Plugin Cleaner

Customization Plugin
1
:information_source: Summary Safely scans, audits, and cleans orphaned database residue left behind by uninstalled plugins.
:hammer_and_wrench: Repository Link GitHub - canbekcan/discourse-plugin-cleaner · GitHub
:open_book: Install Guide How to install plugins in Discourse
:computer: Coding Vibe Coding - Gemini

Features

When you uninstall a Discourse plugin, it often leaves behind hidden data in your database. Over time, this “residue” can clutter your database and complicate site maintenance. Discourse Plugin Cleaner is a comprehensive administrative tool designed to safely identify and remove this orphaned data.

Major Features Include:

  • Deep Scanning: Scans multiple database tables including Custom Fields (User, Topic, Post, Category, Group), Plugin Settings, Themes, Badges, API Keys, Webhooks, Tag Groups, and Uploads.
  • Safe Audit Mode (Zero Auto-Delete): The plugin operates strictly as an auditing tool until you take action. It will never automatically delete data. You must manually select and confirm the items you wish to remove.
  • Risk Assessment: Automatically assigns a “Risk Level” (Critical, High, Medium, Low, OK) to detected items to help administrators make informed decisions about what is safe to delete.
  • Version History Tracking: Takes snapshots of your installed plugins on boot. If a plugin is removed, it logs the state change, creating a historical record of what was uninstalled and when.
  • Modern Admin Interface: Provides a sleek, intuitive dashboard built with Ember strict-mode components for seamless integration into the Discourse Admin interface.

Configuration

The plugin works out of the box with sensible defaults. To use the plugin:

  1. Access the Dashboard: Navigate to your Discourse Admin dashboard. In the sidebar, under the Plugins section, click on Plugin Cleaner.
  2. Run a Scan: Click the “Run Deep Scan” button. The system will query your database and generate a real-time report of all orphaned data it finds.
  3. Review Issues: Browse through the categorized tabs (Custom Fields, Plugin Settings, etc.). Pay close attention to the Risk and Status columns.
  4. Select and Clean: Check the boxes next to the orphaned items you wish to remove.
  5. Confirm Deletion: Click “Delete Selected”. You will be prompted with a final confirmation warning before the data is permanently erased. All deletions are automatically logged in the Discourse Staff Action Logs for security auditing.

(Note for Uploads: If orphaned uploads are found, the plugin will instruct you to run rake uploads:clean from your server console to physically reclaim disk space).

Settings

You can customize the strictness of the scanner via your site settings.

Name Description
plugin_cleaner_orphan_threshold The maximum number of records a custom field can have to be considered “orphaned”. If a custom field has fewer records than this threshold, it will be flagged for review. (Default: 5, Min: 1, Max: 100)
plugin_cleaner_stale_api_key_days The number of days an API key must go unused before the scanner flags it as stale/orphaned. (Default: 90 days, Min: 7, Max: 365)
plugin_cleaner_stale_upload_days The number of days an unlinked upload can exist before it is flagged as orphaned. (Default: 30 days, Min: 1, Max: 365)

(Note: This is the project to understand how Discourse plugins work)

2 Likes
2

Many good plugins create and manage their own tables. Looking at your code, I’m not sure you’ve taken account of that yet?

Your challenge is that once you remove the plugin the migration disappears.