Customize the list of modules available in Jetpack

Jeffro published an interesting post on WPTavern yesterday: 15+ Plugins To Get Jetpack Functionality Without Using Jetpack.

Knowing me, you won’t be surprised that I immediately started thinking of a few alternatives. :) So here it comes, 3 other ways to customize the list of Jetpack modules, if you cannot use or aren’t interested in everything Jetpack has to offer.

If you look under the hood, you’ll notice that Jetpack offers a great number of filters (225 as of today) allowing you to customize each module to fit your needs. Some of these filters were created to give you more control over the modules and their activation. Here are a few examples.

1. Use Jetpack without connecting it to your WordPress.com account

You may be working in a local or protected environment, or you may not want to create a WordPress.com account. It doesn’t mean that you can’t use Jetpack, though. You can activate the development mode to use all the Jetpack features that do not require a connection to WordPress.com servers.

To do so, add this line to your site’s wp-config.php file:

define( 'JETPACK_DEV_DEBUG', true);

You can also use the jetpack_offline_mode filter in a plugin:

add_filter( 'jetpack_offline_mode', '__return_true' );

This removes the need to use other plugins like Slim Jetpack.

2. Choose which modules are activated by default

The Jetpack menu includes options to activate and deactivate the modules you’re interested in. But when doing client work, you might have a list of the modules you want to activate and deactivate for each one of your clients. In such cases, why not use the jetpack_get_default_modules filter in a functionality plugin? It will allow you to predefine which Jetpack modules should be activated by default, thus saving you some precious time when setting up new sites for your clients.

If you’re a plugin developer, this filter is also a great way to automatically deactivate a specific Jetpack module when your plugin is activated.

In the following example, only the Stats module will be activated by default:

add_filter(
    'jetpack_get_default_modules',
    function () {
        return array( 'stats' );
    }
);

You could also choose to deactivate all modules by default like so:

add_filter( 'jetpack_get_default_modules', '__return_empty_array' );

3. Do not activate and do not even display a module in the Jetpack menu

The above tip allows you to change the default activation behaviour, but users will still be able to activate or deactivate the module later on, by going to the Jetpack menu in their dashboard.

What if you don’t want your clients to enable a specific module? You can use the jetpack_get_available_modules filter to hide that module, like so:

function jeherve_kill_stats( $modules, $min_version, $max_version ) {
    unset( $modules['stats'] );
    return $modules;
}
add_filter( 'jetpack_get_available_modules', 'jeherve_kill_stats', 20, 3 );

And that’s it. The Stats module is now deactivated, and you won’t even be able to see the module card and activate the module back:

You could also use this filter to disable all modules but the one or two you want your clients to be using:

function jeherve_only_stats( $modules, $min_version, $max_version ) {
    $return = array();
    $return['stats'] = $modules['stats'];
    return $return;
}
add_filter( 'jetpack_get_available_modules', 'jeherve_only_stats', 20, 3 );

That’s a bit drastic, since your clients won’t be able to try new Jetpack features when we release them. But that removes the need for separate plugins like Jetpack Sharing or Jetpack Widget Visibility. You get to enforce the use of specific modules without having to use separate plugins where you do not know when the plugin author will port Jetpack updates to their own plugin.

I hope some of these tips prove helpful to some of you. You can use these snippets in a functionality plugin.

If you think of a filter that would help you with your work, do not hesitate to contact us, post in the forums, or submit a patch. We’ll be there to see if such a filter already exists, or if we can add it to Jetpack for you.