Title: WP_Widget_Recent_Comments
Published: April 25, 2014
Last modified: February 24, 2026

---

# class WP_Widget_Recent_Comments {}

## In this article

 * [Description](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#description)
    - [See also](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#see-also)
 * [Methods](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#methods)
 * [Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#source)
 * [Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#related)
 * [Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#changelog)

[ Back to top](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#wp--skip-link--target)

Core class used to implement a Recent Comments widget.

## 󠀁[Description](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#description)󠁿

### 󠀁[See also](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#see-also)󠁿

 * [WP_Widget](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_widget/)

## 󠀁[Methods](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#methods)󠁿

| Name | Description | 
| [WP_Widget_Recent_Comments::__construct](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_widget_recent_comments/__construct/) | Sets up a new Recent Comments widget instance. | 
| [WP_Widget_Recent_Comments::flush_widget_cache](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_widget_recent_comments/flush_widget_cache/) | Flushes the Recent Comments widget cache. — deprecated | 
| [WP_Widget_Recent_Comments::form](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_widget_recent_comments/form/) | Outputs the settings form for the Recent Comments widget. | 
| [WP_Widget_Recent_Comments::recent_comments_style](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_widget_recent_comments/recent_comments_style/) | Outputs the default styles for the Recent Comments widget. | 
| [WP_Widget_Recent_Comments::update](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_widget_recent_comments/update/) | Handles updating settings for the current Recent Comments widget instance. | 
| [WP_Widget_Recent_Comments::widget](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_widget_recent_comments/widget/) | Outputs the content for the current Recent Comments widget instance. |

## 󠀁[Source](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#source)󠁿

    ```php
    class WP_Widget_Recent_Comments extends WP_Widget {

    	/**
    	 * Sets up a new Recent Comments widget instance.
    	 *
    	 * @since 2.8.0
    	 */
    	public function __construct() {
    		$widget_ops = array(
    			'classname'                   => 'widget_recent_comments',
    			'description'                 => __( 'Your site’s most recent comments.' ),
    			'customize_selective_refresh' => true,
    			'show_instance_in_rest'       => true,
    		);
    		parent::__construct( 'recent-comments', __( 'Recent Comments' ), $widget_ops );
    		$this->alt_option_name = 'widget_recent_comments';

    		if ( is_active_widget( false, false, $this->id_base ) || is_customize_preview() ) {
    			add_action( 'wp_head', array( $this, 'recent_comments_style' ) );
    		}
    	}

    	/**
    	 * Outputs the default styles for the Recent Comments widget.
    	 *
    	 * @since 2.8.0
    	 */
    	public function recent_comments_style() {
    		/**
    		 * Filters the Recent Comments default widget styles.
    		 *
    		 * @since 3.1.0
    		 *
    		 * @param bool   $active  Whether the widget is active. Default true.
    		 * @param string $id_base The widget ID.
    		 */
    		if ( ! current_theme_supports( 'widgets' ) // Temp hack #14876.
    			|| ! apply_filters( 'show_recent_comments_widget_style', true, $this->id_base ) ) {
    			return;
    		}

    		$type_attr = current_theme_supports( 'html5', 'style' ) ? '' : ' type="text/css"';

    		printf(
    			'<style%s>.recentcomments a{display:inline !important;padding:0 !important;margin:0 !important;}</style>',
    			$type_attr
    		);
    	}

    	/**
    	 * Outputs the content for the current Recent Comments widget instance.
    	 *
    	 * @since 2.8.0
    	 * @since 5.4.0 Creates a unique HTML ID for the `<ul>` element
    	 *              if more than one instance is displayed on the page.
    	 *
    	 * @param array $args     Display arguments including 'before_title', 'after_title',
    	 *                        'before_widget', and 'after_widget'.
    	 * @param array $instance Settings for the current Recent Comments widget instance.
    	 */
    	public function widget( $args, $instance ) {
    		static $first_instance = true;

    		if ( ! isset( $args['widget_id'] ) ) {
    			$args['widget_id'] = $this->id;
    		}

    		$output = '';

    		$default_title = __( 'Recent Comments' );
    		$title         = ( ! empty( $instance['title'] ) ) ? $instance['title'] : $default_title;

    		/** This filter is documented in wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-pages.php */
    		$title = apply_filters( 'widget_title', $title, $instance, $this->id_base );

    		$number = ( ! empty( $instance['number'] ) ) ? absint( $instance['number'] ) : 5;
    		if ( ! $number ) {
    			$number = 5;
    		}

    		$comments = get_comments(
    			/**
    			 * Filters the arguments for the Recent Comments widget.
    			 *
    			 * @since 3.4.0
    			 * @since 4.9.0 Added the `$instance` parameter.
    			 *
    			 * @see WP_Comment_Query::query() for information on accepted arguments.
    			 *
    			 * @param array $comment_args An array of arguments used to retrieve the recent comments.
    			 * @param array $instance     Array of settings for the current widget.
    			 */
    			apply_filters(
    				'widget_comments_args',
    				array(
    					'number'      => $number,
    					'status'      => 'approve',
    					'post_status' => 'publish',
    				),
    				$instance
    			)
    		);

    		$output .= $args['before_widget'];
    		if ( $title ) {
    			$output .= $args['before_title'] . $title . $args['after_title'];
    		}

    		$recent_comments_id = ( $first_instance ) ? 'recentcomments' : "recentcomments-{$this->number}";
    		$first_instance     = false;

    		$format = current_theme_supports( 'html5', 'navigation-widgets' ) ? 'html5' : 'xhtml';

    		/** This filter is documented in wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-nav-menu-widget.php */
    		$format = apply_filters( 'navigation_widgets_format', $format );

    		if ( 'html5' === $format ) {
    			// The title may be filtered: Strip out HTML and make sure the aria-label is never empty.
    			$title      = trim( strip_tags( $title ) );
    			$aria_label = $title ? $title : $default_title;
    			$output    .= '<nav aria-label="' . esc_attr( $aria_label ) . '">';
    		}

    		$output .= '<ul id="' . esc_attr( $recent_comments_id ) . '">';
    		if ( is_array( $comments ) && $comments ) {
    			// Prime cache for associated posts. (Prime post term cache if we need it for permalinks.)
    			$post_ids = array_unique( wp_list_pluck( $comments, 'comment_post_ID' ) );
    			_prime_post_caches( $post_ids, strpos( get_option( 'permalink_structure' ), '%category%' ), false );

    			foreach ( (array) $comments as $comment ) {
    				$output .= '<li class="recentcomments">';
    				$output .= sprintf(
    					/* translators: Comments widget. 1: Comment author, 2: Post link. */
    					_x( '%1$s on %2$s', 'widgets' ),
    					'<span class="comment-author-link">' . get_comment_author_link( $comment ) . '</span>',
    					'<a href="' . esc_url( get_comment_link( $comment ) ) . '">' . get_the_title( $comment->comment_post_ID ) . '</a>'
    				);
    				$output .= '</li>';
    			}
    		}
    		$output .= '</ul>';

    		if ( 'html5' === $format ) {
    			$output .= '</nav>';
    		}

    		$output .= $args['after_widget'];

    		echo $output;
    	}

    	/**
    	 * Handles updating settings for the current Recent Comments widget instance.
    	 *
    	 * @since 2.8.0
    	 *
    	 * @param array $new_instance New settings for this instance as input by the user via
    	 *                            WP_Widget::form().
    	 * @param array $old_instance Old settings for this instance.
    	 * @return array Updated settings to save.
    	 */
    	public function update( $new_instance, $old_instance ) {
    		$instance           = $old_instance;
    		$instance['title']  = sanitize_text_field( $new_instance['title'] );
    		$instance['number'] = absint( $new_instance['number'] );
    		return $instance;
    	}

    	/**
    	 * Outputs the settings form for the Recent Comments widget.
    	 *
    	 * @since 2.8.0
    	 *
    	 * @param array $instance Current settings.
    	 */
    	public function form( $instance ) {
    		$title  = isset( $instance['title'] ) ? $instance['title'] : '';
    		$number = isset( $instance['number'] ) ? absint( $instance['number'] ) : 5;
    		?>
    		<p>
    			<label for="<?php echo $this->get_field_id( 'title' ); ?>"><?php _e( 'Title:' ); ?></label>
    			<input class="widefat" id="<?php echo $this->get_field_id( 'title' ); ?>" name="<?php echo $this->get_field_name( 'title' ); ?>" type="text" value="<?php echo esc_attr( $title ); ?>" />
    		</p>

    		<p>
    			<label for="<?php echo $this->get_field_id( 'number' ); ?>"><?php _e( 'Number of comments to show:' ); ?></label>
    			<input class="tiny-text" id="<?php echo $this->get_field_id( 'number' ); ?>" name="<?php echo $this->get_field_name( 'number' ); ?>" type="number" step="1" min="1" value="<?php echo $number; ?>" size="3" />
    		</p>
    		<?php
    	}

    	/**
    	 * Flushes the Recent Comments widget cache.
    	 *
    	 * @since 2.8.0
    	 *
    	 * @deprecated 4.4.0 Fragment caching was removed in favor of split queries.
    	 */
    	public function flush_widget_cache() {
    		_deprecated_function( __METHOD__, '4.4.0' );
    	}
    }
    ```

[View all references](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/files/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-recent-comments.php/)
[View on Trac](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/tags/6.9.4/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-recent-comments.php#L17)
[View on GitHub](https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-develop/blob/6.9.4/src/wp-includes/widgets/class-wp-widget-recent-comments.php#L17-L218)

## 󠀁[Related](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#related)󠁿

| Uses | Description | 
| [WP_Widget](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/wp_widget/)`wp-includes/class-wp-widget.php` |

Core base class extended to register widgets.

  |

## 󠀁[Changelog](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/classes/WP_Widget_Recent_Comments/?output_format=md#changelog)󠁿

| Version | Description | 
| [2.8.0](https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/since/2.8.0/) | Introduced. |

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