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manifest / users / small-groups-search

Small Groups Search

Wordpress plugin that enable a small group search

by Morgan Stone · github.com/mstone6769/small-groups-search

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Install

No release zip yet. The repository archive installs, but the folder name will carry the branch suffix and updates will not flow:

wp plugin install https://github.com/mstone6769/small-groups-search/archive/refs/heads/main.zip

Readme

Small Groups Search

A WordPress plugin that provides a CSV-driven small group search experience. Admins upload a CSV export from Google Sheets; the plugin stores it as a versioned snapshot and renders a live, filterable search UI via a shortcode.

Features

  • Admin CSV upload — import a groups spreadsheet and optionally activate it immediately
  • Snapshot history — every upload is stored with its original filename; activate, download, or delete any previous snapshot
  • Schema validation — warns on missing or renamed columns without blocking the import
  • [small-group-search-v2] shortcode — Alpine.js 3.x powered UI with filter dropdowns and keyword search
  • Safe rollback — the active snapshot stays live until you explicitly activate a new one

Requirements

  • PHP 8.1+
  • WordPress 6.0+

Installation

  1. Copy or clone this repository into wp-content/plugins/small-groups-search/
  2. Activate the plugin in WP Admin → Plugins
  3. Go to WP Admin → Small Groups to upload your first CSV

Usage

Uploading groups

  1. Export your groups Google Sheet as CSV
  2. Go to WP Admin → Small Groups → Upload CSV
  3. Choose the file and check Activate immediately to make it live right away, or leave it unchecked to review warnings first
  4. Use the Activate button in the Snapshot History table to switch the live data to any snapshot
  5. Use the Download CSV button to export the stored data from any snapshot back to a CSV file

Shortcode

Add [small-group-search-v2] to any page or post. The shortcode renders the full search UI with filters for day, demographic, category, type, childcare, and online availability.

CSV column reference

The plugin expects the following columns (column order does not matter):

Column Output field
LifeGroup Name Group name
Name Leader(s)
Display Email Contact email
Display Phone Contact phone
Description Description
Meeting Days Meeting schedule
Location of LifeGroup Location
Form Link Sign-up URL
Filter Days Day filter values (comma-separated)
Childcare\nCheckbox Childcare available (Yes/No)
Online/Zoom Checkbox Online group (Yes/No)
Hidden Set to Yes to exclude from results

These columns may appear under either the short or long form name:

Short form Long form
Demographic Filter Demographic (HOW OLD ARE THE PEOPLE?)
Category Category (WHO GATHERS TOGETHER)
Target \| Gray Text Target \| Gray Text (WHO SHOULD SIGN UP)
Type Filter Group Type (WHAT HAPPENS IN GROUP)

Testing

PHPUnit + Brain Monkey (WordPress function stubs). No database or WordPress install required.

# First time: install dependencies
composer install

# Run the suite
composer test

Tests live in tests/. The suite covers SGS_CSV_Validator, SGS_CSV_Parser, and SGS_Snapshot_CPT.

If you don't have PHP/Composer locally, run via the Docker container:

docker compose exec wordpress bash -c \
  "cd /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/small-groups-search && vendor/bin/phpunit"

Local development

Docker is required. The compose file starts a WordPress + MySQL environment matching the production PHP version.

docker compose up -d

WordPress will be available at http://localhost:8080. Complete the five-minute install, then activate the plugin and upload a CSV from WP Admin → Small Groups.

The plugin directory is bind-mounted into the container, so file changes take effect immediately without restarting.

Packaging

To build a WordPress-ready zip for manual upload:

bash bin/package.sh

This creates small-groups-search-<version>.zip in the repo root. The zip contains only production files — no vendor/, tests/, bin/, dotfiles, or dev config. Upload it via WP Admin → Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.

Taking groups offline

Between semesters (or any time you want to hide the search page), go to WP Admin → Small Groups, find the active snapshot in the history table, and click Go Offline. The shortcode will show an offline message until you activate another snapshot.

License

GPL-2.0-or-later

Read the full README on GitHub →