Maintenance Tools
Fix counters, clean orphaned data, manage cache, repair tables, and migrate legacy formats.
When counts look wrong, data feels bloated, or you migrated from an older version, Maintenance helps you repair and clean up — without touching the database manually.
WP ULike → Tools → Maintenance
Always back up your site first. Destructive actions (Delete All, truncate) cannot be undone.
The page is organized into tabs: Posts, Comments, Activities, Topics, Site, Cache, Database, and Advanced.
Posts, Comments, Activities & Topics
Each content type tab offers the same toolkit (Activities and Topics appear only when BuddyPress or bbPress is active):
| Tool | What it does | Risk |
|---|---|---|
Delete All Records | Removes every like/dislike log for that type. Content is untouched. | High — permanent |
Remove Invalid Records | Deletes votes tied to posts/comments/activities/topics that no longer exist. | Medium |
Remove Duplicate Records | Keeps one vote per user per item — fixes spam or migration duplicates. | Medium |
Delete Stored Counter Values | Clears cached counter meta; counts rebuild from logs when needed. | Medium |
Sync Counter Values | Recalculates all counters from vote logs. Use this when numbers disagree with Statistics. | Low — recommended fix |
Optimize Database Table | Runs MySQL OPTIMIZE on the log table — good for large sites. | Low — safe routine |
Delete All View Tracking Records | Clears view history used for engagement rate in Statistics Pro. | High |
Typical fix for wrong counts: Run Sync Counter Values first. If the front end still shows old numbers, go to the Cache tab and run Clear All Cache.
Site tab
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
Delete All User Vote Status | Clears “who already voted” tracking. Vote logs stay intact. |
Remove Empty Post Settings | Deletes unused empty settings rows to shrink the database. |
Create Default Pages | Creates login, profile, registration, and account pages if missing Pro. |
Delete Default Pages | Removes plugin-created pages — you can recreate them anytime. |
Cache tab
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
Clear All Cache | Clears WP ULike cache plus popular plugins (WP Rocket, LiteSpeed, W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, etc.). Try this first when the live site shows stale counts. |
Clear Statistics Cache | Refreshes dashboard statistics only — does not delete votes. |
Clear Transient Cache | Removes temporary plugin transients from the database. |
Clean Up Expired Sessions | Removes expired session data; active sessions are kept. |
Database tab
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
Repair Database Tables | Fixes corrupted WP ULike tables after errors or failed imports. |
Analyze Database Tables | Updates MySQL statistics for faster queries — safe routine maintenance. |
Sync Database Indexes | Adds missing indexes from the latest plugin version — safe to run multiple times. |
Advanced tab (legacy migration)
Most sites never need these. Only use them when upgrading from very old WP ULike versions or after enabling Serialized Data Storage under General settings.
| Tool | When to use |
|---|---|
Move Post Counters to WordPress Meta | Pre-3.0 upgrades — moves counters from the old plugin table. |
Move Comment Counters to WordPress Meta | Same for comments. |
Convert to Serialized Format | After enabling Serialized Data Storage — merges per-post meta rows into one efficient row. |
Remove Old Format Meta Records | Only after a successful conversion — deletes legacy individual meta rows. |
When to use which tool
| Problem | Start here |
|---|---|
Admin Statistics correct, front-end count wrong | Cache → Clear All Cache + enable Site uses caching in General |
Counts wrong everywhere | Sync Counter Values for the content type |
Orphaned votes after bulk delete | Remove Invalid Records |
Duplicate votes from spam | Remove Duplicates |
Database feels slow | Optimize Database Table + Analyze Database Tables |
Fresh start on one content type | Delete All Records (backup first!) |
Related: Troubleshooting · Bulk Actions & GDPR
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