Simple History 5.19.0 is now available. This release prepares you for WordPress 6.9 with support for the new Notes feature, introduces automatic backfilling so your activity log is never empty on day one, and adds new filtering options to help you find what you’re looking for.
Whether you’re upgrading an existing installation or setting up Simple History for the first time, we hope these improvements make your day a little easier.
Ready for WordPress 6.9: Notes Feature Logging
WordPress 6.9 introduces a brand new collaboration feature called Notes. This feature lets editors leave feedback directly on posts and pages without modifying the actual content—think of it as sticky notes for your WordPress content.
As mentioned before, Simple History 5.19.0 adds full logging support for this new feature. You’ll be able to see:
- When notes are added to posts or pages
- When notes are edited
- When notes are removed
- Which user performed each action
This keeps your audit trail complete, even as WordPress introduces new ways for your team to collaborate.
Finally: A Log That Isn’t Blank on Install
One of the most common questions we hear from new users is: “Why is my activity log empty?” Until now, Simple History only logged events from the moment you installed it. If you wanted to see what happened before installation, you were out of luck.
Fortunately, that changes with version 5.19.0. When you install Simple History for the first time, the plugin now automatically imports recent activity from your WordPress site. This includes:
- Posts and pages that were created or modified
- Users that were registered
- Attachments that were uploaded
This means your activity log will have useful data from the very first moment you activate the plugin. No more staring at an empty log wondering if the plugin is working.
Premium Feature: Import Historical Data On Demand
Already have Simple History installed and wish you had captured events from before? Simple History Premium now includes a powerful manual backfill tool that lets you import historical data whenever you need it.
With the new “Export & Tools” section, Premium users can:
- Import posts and pages with their original creation and modification dates
- Import user registrations to see when team members joined
- Import attachments to track your media library history
- Run backfill on demand any time you want to fill gaps in your activity log
This is perfect for:
- Sites that installed Simple History after years of content creation
- Agencies taking over management of existing WordPress sites
- Anyone who wants a complete historical record of their site’s activity
The manual backfill tool is available exclusively in Simple History Premium.
Two New Ways to Filter
Based on user feedback, we have added two new filters to the GUI.
Hide Your Own Events from the Log
Here’s a scenario many site administrators know well: You’re trying to figure out what your team has been up to, but your own activity is cluttering the log. You updated a few posts, changed some settings, and now you have to scroll through your own events to find what others did.
The new “Hide my own events” checkbox solves this instantly. Check the box, and your own activity disappears from the log. It’s a small addition that makes a big difference when you’re managing a team.
Quick Access to Yesterday’s Events
Sometimes you need to see what happened yesterday—not the last 24 hours, but specifically yesterday. Maybe you’re following up on something from the day before, or you want to review yesterday’s activity first thing in the morning.
The new “Yesterday” option in the date filter dropdown makes this a one-click operation. No more setting custom date ranges just to see what happened the previous day.
Negative Filters: Find What You’re NOT Looking For
Power users and developers will appreciate the new support for negative filters across the event log query API, REST API, and WP-CLI.
Want to see all events except those from a specific user? Now you can. Need to exclude certain event types from your search results? That’s supported too.
This feature unlocks more sophisticated log queries and makes Simple History more flexible for complex use cases.
Example WP-CLI usage:
# Show all events except those by user ID 1
wp simple-history list --exclude_user=1Code language: PHP (php)Additional Improvements
This release includes several other enhancements worth noting:
- Failed update logging: Both plugin and theme update failures are now logged with rollback context
- Smarter polling: The log stops polling for new events after detecting 10+ changes, reducing server load from inactive (and active!) browser tabs
- Clickable sidebar stats: Clicking on users in the sidebar now filters by the last 30 days
- VIP Go compatibility: Added WordPress VIP Go coding standards for enterprise environments
Grab the Update
Simple History 5.19.0 is available now. Update from your WordPress dashboard or download it from WordPress.org.
Premium extras: For manual backfill, longer retention, exports, and stealth mode — check out https://simple-history.com/add-ons/premium/.
Full changelog
Added
- Add automatic backfilling of existing events on first install, so the activity log isn’t empty when you start using the plugin for the first time.
- Add logging of new notes feature in WordPress 6.9. #599.
- Add “Yesterday” option to the date filter dropdown for quick access to previous day’s events.
- Add “Hide my own events” checkbox to filters, allowing users to quickly exclude their own activity from the log. #604.
- Add WordPress VIP Go coding standards for enterprise compatibility.
- Add rollback context to plugin update failed events.
- Add logging of failed theme updates.
- Add support for negative filters in the event log query API, to the REST API, and to WP-CLI. #86.
- Add error message when trying to view an event that does not exist.
- Add filter
simple_history/show_promo_boxesto determine if promo boxes should be shown. - Add developer mode badge to the page header.
- Add new Tools tab with manual backfill option for importing historical events on demand.
Changed
- Rename “Export” menu to “Export & Tools” and add tabbed interface to support additional tools.
- Post creation events now capture initial post content, excerpt, and status transitions to provide complete audit trail without information gaps.
- Stop polling for new events after 10+ new events are detected to reduce server resource consumption from inactive browser tabs.
- Improved auto-backfill completion message to be more user-friendly and include the number of days imported.
- Improved welcome message text for clarity and better Premium feature promotion.
- Admin Bar Quick View: Display count of similar events (occasions) on a new line below the main event message and style it.
- Insights sidebar: Clicking on users now also filters the log by the last 30 days.
- Insights sidebar: Update text to show current events in database and total events logged with links to settings page for retention period.
- Insights sidebar: Improve messages for message count.
- Decrease font size on stats sidebar stats box to fit more events.
- Reduce number of HTTP requests by consolidating the small sidebar CSS file (just 4 rules) into the main stylesheet that’s already being loaded on the page.
- Hide sidebar donation box, support box, and review box when promo boxes are hidden for a cleaner interface with the premium add-on.
- Internal code and UI refinements.
- Tested up to WordPress 6.9.
Fixed
- Fixed post creation via Gutenberg autosave not being logged.
- Fixed incorrect timezone handling for imported user registration dates.
- Fixed sidebar stats box styling conflict with premium add-on.
- Fixed warning about invalid HTML nesting in the log GUI filters. #548.
Removed
- Remove donation box from sidebar.