Description
Meta Ledger automatically tracks all post meta changes for posts, custom post types, and WooCommerce products. It stores a versioned history, allows field-level diffs, and provides a restore option. Designed for developers, high-performance, and WordPress standards.
Perfect for tracking product prices, custom fields, metadata changes, and any post meta modifications with complete audit trails.
Key Features
- Automatic Tracking: Hooks into WordPress meta functions to automatically track all meta changes
- Version History: Complete history of all meta changes with timestamps, user information, and action types
- Field-Level Diffs: View side-by-side comparisons of old and new values
- Restore Functionality: Restore any meta field to a previous version with one click
- Source Tracking: See which file and line triggered each meta change, including changes from Meta Ledger UI
- Inline Editing: Edit meta values directly from the admin interface
- REST API: Developer-friendly REST API endpoints for programmatic access
- WP-CLI Support: Command-line tools for viewing and restoring meta versions
- Performance Optimized: Configurable retention policies, batching, and efficient database storage
- WooCommerce Compatible: Works seamlessly with WooCommerce products
Screenshots
History tab displaying complete version history with source tracking 
Source popover showing file location, line number, and stack trace 
Restore confirmation dialog 
Settings page for configuring post types, retention, and ignored keys
Installation
- Upload the
meta-ledgerfolder to/wp-content/plugins/ - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- The database table will be created automatically on activation
- Navigate to any post, page, or product to see the Meta Ledger meta box
FAQ
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Which post types are tracked?
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By default, Meta Ledger tracks posts, pages, and WooCommerce products. You can add more post types in Settings Meta Ledger or using the
meta_ledger_tracked_post_typesfilter. -
How do I ignore certain meta keys?
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Navigate to Settings Meta Ledger and add meta keys to ignore (one per line). Supports wildcards (e.g.,
_edit_*). You can also use themeta_ledger_ignored_meta_keysfilter. -
Will this slow down my site?
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Meta Ledger is designed for performance. It uses indexed database queries, batches changes at shutdown, and skips high-frequency meta keys like
_edit_lockby default. The performance impact is minimal. -
How do I restore a previous value?
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Click on the “ History” tab in the Meta Ledger meta box on any post, then click the restore button next to any version. The restore action is also tracked in history.
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Can I track changes made from code?
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Yes! Meta Ledger tracks all changes made through WordPress meta functions (
update_post_meta,add_post_meta,delete_post_meta), regardless of whether they come from code, plugins, themes, or the Meta Ledger UI. -
How do I see where a change came from?
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Each history entry includes a source button. Click it to see the file path, line number, function name, and full stack trace for code changes. Changes made from Meta Ledger UI are marked as “ Meta Ledger UI” .
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Can I use this with WooCommerce?
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Yes! Meta Ledger works seamlessly with WooCommerce products and tracks all product meta changes, including prices, stock, and custom fields.
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How many versions are kept?
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By default, 50 versions per meta key are kept. You can adjust this in Settings Meta Ledger under “ History Entries per Meta Key” .
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Is there a REST API?
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Yes! The plugin provides REST API endpoints at
/wp-json/meta-ledger/v1/for accessing history and restoring versions programmatically. -
Are there WP-CLI commands?
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Yes! Use
wp meta-ledger show,wp meta-ledger restore, andwp meta-ledger cleanupcommands for command-line operations.
Reviews
Contributors & Developers
“Meta Ledger – Track, compare, and restore post meta Changes” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Meta Ledger – Track, compare, and restore post meta Changes” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.1
- Settings link on plugins page (links to Meta Ledger settings)
- Fix restore failing when value unchanged or already deleted (
meta_ledger_restore_failed) - View full value: click long old/new values in history to open a popover
- Side-by-side diff view: old vs new values in a diff-checker style popover
- Improved value popover with colored columns (old = red tint, new = green tint)
1.0.0
- Initial release
- Automatic meta tracking for posts, pages, and custom post types
- Version history UI with tabbed interface (Meta Values & History tabs)
- Inline meta editing with add, edit, and delete functionality
- Restore functionality with one-click restore to any previous version
- Source file and line tracking with detailed popover view
- Source tracking for changes made from Meta Ledger UI
- Refresh button on History tab to reload latest changes
- Search and filter functionality for meta keys
- Collapsible history groups organized by meta key
- REST API endpoints for programmatic access (
/wp-json/meta-ledger/v1/) - WP-CLI commands:
show,restore,cleanup - Settings page with post type selection, retention count, and ignored keys
- Performance optimizations with batching and efficient JSON storage
- WooCommerce product support
- Responsive design for all screen sizes
- WordPress coding standards compliance