Woo Duplicate Pro — Documentation

Version: 1.0 | Last updated: 2026-02-23

Overview

Woo Duplicate Pro is a WordPress plugin designed to detect, manage, and clean duplicate WooCommerce products. This document provides a detailed explanation of the plugin's purpose, installation steps, administration, usage, developer pointers, troubleshooting tips, and references to important files and locations inside the plugin directory.

This documentation intentionally does not change or add any plugin code; it only describes the plugin and how to use/extend it.

Key Features

• Automatic scanning for duplicate products
• Backup and restore of product data before cleaning actions
• Bulk processing (review and remove duplicates in batches)
• Activity logging and notifications
• REST API endpoints for integration (if enabled)

Requirements

• WordPress 5.8+ (compatible with later versions of WordPress and WooCommerce)
• WooCommerce (for product data structures)
• PHP 7.4+ recommended

Installation

1. Copy the plugin folder into your WordPress plugins directory. The plugin root contains the main file duplicate-product-cleaner.php.
2. From the WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and activate "Woo Duplicate Pro".
3. After activation, open the plugin settings page to configure scanning and backup options.

Activation & First Run

• On activation the plugin will register its custom options and may schedule background tasks if configured.
• Visit the plugin settings page (see settings.php in the templates/ folder) to configure scan frequency, backup options, and notification preferences.

Admin UI and Usage

• Settings: Use the settings screen to configure detection sensitivity, what fields to compare (title, SKU, meta, etc.), and backup behavior.
• Scan / AutoScan: You may run manual scans from the admin panel. The AutoScan core class manages scheduled scans.
• Review: After scanning, duplicate candidates are listed for review. From the review screen you can choose which items to keep, merge, or delete.
• Bulk Processing: Use the bulk processor to delete large numbers of duplicates in batches to avoid timeouts.
• Logs: Activity and scan logs are available via the plugin Logs template (templates/logs.php). Use logs to audit actions and troubleshoot.

Backups

The plugin supports backing up product data before destructive operations. Backups are managed by the BackupManager and AdvancedBackup classes in includes/Core/. Always verify backups exist before running bulk delete operations.

Notifications

The plugin can send email notifications about scan results and cleanup actions. Notification handling is implemented in EmailNotifications.php.

REST API

If the plugin exposes REST endpoints, they are implemented in includes/API/RestController.php. Use the WordPress REST API infrastructure with appropriate authentication to interact programmatically.

File Structure (important files)

• duplicate-product-cleaner.php — Main plugin bootstrap file.
• uninstall.php — Cleanup logic on plugin uninstall.
• admin/ — Admin-specific UI, pages, and assets.
• includes/ — Main plugin logic split into subfolders:
  • Core/ — Core classes such as DuplicateDetector.php, BackupManager.php, BulkProcessor.php, AutoScan.php, and ActivityLogger.php.
  • API/ — RestController.php for REST endpoints.
  • Admin/ — Admin.php entry for admin registration.
• templates/ — Admin templates including logs.php and settings.php.

Developer Guide

• Coding style: Follow WordPress PHP coding standards and naming conventions used in the existing code.
• Hooks and filters: The plugin may register actions and filters inside the Admin and Core classes. To extend functionality, search for do_action and apply_filters occurrences in the includes/ folder.
• Autoloading / includes: The plugin uses manual includes inside the main bootstrap and admin loader. Keep new classes in appropriate subfolders and update the loader if needed.

Suggested developer steps for adding features:

1. Add new class in includes/Core/ or includes/API/ as appropriate.
2. Register new admin pages or REST routes inside Admin.php or RestController.php.
3. Add capability checks for admin actions to avoid exposing destructive operations.
4. Add unit or integration tests where possible.

Troubleshooting

• If scans fail or time out: Increase PHP max execution time or enable batch processing via BulkProcessor.
• If product data seems incorrect after cleanup: Restore from the latest backup and re-run scans on a subset for diagnosis.
• If emails are not sent: Verify WordPress mail configuration and SMTP settings.
• If REST endpoints return permission errors: Check authentication and capability checks.

Security & Best Practices

• Always backup your database and media prior to running bulk delete operations.
• Restrict access to plugin management screens to appropriate administrator roles.
• Review any extensions or automation that call the plugin's REST API and enforce authentication.

Changelog

1.0 — Initial documentation (no code changes made)

License

Check license header in the plugin main file (duplicate-product-cleaner.php) for licensing details.

Contact & Support

For support, consult the plugin's admin Logs and server error logs. For developer support, open an issue or contact the plugin maintainer listed in the plugin header.