README

Automated, rules-based discussion housekeeping for Flarum 2.

Define rules that periodically look inside chosen tags for discussions matching conditions (age, tags, reply count) and then hide, lock, retag / move, or delete them — so a busy section keeps itself tidy without manual moderator work.

Inspired by the "auto-archive old/prefixed threads" plugins from other forum software, rebuilt the Flarum way (tags instead of forum IDs).

Features

• Rules — each rule has a scope (one or more tags, or all), conditions, an action, and its own run frequency.
• Conditions — inactive/created for N days, also has / doesn't have certain tags, minimum / maximum replies.
• Actions — hide, lock, unlock, add tag, remove tag, move (retag), or permanently delete.
• Scheduler — due rules run automatically; you can also Run or Preview any rule on demand from the admin page.
• Global dry-run — preview everything: rules log what they would do and change nothing. Flip it off when you're confident.
• Audit-log friendly — every live action dispatches the matching Flarum domain event (Hidden, Deleted, tag/lock events), so audit-log / action-log extensions record Janitor's actions automatically, attributed to an admin. (Dry-run previews never emit them.)
• Safety — stickied and locked discussions are never touched, every run is capped (default 100 actions), permanent delete is opt-in per rule, and every (would-be) action is written to an action log.

Install

composer require ernestdefoe/janitor:"*"
php flarum migrate
php flarum cache:clear

Then enable Janitor in the admin panel and open its settings to add rules.

Requirements: the scheduler

Janitor's automatic runs rely on Flarum's task scheduler, so your server must run this cron entry (once a minute):

* * * * * cd /path/to/forum && php flarum schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

Without it, rules won't run on their own — but the Run / Preview buttons on the settings page work regardless, and are the safest way to try a rule first.

Tips

• Start with Global dry-run on and use Preview to see exactly which discussions a rule would hit (check the action log) before letting it act.
• Prefer Hide or Move over Delete — hidden discussions can be restored; deletion can't.
• "Inactive for N days" measures last activity by default — ideal for archiving stale threads in a busy tag.

License

MIT © ernestdefoe