YT Email Log Viewer

A WordPress plugin that logs all outgoing emails sent by wp_mail() for debugging purposes. Perfect for development, staging, and production environments where email monitoring is essential.

Features

• Automatic Email Logging: Captures all emails sent via wp_mail()
• Custom Database Table: Stores logs efficiently in a dedicated table
• Admin Interface: Clean, intuitive interface for viewing email logs
• Status Tracking: Distinguishes between sent and failed emails
• Detailed View: Expandable rows to view full email content, headers, and messages
• Pagination: Handles large numbers of logs efficiently (20 per page)
• Individual Log Deletion: Remove specific logs with AJAX
• Bulk Clear: Clear all logs with one click
• Auto-Cleanup: Automatically removes old logs when exceeding 1000 entries
• Secure: Proper nonce verification, capability checks, and sanitization
• WPCS Compliant: Follows WordPress Coding Standards
• Translation Ready: Full i18n/l10n support

Installation

1. Upload the yt-email-log-viewer folder to /wp-content/plugins/
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
3. Access email logs via Tools > Email Logs in the admin menu

Usage

Viewing Email Logs

1. Navigate to Tools > Email Logs in the WordPress admin
2. View the list of all logged emails with:
   • ID
   • Status (Sent/Failed)
   • Recipient email address
   • Subject line
   • Date sent
3. Click View to expand and see full email details:
   • Headers
   • Complete message content

Managing Logs

• Delete Individual Log: Click the "Delete" button next to any log entry
• Clear All Logs: Click the "Clear All Logs" button in the header
• Auto-Cleanup: Plugin automatically maintains a maximum of 1000 logs

Quick Access

• A "View Logs" link is added to the plugin's row on the Plugins page for quick access

File Structure

yt-email-log-viewer/
├── class-yt-email-log-viewer.php    # Main plugin file (480 lines)
├── assets/
│   ├── css/
│   │   └── admin.css                # Admin interface styles
│   └── js/
│       └── admin.js                 # Admin AJAX functionality
└── README.md                        # This file

Technical Details

Database Schema

The plugin creates a custom table wp_yt_email_logs with the following structure:

CREATE TABLE wp_yt_email_logs (
  id bigint(20) NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
  email_to varchar(255) NOT NULL,
  subject varchar(255) NOT NULL,
  message longtext NOT NULL,
  headers text,
  status varchar(20) NOT NULL DEFAULT 'sent',
  sent_date datetime NOT NULL,
  PRIMARY KEY (id),
  KEY status (status),
  KEY sent_date (sent_date)
);

Hooks Used

Actions:

• wp_mail - Captures outgoing email data
• admin_menu - Adds admin page under Tools
• admin_enqueue_scripts - Loads CSS/JS on admin page
• wp_ajax_ytelv_clear_logs - AJAX handler for clearing logs
• wp_ajax_ytelv_delete_log - AJAX handler for deleting single log

Filters:

• wp_mail_failed - Captures failed email attempts
• plugin_action_links_* - Adds "View Logs" link to plugins page

Prefixes

All functions, classes, and database elements are prefixed with ytelv_ or YT_Email_Log_Viewer to avoid conflicts:

• Class: YT_Email_Log_Viewer
• Constants: YT_EMAIL_LOG_VIEWER_*
• Functions: ytelv_*
• Database Table: wp_yt_email_logs
• AJAX Actions: ytelv_*
• CSS/JS Classes: .ytelv-*

Security Features

• Nonce verification for all AJAX requests
• Capability checks (manage_options) for admin access
• Sanitized input data (sanitize_text_field())
• Escaped output (esc_html(), esc_attr(), esc_url())
• Prepared SQL statements ($wpdb->prepare())
• Direct file access prevention

Data Management

On Activation

• Creates custom database table with proper indexes
• Uses dbDelta() for safe table creation/updates

On Deactivation

• Keeps data intact (logs preserved)

On Uninstall

• Drops custom database table
• Removes all plugin options
• Clears cache

Auto-Cleanup

• Automatically removes oldest logs when exceeding 1000 entries
• Maintains optimal database performance

Browser Compatibility

• Chrome (latest)
• Firefox (latest)
• Safari (latest)
• Edge (latest)

WordPress Compatibility

• Requires WordPress: 5.8 or higher
• Tested up to: 6.7
• Requires PHP: 7.4 or higher

Performance

• Lightweight: Single PHP file + CSS + JS
• Efficient database queries with proper indexing
• AJAX-powered interface (no page reloads for actions)
• Pagination for large datasets
• Auto-cleanup prevents database bloat

Development

Line Count

• Main PHP: ~480 lines (including comments)
• CSS: ~220 lines
• JS: ~180 lines
• Total: ~880 lines

Coding Standards

Built following:

• WordPress Plugin Handbook
• WordPress Coding Standards (WPCS)
• PHP 7.4+ best practices

Testing Checklist

• [x] Plugin activates without errors
• [x] Database table created successfully
• [x] Email logging works for sent emails
• [x] Failed email logging works
• [x] Admin page displays correctly
• [x] View details functionality works
• [x] Delete single log works (AJAX)
• [x] Clear all logs works (AJAX)
• [x] Pagination works correctly
• [x] Auto-cleanup maintains max logs
• [x] Plugin deactivates cleanly
• [x] Plugin uninstalls and removes all data
• [x] No PHP warnings or notices
• [x] WPCS compliant

Use Cases

1. Development: Debug email sending issues during development
2. Staging: Verify email content before production deployment
3. Production: Monitor outgoing emails and track delivery
4. Troubleshooting: Investigate email-related issues
5. Compliance: Maintain records of sent emails
6. Testing: Verify email functionality without actual sending

Limitations

• Does not prevent emails from being sent (logs only)
• Does not handle attachments separately (stored in message body if inline)
• Maximum 1000 logs stored (auto-cleanup removes older entries)
• Admin-only access (requires manage_options capability)

Future Enhancements

Potential features for future versions:

• Export logs to CSV/JSON
• Email search and filtering
• Attachments tracking
• Email resend functionality
• Scheduled log cleanup options
• Email statistics dashboard
• Custom retention periods
• Role-based access control

Support

For issues, questions, or contributions:

• GitHub: krasenslavov/yt-email-log-viewer
• Author: Krasen Slavov

License

GPL v2 or later - https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Credits

Built using the YT WordPress Plugin Boilerplate following WordPress Plugin Handbook and WPCS guidelines.

Changelog

1.0.0

• Initial release
• Email logging functionality
• Admin interface with pagination
• Individual log deletion
• Bulk log clearing
• Auto-cleanup feature
• Full WPCS compliance