[John James Jacoby]

Hey everyone! bbPress 2.6.21 is out. This is a security and maintenance release, so please update your site when you can. 🙂

This release strengthens access control for private and password-protected forum content and includes fixes across feeds, search, BuddyPress, old-slug redirects, attachments, topic moves, forum freshness, route handling, moderation, and reply administration. It also adds ugc link relationships and refreshed administration icons.

You can read more in the release announcement and upgrade notes. Download bbPress 2.6.21 from WordPress.org, or update right from your WordPress dashboard.

Thanks to everyone who reported issues, contributed patches, reviewed changes, and tested this release!

[Yevhen Chefranov]

Deleting a single reply takes 30–45 s on a large forum (unindexable meta_value lookups)

Summary

On a board with ~573,000 replies, permanently deleting one reply from
wp-admin/edit.php?post_status=trash&post_type=reply takes 42 seconds, and the web server returns a 500 before the request finishes:

[fastcgi:error] FastCGI: comm with server ".../php8.3.0.fcgi" aborted: idle timeout (30 sec),
    referer: .../wp-admin/edit.php?post_status=trash&post_type=reply
[fastcgi:error] FastCGI: incomplete headers (0 bytes) received from server ".../php8.3.0.fcgi"

The delete itself does go through, so the admin is left with an error screen and no way to tell
whether it worked.

Two separate queries are responsible. Both filter wp_postmeta.meta_value, which has
no index in the WordPress schema, so both degrade linearly with the size of the board.

Environment

• bbPress 2.6.20
• WordPress 7.1.3
• PHP 8.3
• MySQL 5.7.39 (InnoDB)
• Content: 47 forums (1 hidden), 1,391 topics, 572,724 published replies
• wp_postmeta: 2,395,731 rows; 574,165 of them _bbp_forum_id, 574,117 _bbp_topic_id
• Object cache: none (database-backed transients only)

How to reproduce

1. Import or generate a board with a few hundred thousand replies.
2. Trash a reply, then delete it permanently from the trash list.
3. Watch the request time, or profile with SAVEQUERIES.

Measured with SAVEQUERIES around a bare wp_delete_post( $reply_id, true )
on the CLI, with no HTTP layer involved: 42.35 s, 183 queries.

Cause 1 — bbp_get_child_counts() scans every row of a meta key

In includes/common/functions.php, bbp_get_child_counts() (since 2.6.0,
r6827) runs:

SELECT p.post_type AS type, p.post_status AS status, COUNT( * ) AS count
FROM wp_posts AS p
  LEFT JOIN wp_postmeta AS pm
    ON p.ID = pm.post_id AND pm.meta_key = '_bbp_forum_id'
WHERE pm.meta_value = '154459'
GROUP BY p.post_status, p.post_type

Because the WHERE clause rejects NULLs, MySQL turns the LEFT JOIN into
an inner join and drives from wp_postmeta. The only usable index is
meta_key, so it walks every row of that key and checks
meta_value row by row:

EXPLAIN (without an extra index)
  table: pm   type: ref   key: meta_key   key_len: 767   ref: const
  rows: 1127050   filtered: 10.00   Extra: Using where; Using temporary; Using filesort

Deleting one reply calls this five times — once for the topic and once for each of the four
ancestor forums — at 3.2–4.9 s each:

_bbp_topic_id:155815    3.88 s
_bbp_forum_id:154457    3.63 s
_bbp_forum_id:154458    4.56 s
_bbp_forum_id:154459    4.86 s
_bbp_forum_id:154460    3.18 s

The cache inside the function does not help: its key contains
wp_cache_get_last_changed( 'bbpress_posts' ), and the delete keeps modifying posts, so
every call after the first invalidation is a fresh query.

Cause 2 — the hidden-forum exclusion adds a CAST() that no index can serve

bbp_forum_query_last_reply_id() builds a deliberately lean WP_Query
(suppress_filters => true, no meta query). But pre_get_posts still runs,
and bbp_pre_get_posts_normalize_forum_visibility() injects
bbp_exclude_forum_ids( 'meta_query' ) because the board has one hidden forum. The
result:

SELECT wp_posts.ID FROM wp_posts
INNER JOIN wp_postmeta ON ( wp_posts.ID = wp_postmeta.post_id )
WHERE wp_posts.post_parent IN ( ...32 topic ids... )
  AND ( wp_postmeta.meta_key = '_bbp_forum_id'
        AND CAST( wp_postmeta.meta_value AS SIGNED ) NOT IN ('154499') )
  AND wp_posts.post_type = 'reply' AND wp_posts.post_status = 'publish'
GROUP BY wp_posts.ID ORDER BY wp_posts.post_date DESC, wp_posts.ID DESC LIMIT 0, 1

The meta query is built with 'type' => 'NUMERIC' and
'compare' => 'NOT IN' (includes/forums/functions.php, around line 2806).
CAST( meta_value AS SIGNED ) makes the predicate non-sargable, so no index on
meta_value can ever be used, and NOT IN on a single hidden forum forces a
full join against the 574k _bbp_forum_id rows. Four of these run per delete,
0.7–2.8 s each.

Note the shape of the exclusion: it asks “is this reply not in the one
hidden forum”, which has to touch every reply, instead of “is this reply in one of the 46
visible forums” or, simpler, instead of filtering by the forum ids the caller already knows.

Workaround we are using

A composite index on wp_postmeta:

ALTER TABLE wp_postmeta ADD INDEX tq_key_value ( meta_key(32), meta_value(32) );

EXPLAIN (with the index)
  table: pm   type: ref   key: tq_key_value   key_len: 262   ref: const,const
  rows: 966   filtered: 100.00

Estimated rows for cause 1 drop from 1,127,050 to 966, the five child-count queries go from ~20 s
to 0.40 s in total, and the whole delete goes from 42.35 s to about
5 s — under the web server timeout, so the 500 is gone.

The index does nothing for cause 2: the CAST() still blocks it. Those queries are
what the remaining ~4.5 s is made of.

Suggested fixes

1. bbp_get_child_counts() should not filter on meta_value.
   The same numbers are available from indexed columns: replies of a topic are
   post_parent = <topic>, and topics of a forum are
   post_parent = <forum>, so a forum’s reply count is one join over
   post_parent (which is indexed) instead of a meta scan. If the meta lookup has
   to stay for sub-forum aggregation, bbPress could create its own index on
   (meta_key, meta_value) at activation, the way it already creates its other schema.
2. Drop the CAST() from bbp_exclude_forum_ids( 'meta_query' ).
   With 'type' => 'NUMERIC' removed — meta ids are stored as plain digit strings
   — the predicate becomes sargable and an index can serve it.
3. Prefer the positive form of the visibility filter.
   meta_value IN (<visible forum ids>) is selective;
   NOT IN (<hidden forum ids>) matches almost every row on the board.
4. Respect suppress_filters, or add an opt-out for the maintenance path.
   The recount queries run on ids bbPress already trusts; putting them through the public visibility
   normalisation is both slow and pointless.

Happy to test a patch against this dataset.

[DigitalGdn]

Today a client reported being unable to save a regular post and was getting the error:

“Updating failed. Sorry, you are not allowed to edit the _bbp_topic_count custom field.”

We were on a recent release but not the latest. I updated to 2.6.20 and still saw the error myself when saving a draft post (unrelated to the forum on the site).

The issue seemed to disappear after a while and the post then saved. My concern is that saving a post should have no overlap with bbPress custom fields such as this.

When I start a new post and save draft, I get the same error.

WP 7.1.3.

[John James Jacoby]

Thanks @adampembs. I tested bbPress 2.6.14 and 2.6.20 with PHP 8.1 and PHP 8.3.

I reproduced the PHP 8.3 deprecation notices in 2.6.14, but not in 2.6.20. The 2.6.20 imports completed normally, including users and author relationships.

Please try bbPress 2.6.20 on PHP 8.3 and let me know if it still hangs. If it does, please include your phpBB version and the exact log message.

[John James Jacoby]

Hey everyone! bbPress 2.6.20 is out. This is a security and maintenance release, so please update your site when you can. 🙂

This release strengthens password handling, adds a site-wide Open, Closed, or Frozen Forum Status setting, and fixes issues across BuddyPress, moderation forms, subscriptions, notifications, converters, widgets, profiles, and topic and reply administration.

You can read more in the release announcement and upgrade notes. Download bbPress 2.6.20 from WordPress.org, or update right from your WordPress dashboard.

Thanks to everyone who reported issues, contributed patches, reviewed changes, and tested this release!

[John James Jacoby]

Thanks for the detailed report, @chefranov. You were right: bbPress was sending Akismet the formatted post count, which was truncated when the count reached 1,000.

I’ve committed the fix to trunk (r7839) and the 2.6 maintenance branch (r7840), with regression tests for the count boundary and anonymous posts. It will be included in bbPress 2.6.20.

The ticket is https://bbpress.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/3709. Thanks again for catching this!

[specialworld83]

I normally use Firefox, but I have also tested the site with Chromium, Chrome, and several other browsers. The EUR-to-USD conversion is displayed correctly on my side in all of them.

View post on imgur.com

[John James Jacoby]

Hey everyone! bbPress 2.6.19 is out. This is a security and maintenance release, so if you’re running bbPress, please update your site when you can. Sooner is better. 🙂

Much of the work in this release makes sure private and password-protected forum content stays where it belongs. We also tightened a few moderation and forum-role checks and fixed issues with BuddyPress, imports, emails, and reply positioning.

You can read more in the release announcement and upgrade notes. Download bbPress 2.6.19 from WordPress.org, or update right from your WordPress dashboard.

Thanks to thewindghost, ngonhuy, and moltenbit for responsibly reporting issues, and to everyone who helped review and test this release!

[Danishsard]

I’ll test soon to see if it works—specifically, whether the password changes to the corresponding WordPress hash when someone logs in. Or does it work differently now?

[Danishsard]

I think bbPress has huge development potential; it is also the most deeply integrated with WordPress. It would be great to see it evolve—perhaps along the lines of other forum solutions that offer comprehensive feature bundles.

It’s a great forum platform, though highly underrated because the core package lacks extensive features. In my view, however, it holds the greatest potential to evolve into a fantastic tool for enriching WordPress sites.

[jgasba]

Hey I have the same question and same issue.
Using a WP theme (tested on Twenty Seventeen, 21, 22, 24) and with bbpress v2.6.17 (troubleshoot mode, no other plugins), when I visit the bbpress profile on the front-end of a user there is no way to unsubscribe them.

My profile is Admin + Keymaster.

Another “expected” place where I searched that option was on the back-end profile.
Then I searched the unsubscribe button on the admin page for the specific topic they are subscribed to. There is the subscription metabox (#bbp_topic_subscriptions_metabox) but that simply lists the users. It does not give any “unsubscribe” button. Any reason the topic admin page does not offer that possibility to admin/keymasters.

Currently the only way I have to unsub a user is either to go to the database (not acceptable for non-dev, or non-trusted admins), or impersonate that user with a “user switching” plugin (or the Publishpress capabilities that also give that option), visite the topic “as” that user and click unsubscribe.

Any idea on how we could debug that?

[Robin W]

ok, sorry I don’t know phpbb and the convertor was written some time ago by someone who no longer is actively involved in bbpress.

Have a look through these

Problems when converting from phpBB to bbPress

“No users to import” when attempting to import from latest phpBB

[Touda]

Hi. We’re also interested in a basic PM funcionality for bbPress. As this thread is 5 years old, we’re wondering if there is a more recente plugin available in 2026. The bbPress Messages that Robin suggested now appears at the WP plugins directory as not having been updated in a long time. Better Messages seems to be more updated but in the free version based on Ajax it seems like a too heavy-load plugin. Have any of you tested it in a high traffic server?

[Robin W]

not one I’ve seen before, it could be a theme or plugin issue

Themes

As a test switch to a default theme such as twentytwenty, and see if this fixes.

Plugins

If that doesn’t work, also deactivate all plugins apart from bbpress and see if this fixes. if it does, re-enable one at a time to see which is causing the error.

If you cannot do this to your site (say because it is live) then use the ‘troubleshooting’ features of this plugin to let you test without affecting other users

Health Check & Troubleshooting

Then come back

[flamuren]

Hi,

I want to use these widgets when bulding my websites forum page: https://codex.bbpress.org/features/widgets/

I see Buddypress widgets, but bbpress is not showing. However I see them when editing sidebar widgets.

Is it possible to use them on normal pages also somehow?

My goal is to display the latest forum posts.

Best regards,
Flamuren

[TechArk Solutions]

On the bbPress forum “Create New Topic” page, when the Visual editor tab is active, the TinyMCE toolbar controls (Bold, Italic, Lists, Link, Image, etc.) cannot be accessed using the Tab key.

Keyboard users are unable to navigate to or interact with the formatting toolbar, which prevents them from using editor formatting features without a mouse.

Steps to Reproduce

Navigate to a bbPress forum page.
Select Create New Topic.
Ensure the Visual editor tab is active.
Place focus in the editor area.
Press the Tab key to navigate through available controls.

Actual Result

Focus skips the TinyMCE toolbar controls.
Toolbar buttons cannot be reached or activated using keyboard navigation.
Users must use a mouse to access formatting options.

Expected Result

All toolbar controls should be reachable via keyboard navigation.
Focus order should move through each toolbar button in a logical sequence.
Users should be able to activate toolbar functions using keyboard controls (Enter/Space).

Accessibility Impact

Affects keyboard-only users.
Affects screen reader users who rely on keyboard navigation.
Prevents equal access to content authoring functionality.

WCAG Success Criteria

2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A)
2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap (Level A) (verify during testing)
2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A)
4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A) (if toolbar controls lack proper accessibility attributes)

Environment

Platform: WordPress + bbPress
Component: TinyMCE Visual Editor (Create New Topic form)
Browser(s): Chrome, Edge
Assistive Technology: NVDA (if tested)

Screenshot Reference

https://prnt.sc/PJVhxYwNyVvf

[Robin W]

As I said, I did not write that particular plugin element, I just incorporated it into my plugin to help those using it, and I agree the actual wording does not mean a lot, it took me a while to work it out!!

But after a bit of testing, essentially it sets a switch for a user to be either an approved user or an unapproved user. Then if in:

dashboard>forums>Moderation Options>hold for moderation you have set custom, then you can set ‘unapproved users posting’, ‘Unapproved users posting links’ and ‘Unapproved users posting below the English character threshold’ so that unapproved users posting in those categories get held for moderation.

so make a user ‘unapproved’ you set the ‘add user moderation flag’ and then all posts by that user come under the settings above.

I agree the wording is terrible, but now I have described what it does, you should be able to come up with some better words.

I would also agree if you said that those words should not appear unless you have set the custom above, but that is beyond my current plans to do.

to change the wording go to

dashboard>settings>bbp style pack>transaltions and activate the translation option
then put the original working in the left hand column and your desired in the right.

[wpweaver]

My hosting uses PHP 8.4. I have WP 6.9.4 and latest (which is old) of bbPress.

I’ve getting the deprecated uses_utf8 message (needs to be wp_is_valid_utf8).

I fixed it, but I don’t think users should have to do that just because hosts are using new versions of PHP, and that WP 7 is just around the corner.

Don’t know what other archaic code is in ppbress, but PLEASE fix at least this one.

[weswebmaster]

Hello, I love the style pack and it’s million options! 🙂
For some reason, I can’t switch the breadcrumbs off on the index. I’m using

[bsp-display-forum-index forum=”668″ breadcrumb=”false” search=”false” title=”Visit our Forums”]

but the breadcrumbs still show. You can see a testpage here: https://dev2.wesonline.org.uk/admin-only/test-forum-blocks/

Any suggestions?

Many thanks
George

[craftylion]

I’ve just installed the latest version of bbPress and I’m having a little trouble solving this. I’m running a test site and would like to edit my profile frontend. The only problem is, I can’t see the text to know what I’m typing (the text is white on white background).

Any thoughts?

[gielvankuijk]

Hi,

I’m running the latest bbPress with Divi 5 as parent theme and a basic child theme.

My forum root page (/forums/) renders correctly using a Divi Theme Builder layout.
However, the following bbPress routes break the layout:

/forums/search/
/forums/users/username/

They load, but the page structure is incorrect. I get a large white space and weird styling of the logo and menu in sidebar. The forum is for users only but you can see an example here: https://beterbeleggendandebank.nl/forums/search/test/

I tried serveral fixes but nothing seems to work. Does annyone have experience with this or a similar issue and has a solution?

Thank you in advance!

[Robin W]

If this is easily repeatable, I’d suggest (as a test) deactivating wp-optimize and see if it still occurs

[Ricsca2]

I was trying to display the forum home page with the latest discussions instead of categories, but the button to create a new discussion or the box at the bottom doesn’t appear.
How can I activate it?
Thanks

[Robin W]

ok so I now have 2 different things

1. clicking profile goes to the users own profile
2. clicking profile says sorry you are not logged in

Without a consistent problem definition it is hard to help, but as stated above, clicking someone’s name should take the user the that person’s profile.

it could be a theme or plugin issue

Themes

As a test switch to a default theme such as twentytwenty, and see if this fixes.

Plugins

If that doesn’t work, also deactivate all plugins apart from bbpress and see if this fixes. if it does, re-enable one at a time to see which is causing the error.

If you cannot do this to your site (say because it is live) then use the ‘troubleshooting’ features of this plugin to let you test without affecting other users

Health Check & Troubleshooting

Then come back

[lukelaj]

no, the client sent the above. I have just created a test user and logged in and it lets me create posts etc but if i go and click on a user it says sorry you are not logged in.