit_posts accepted by the backend is 10000
• count_limit filter accepts 1..1000
• preview mode shows at most 10 rows, even when more posts match
• category/tag filtering is only useful for post types that actually use those taxonomies
• the modified-date offset is sanitized as a non-negative integer in the current implementation

Troubleshooting

"No posts found matching the specified criteria"

Usually means one of these:

• your post-type selection has no published posts
• the date range excludes everything
• the latest/oldest filter is narrower than expected
• you chose category/tag filtering for content that does not use those taxonomies

Large runs fail with a memory message

For non-dry-run operations over 1000 posts, the plugin rejects the request unless PHP memory_limit is at least 512M.

Preview works but update changes nothing

If you chose Set Specific Date (TBA) or Random Date Range (TBA), that is expected in the current codebase. Those methods are exposed in the form but are not implemented in the write logic.

The Recent Activity table is empty after reload

That table is not persisted. It is populated from the AJAX response of the current operation only.

Categories or tags do not appear relevant for my selection

The UI only has built-in taxonomy selectors for standard post categories and tags. Pages show a message that they do not use those taxonomies by default.

I expected drafts or private posts to be updated

This plugin does not target them. The backend hardcodes post status to publish.

Notes for Operators

• Start with Test Mode enabled. The plugin defaults to preview for a reason.
• For larger runs, execute during a low-traffic window because the plugin flushes object cache after completion.
• If your site depends on other code reacting to normal post-save hooks, review ARCHITECTURE.md before using this on very large production sites.