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Getting started

Simon Kraft edited this page Sep 10, 2026 · 1 revision

Install

Download the ZIP from the releases page and upload it under Plugins → Add New → Upload, then activate.

Use the release ZIP rather than GitHub's "Source code" download. The source archive extracts into a folder named after the tag, which becomes the plugin's identity — install it that way and the next update lands beside it instead of replacing it.

There is no build step.

Sort out email first

Happy Comments sends mail through wp_mail(), the same way WordPress sends password resets and other stuff. On most hosting that means it goes out over PHP mail() from an address your domain never authorised, and a good share of it lands in spam or is dropped outright.

Install an SMTP or transactional mail plugin before anybody subscribes. Any of the usual ones will do.

Settings → Happy Comments shows what happened to the last email it tried to send, including the From header and any error WordPress reported. Check there first when something is missing.

Then

  1. Open Settings → Happy Comments and decide what a ticked box means, what the checkbox says, and what the consent sentence reads.
  2. Post a comment on your own site with the box ticked, and confirm it from your inbox. That takes five minutes and tells you more than any amount of reading.
  3. Everything after that happens under Comments → Subscriptions.

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