Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to the questions site owners ask most often. For step-by-step fixes to problems, see Troubleshooting Common Issues.
Does this plugin require BuddyPress?
Section titled “Does this plugin require BuddyPress?”Yes. BuddyPress Auto Friends needs a BuddyPress-compatible community plugin with the Friends component active. BuddyPress core and BuddyBoss Platform are both supported, because both expose the same Friends API. If neither is present, or the Friends component is off, the plugin refuses to activate and shows a red admin notice explaining why.
Does it send friend-request or “friendship accepted” emails?
Section titled “Does it send friend-request or “friendship accepted” emails?”No. Auto-created friendships are silent on every path - registration, role or member-type change, and the manual backfill sweep. New members simply find friends already in their list, with no notification flood. Developers who need to override this for specific recipients can use the bautof_enable_notifications_for_user filter (default false).
If I select “Editor”, does it only pair Editors with other Editors?
Section titled “If I select “Editor”, does it only pair Editors with other Editors?”No. The roles and member types you pick define a welcome group, not a peer-matching rule. Selecting “Editor” means every new signup becomes friends with every existing Editor, regardless of the new member’s own role. This is the ambassador / welcome-group model - your staff, mentors, or founders land in every new member’s friends list.
Will it touch friendships my members made themselves?
Section titled “Will it touch friendships my members made themselves?”No. The plugin records every friendship it creates in the _bautof_auto_created_friends user meta entry and only ever removes those. Friendships members sent or accepted on their own, friendships created by other plugins, and friendships with Global Friends are never removed by cleanup.
Does removing a Global Friend unfriend existing members?
Section titled “Does removing a Global Friend unfriend existing members?”No. Removing a Global Friend takes them out of the welcome group so they are not auto-friended with future signups. Existing friendships stay in place. To prune them, use the BuddyPress Friends UI or a custom script.
How many friend lists can each member create?
Section titled “How many friend lists can each member create?”Members can create up to the limit you set on the Friend Lists tab. The default is 5, and the accepted range is 1 to 50. Administrators are not limited.
Can members add anyone to a friend list?
Section titled “Can members add anyone to a friend list?”No. Only existing BuddyPress friends can be added to a list. The suggestion panel shows the member’s own friends only, so strangers never appear.
Is there a REST API?
Section titled “Is there a REST API?”Yes. The plugin registers a bautof/v1 REST namespace used by the Friend Lists interface for reading list members, adding and removing members, and fetching friend suggestions. See REST API Endpoints for Friend Lists.
Does it create any custom database tables?
Section titled “Does it create any custom database tables?”No. All data is stored in the standard wp_options and wp_usermeta tables. Uninstalling the plugin clears its transients and processing flags.
Does it work on large communities?
Section titled “Does it work on large communities?”Yes. The manual backfill runs in batches with memory-safety checks, and the “Friend with existing members” backfill switches from inline processing to scheduled WP-Cron chunks once the member count passes a threshold (100 by default). On very large sites, run backfills during a quiet hour.
Is this a free or premium plugin?
Section titled “Is this a free or premium plugin?”BuddyPress Auto Friends is a premium plugin licensed through Easy Digital Downloads. The plugin keeps working without a key, but automatic update notifications pause until you activate your license on the License tab. See License Activation.