Dreamy Tags
WordPress plugin
An open-source PHP and Gutenberg plugin that shows tag clouds filtered by category and tag, with exclusion rules and minimum-use thresholds.
Executive summary
Why it exists
A WordPress tag cloud normally lists every tag. On a site with many topics, I wanted a cloud of only the tags that appear within a chosen category or tag.
Outcome
Listed in the WordPress Plugin Directory, so anyone can install it from Plugins, Add New.
My role
Author and maintainer.
Technical overview
How it works
A plugin published as a Block Editor block, a widget, and a shortcode. Options include the categories a post must belong to, whether child categories count, the tags a post must have, tags to exclude, auto-exclusion of the filter tags themselves, and a minimum number of appearances before a tag shows. Block settings map directly to the shortcode options.
Hard parts
Performance on larger sites. The block scans at most 2000 posts by default, and developers can change that with the dreamy_tags_max_posts filter.