EG Fediverso Box

WordPress plugin that shows a box letting readers follow the author on the Fediverse (Mastodon, Pleroma, Pixelfed, etc.) with a full admin panel and a privacy-first design.

🇮🇹 Versione italiana / Italian version

Features

• Privacy-first — no trackers, no external JavaScript, no third-party services
• Fediverse-native — built on the standard ActivityPub /authorize_interaction remote-follow flow
• Full admin panel — configure everything from the WordPress interface
• Required validation — checks the handle format to avoid misconfiguration
• Appearance settings — background (gradient / neutral / none / custom colour) and independent border and shadow toggles
• Translatable — English source strings + Italian translation in /languages (text domain eg-fediverso-box)
• Polylang ready — the info link and the sign-up text/URL follow the page language
• Lightweight — minimal CSS and JS, zero dependencies

Installation

Via WordPress (ZIP upload)

1. Download the latest version: eg-fediverso-box.zip
2. Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
3. Select the ZIP file and click "Install Now" → "Activate"
4. Go to Settings → EG Fediverso Box and configure the handle (REQUIRED)

Via FTP

1. Extract the eg-fediverso-box folder
2. Upload it to /wp-content/plugins/
3. Activate the plugin from the WordPress Plugins page
4. Go to Settings → EG Fediverso Box and configure the handle (REQUIRED)

Configuration

Location: Settings → EG Fediverso Box. An admin notice is shown until at least the handle is configured.

The handle is validated against the username@instance.domain format; incomplete settings are not saved.

Usage

Shortcode (recommended):

[eg_fediverso_box]

PHP in the theme (e.g. single.php):

<?php if (function_exists('eg_fediverso_box')) { eg_fediverso_box(); } ?>

The plugin is also compatible with dynamic DOM insertion through the global window.initEGFediversoBox() function.

Internationalization

Source strings are in English. An Italian translation is bundled in /languages:

• eg-fediverso-box.pot — template
• eg-fediverso-box-it_IT.po / .mo — Italian

WordPress loads the matching translation automatically based on the site/page language (just-in-time loading).

Polylang

If Polylang is active, the configurable strings (the "Don't know the Fediverse?" URL, the sign-up URL and its text) are registered with Polylang and can be translated per language under Languages → String translations (group "EG Fediverso Box"). This way, on an English page the link can point to the English target. Without Polylang the original configured values are used.

How It Works

1. The reader enters the domain of their own instance (e.g. mastodon.social).
2. The plugin validates the input is a valid domain.
3. It builds the standard URL https://[reader-instance]/authorize_interaction?uri=[author-handle].
4. The reader is redirected to their own instance, where they confirm the follow.

No data is tracked or sent to external services.

Updates

This plugin is not on the WordPress.org directory, so it does not update through the standard WordPress system. Either update manually (re-upload the new version — saved settings are preserved) or use Git Updater for automatic updates from the repository.

Requirements

• WordPress 5.0+
• PHP 7.2+
• A Fediverse account (to configure the handle)

License

Released under the GPL-2.0-or-later license.

• English (official): LICENSE.md
• Italian (translation): LICENSE.IT.md
• Online: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Author

Emanuele Gori — emanuelegori.uno · Fediverse: @emanuelegori@mastodon.uno

Repository: https://git.emanuelegori.uno/emanuelegori/eg-fediverso-box