Snippets Module — User Guide

The Snippets Module is a full code-snippet manager built into Advanced Analytics. It allows WordPress administrators to create, manage, and execute reusable PHP code snippets directly from the admin area — with advanced execution controls, conditional logic, shortcode registration, and a sandboxed runtime environment.

Enable / Disable the Module

The Snippets module is a standalone module inside Advanced Analytics. You can enable or disable it without affecting any other part of the plugin or WordPress itself.

1. Navigate to Error Logs → Settings in the WordPress admin sidebar.
2. Click the “Snippets Options” tab (or scroll to the section headed Snippets options).
3. Toggle the “Enable Snippets module” checkbox.
4. Click Save Changes.

Module Settings

The Snippets Options tab on the Settings page has two settings:

Snippet List

This is the main screen. It shows every snippet stored on your site in a sortable, filterable table.

Columns

Filters & Views

Status Views

Above the table you will find quick-filter links. Each shows a count in parentheses:

Dropdown Filters

Use the dropdown menus above the table then click Filter:

Searching Snippets

Use the search box in the top-right corner of the list page. It searches by snippet name and tags.

• Type part of a name or tag and press Enter or click Search snippets.
• The search is case-insensitive and matches partial text.
• To clear the search, empty the box and press Enter.

Single Snippet Actions

Hover over any snippet row to reveal these actions below the snippet name:

Non-Trashed Snippets

Trashed Snippets

Adding a New Snippet

1. On the Snippet list page, click “Add New” (top-right, next to the page title).
2. Enter a Name for the snippet (required).
3. Write or paste your PHP code in the Code editor (required). Do not include opening <?php tags — the sandbox handles this automatically.
4. Configure the sidebar options:
   • Execution type — Choose PHP or WP-CLI.
   • Status — Check the box to enable the snippet immediately.
   • Tags — Optional comma-separated labels.
   • Execution scope — Where the snippet should run (see Execution Scopes).
   • Hook name — The WordPress action to attach to (default: init).
   • Hook priority — Execution order on the hook (default: 10).
   • Shortcode tag — Optional. Register a [shortcode] for this snippet.
   • Run conditions — Optional conditional logic rules (see Run Conditions).
5. Click Save Snippet.

Editing a Snippet

Click Edit on any row to open the editor form.

Form Fields

Snapshot Panel

The sidebar also displays a read-only Snapshot section showing:

• Slug — The auto-generated unique identifier.
• Scope — Current execution scope.
• Last run — When the snippet last executed (relative time).
• Last result — Outcome of the last execution.
• Created — Creation date/time in your site’s local timezone.
• Updated — Last modification date/time.
• Shortcode — The registered shortcode tag, or a dash if none.

The Code Editor

The snippet editor uses CodeMirror with the Cobalt theme for PHP syntax highlighting, auto-indentation, and line numbers.

Executing Snippets

Automatic Execution (Hooks)

When a snippet is Enabled, it runs automatically on every matching WordPress request. The snippet is attached to the configured hook (default: init) with the specified priority. The execution scope and run conditions determine whether it actually fires on a given request.

Manual Execution

You can execute a snippet on demand from the admin:

1. Make sure the snippet is Enabled and its type is PHP.
2. From the snippet list, hover over the row and click Execute. Alternatively, open the Edit form and click Execute snippet in the sidebar.
3. The snippet runs immediately in the sandbox. A result notice appears showing:
   • Status — success or error.
   • Message — Any error message or informational output.
   • Output — Captured STDOUT (limited to 15 KB).
   • Result — The return value of the snippet code.

Shortcode Execution

If you assign a shortcode tag to a snippet, the snippet runs wherever you place [your_tag] in post content, widgets, or templates. See the Shortcode Registration section for details.

Execution Scopes

The execution scope controls where the snippet runs automatically when enabled:

Hooks & Priority

Each snippet attaches to a WordPress action hook. When that hook fires, the snippet executes.

Shortcode Registration

Assigning a shortcode tag to a snippet allows you to embed the snippet’s output anywhere WordPress processes shortcodes — posts, pages, widgets, and templates via do_shortcode().

1. Open (or create) a snippet.
2. In the sidebar, enter a tag in the Shortcode tag field (e.g., my_snippet).
3. Save the snippet and ensure it is Enabled.
4. In any post or page, use [my_snippet] to execute the snippet and render its output.

Example: Inline Shortcode

In your post content:

[my_snippet]

In your snippet code:

<?php
// This snippet outputs the current server time.
return 'Server time: ' . gmdate( 'Y-m-d H:i:s' ) . '
';

Example: Shortcode with Attributes

In your post content:

[my_greeting name="Alice" greeting="Hello"]

In your snippet code:

<?php
$name = isset( $atts['name'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $atts['name'] ) : 'World';
$greeting = isset( $atts['greeting'] ) ? sanitize_text_field( $atts['greeting'] ) : 'Hi';
return "{$greeting}, {$name}!
";

Run Conditions

Run conditions let you restrict when a snippet executes even if it is enabled and the hook fires. Conditions are evaluated on every request; if they do not pass, the snippet is silently skipped.

Syntax

Enter conditions in the Run conditions textarea. Rules can be written as:

• Comma or newline separated — all rules in a group must pass (AND logic).
• Double-pipe || separated — any group can pass (OR logic).
• Pipe | inside a value — match any of the listed values.
• JSON array format — for advanced structured rules.

Supported Rule Keys

Operators

Examples

user_role=editor, request=frontend

post_type=product

request=ajax|cli

cap=manage_options || request=frontend

url_path=/shop/*

[
    { "field": "user_role", "operator": "eq", "values": ["editor"] },
    { "field": "request", "operator": "eq", "values": ["frontend"] }
]

Tags

Tags are comma-separated labels that help you organize and find snippets. They serve as a descriptive categorization mechanism.

• Enter tags as comma-separated values, e.g.: wp, cleanup, utility.
• Maximum of 12 tags per snippet — additional tags are silently trimmed.
• Duplicate tags are automatically removed.
• Tags are included in search results — searching for a tag name will show matching snippets.

Bulk Actions

Perform operations on multiple snippets at once:

1. Check the boxes next to the snippets you want to act on. Use the checkbox in the header row to select all visible snippets.
2. Open the Bulk actions dropdown (top-left or bottom-left of the table).
3. Choose an action and click Apply.

Available Bulk Actions (Non-Trash View)

Available Bulk Actions (Trash View)

CSV Export

Export the currently filtered/displayed snippets to a CSV file:

1. Apply any desired filters or search (the export respects your current filter context).
2. Click the “CSV Export” button above the table.
3. A progress bar appears during the export. You can click Cancel if needed.
4. The CSV file downloads automatically once complete.

Trash & Permanent Delete

The Snippets module uses a two-step deletion process to protect against accidental data loss:

1. Move to Trash — Click “Move to Trash” on any snippet. The snippet stops executing and moves to the Trash view. It can be restored at any time.
2. Delete Permanently — Switch to the Trash view and click “Delete Permanently”. This removes the snippet from the database entirely.

Screen Options

Click Screen Options (top-right of the page, just below the admin bar) to customize the display:

Multisite Networks

On WordPress multisite installations, the Snippets module provides site-level isolation:

• Site ID column — Each snippet row shows which site (blog ID) it belongs to.
• Per-site scoping — Snippets are scoped to the blog where they were created. A snippet on Site A cannot be viewed or edited from Site B.
• Unique slugs per site — Two different sites can have snippets with the same name without conflicts.
• Unique shortcodes per site — Shortcode tags only need to be unique within a single site.

Troubleshooting