wp_comments

Last updated: February 12, 2026

Stores comments and other comment-like content (pingbacks, trackbacks).

Schema

Column Type Null Default Description
comment_ID bigint(20) unsigned NO auto_increment Unique identifier
comment_post_ID bigint(20) unsigned NO 0 Post ID (FK → wp_posts.ID)
comment_author tinytext NO NULL Author display name
comment_author_email varchar(100) NO ” Author email address
comment_author_url varchar(200) NO ” Author website URL
comment_author_IP varchar(100) NO ” Author IP address
comment_date datetime NO 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Comment date (local)
comment_date_gmt datetime NO 0000-00-00 00:00:00 Comment date (GMT)
comment_content text NO NULL Comment text
comment_karma int(11) NO 0 Rating/karma score
comment_approved varchar(20) NO ‘1’ Status: 1, 0, spam, trash
comment_agent varchar(255) NO ” User agent string
comment_type varchar(20) NO ‘comment’ Type: comment, pingback, trackback
comment_parent bigint(20) unsigned NO 0 Parent comment ID (for threading)
user_id bigint(20) unsigned NO 0 User ID if logged in (FK → wp_users.ID)

Indexes

Key Name Columns Unique Purpose
PRIMARY comment_ID Yes Primary key
comment_post_ID comment_post_ID No Comments for a post
comment_approved_date_gmt comment_approved, comment_date_gmt No Approved comments sorted by date
comment_date_gmt comment_date_gmt No Global date ordering
comment_parent comment_parent No Thread replies
comment_author_email comment_author_email(10) No Lookup by email

Foreign Key Relationships

  • comment_post_ID → wp_posts.ID
  • comment_parent → wp_comments.comment_ID (self-referential)
  • user_id → wp_users.ID (optional, 0 for guests)

Referenced by:

  • wp_commentmeta.comment_id → wp_comments.comment_ID

Comment Status Values

Value Description
1 Approved
0 Pending moderation
spam Marked as spam
trash In trash
post-trashed Comment’s post is trashed

Comment Types

Type Description
comment Standard comment (or empty string)
pingback Automated pingback
trackback Manual trackback
Custom types Via plugins (e.g., reviews)

Common Queries

Get approved comments for a post

SELECT * FROM wp_comments 
WHERE comment_post_ID = 123 
  AND comment_approved = '1'
ORDER BY comment_date ASC;

Get threaded comments

SELECT * FROM wp_comments 
WHERE comment_post_ID = 123 
  AND comment_approved = '1'
ORDER BY comment_parent ASC, comment_date ASC;

Get comment with author info

SELECT c.*, u.display_name as user_display_name
FROM wp_comments c
LEFT JOIN wp_users u ON c.user_id = u.ID
WHERE c.comment_ID = 456;

Get recent comments

SELECT c.*, p.post_title
FROM wp_comments c
JOIN wp_posts p ON c.comment_post_ID = p.ID
WHERE c.comment_approved = '1'
  AND c.comment_type = 'comment'
ORDER BY c.comment_date_gmt DESC
LIMIT 10;

Count comments by status

SELECT 
  comment_approved,
  COUNT(*) as count
FROM wp_comments
GROUP BY comment_approved;

Get comments from specific user

SELECT c.*, p.post_title
FROM wp_comments c
JOIN wp_posts p ON c.comment_post_ID = p.ID
WHERE c.user_id = 1
ORDER BY c.comment_date DESC;

Find spam patterns

SELECT comment_author_email, COUNT(*) as count
FROM wp_comments
WHERE comment_approved = 'spam'
GROUP BY comment_author_email
ORDER BY count DESC
LIMIT 20;

Delete old spam

DELETE FROM wp_comments 
WHERE comment_approved = 'spam' 
  AND comment_date < DATE_SUB(NOW(), INTERVAL 30 DAY);

WordPress API Functions

  • get_comment( $comment_id ) – Get single comment
  • get_comments( $args ) – Get comments matching criteria
  • wp_insert_comment( $commentdata ) – Insert comment
  • wp_update_comment( $commentarr ) – Update comment
  • wp_delete_comment( $comment_id ) – Delete comment
  • wp_set_comment_status( $comment_id, $status ) – Change status
  • get_comment_count( $post_id ) – Count comments for post

Privacy/GDPR Notes

Comments store PII:

  • IP addresses (comment_author_IP)
  • Email addresses (comment_author_email)
  • User agents (comment_agent)

Consider:

  • Anonymizing old comments
  • Providing data export/deletion for commenters
  • Cookie consent for comment forms

More in Database Schema

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