[XenCustomize] Hashtags 2.3.0

XenCustomize Hashtags for XenForo 2.3​

Add a complete hashtag discovery system to your XenForo community.

XenCustomize Hashtags brings a full hashtag layer to XenForo 2.3, where hashtags are not included as a built-in core feature. It detects hashtags in supported content, indexes their usage, creates public hashtag pages, and helps members discover active discussions through trending, popular, recent, and grouped hashtag views.

It is built for forum owners who want a proper hashtag experience inside XenForo: searchable, clickable, watchable, organized, and useful for content discovery.

Key benefits​

• Add hashtag functionality that XenForo does not provide by default
• Help members discover active topics faster
• Give hashtags clean public landing pages
• Show trending, popular, and recent hashtags
• Keep hashtag links and pages feeling native to XenForo
• Organize hashtags with Admin CP tools
• Support watch notifications for followed hashtags
• Improve content discovery without changing XenForo core files

Main features​

XF-native hashtag detection​

XenCustomize Hashtags can detect hashtags such as #xenforo, #gaming, #SEO, and #XenCustomize in supported XenForo content.

• Supports letters, numbers, and underscores
• Stores hashtags in a normalized lowercase format
• Keeps a cleaner display title for nicer public output
• Avoids duplicate counting of the same hashtag in the same content item
• Includes protections against common false positives such as numeric-only hashtags and color-code style values

Automatic hashtag linking​

When enabled, hashtags in supported content are automatically linked to their public hashtag pages.

• #XenForo links to the matching hashtag page
• Display-case URLs are supported for prettier links
• Lowercase and mixed-case URLs resolve to the same hashtag
• Can be enabled or disabled from Admin CP options

Hashtag autocomplete​

Members can get hashtag suggestions while typing # in supported editors.

• Suggests existing hashtags after typing # plus at least one character
• Uses display-case titles where available
• Avoids excluded hashtags
• Respects the user permission to use hashtags
• Keeps suggestions limited for speed

Trending hashtag system​

The add-on tracks recent hashtag activity and calculates trending scores using useful activity signals.

• Trending periods: now, today, and week
• Uses recent activity, unique users, content count, and spam-style repetition checks
• Trending scores can be rebuilt by cron or manually from the Admin CP
• Minimum trending uses and display limits are configurable

Hashtags discovery page​

The public /hashtags/ page gives members a central place to browse hashtag activity.

• Modern hero header
• Public navigation for easy access from the main site navigation
• Large hashtag search box with autocomplete
• Featured trending hashtags
• Popular hashtags ranking list
• Most recent hashtag activity list
• Grouped hashtag discovery section when hashtag groups are available
• Responsive layout for desktop, tablet, and mobile

Hashtag view pages​

Each hashtag gets a dedicated public page at URLs such as:
/hashtag/XenCustomize

• Clean hero header with hashtag title and group badge
• Stats for uses, contributors, content types, and score
• Related hashtags from the same group
• Contributor summary with overlay
• Watch / unwatch controls
• XenForo share tooltip support
• Content tabs for recent content, threads, posts, and profile posts when available
• Sort links for newest and popular results
• Feed-style content cards with avatar, title, snippet, meta details, bookmark, reactions, report link, and content type icon
• Pagination with configurable results per page

Watch hashtags​

Members can watch hashtags and receive notifications when new visible content uses a watched hashtag.

• Watch or unwatch directly from the hashtag page
• Alert notifications for watched hashtag activity
• Optional email notifications
• Dedicated email templates
• Uses XenForo-style overlay controls

Contributor insights​

Hashtag pages can show who is contributing to a hashtag.

• Compact contributor summary in the hashtag hero
• Overlay to view all contributors
• Shows each contributor with their contribution count
• Dedicated permission to control access to the contributor details

Hashtag groups​

Admins can organize hashtags into groups to make discovery easier.

• Create, edit, and delete hashtag groups from the Admin CP
• Assign a hashtag group while editing a hashtag
• Batch update hashtag groups
• Show group badges on hashtag pages
• Add optional group icons using Font Awesome or uploaded images
• Display group icons/images on grouped discovery cards
• Show related hashtags from the same group on hashtag pages
• Show grouped hashtag discovery blocks on the hashtags index page

Admin CP management​

XenCustomize Hashtags includes a dedicated Admin CP area for managing hashtag data.

• Hashtag list with search, sorting, status, score, uses, and last activity
• View hashtag details and indexed content
• Open public hashtag pages quickly from Admin CP
• Exclude or include hashtags
• Delete individual hashtags with confirmation
• Edit hashtag display title and group
• Manage hashtag groups, including optional Font Awesome icons or uploaded group images
• Batch update hashtags using multiple criteria
• Clean up unwanted hashtag data

Batch update and cleanup tools​

Useful tools are included for large forums and older communities where historic content may contain false positives.

• Batch search hashtags by text, status, use count, score, group, and common cleanup patterns
• Exclude, include, assign group, or delete matched hashtags
• Delete unused hashtags
• Detect numeric-only hashtags such as #1 or #11
• Detect hex-color style hashtags such as #ff0000
• Rebuild hashtag content index
• Recount hashtag usage
• Rebuild trending scores

Widgets​

Add hashtag discovery widgets to your site using XenForo’s widget system.

• Trending hashtags widget
• Popular hashtags widget
• Recent hashtags widget
• Configurable display limits
• Trending period support where applicable

Admin options​

• Enable or disable the add-on
• Enable automatic hashtag linking
• Enable profile post support
• Enable widgets
• Minimum uses before trending
• Trending display limit
• Excluded forums
• Excluded hashtags
• Hashtag page results per page
• Rebuild batch size

Permissions​

• View hashtags
• View hashtag pages
• Use hashtags
• View hashtag contributors
• Manage hashtags

Specifications​

• XenForo compatibility: XenForo 2.3.x
• Required dependency: XenCustomize Core Library, included free for customers
• Public navigation support: hashtags index and hashtag view pages
• Public index route: /hashtags/
• Public hashtag route: /hashtag/{hashtag}
• Supported indexed content: threads, posts, and optional profile posts
• Widgets included: trending, popular, recent
• Cron support: trending score rebuild
• Rebuild tools: content index, usage counts, trending scores

License setup​

After installation, go to the add-on options and open the License options tab to enter your license key. If you have a branding-free license key, you may enter it there as well to remove branding.

License verification may use XenCustomize.com with local caching. Normal installation and uninstallation do not depend on our server being available. An expired license does not disable normal use of the add-on, but an active eligible license is required for official support and access to new downloads or updates released after the license expires.

Use cases​

• Community sites that want better topic discovery
• Forums with active discussions around recurring topics
• Support communities where members use product, bug, or feature hashtags
• Gaming, tech, entertainment, sports, and fan communities
• Content-heavy forums that want a modern discovery hub
• Sites that want a simple Twitter/X-style hashtag experience inside XenForo

Notes and limitations​

• This add-on is designed for XenForo 2.3.x.
• This add-on requires XenCustomize Core Library (Free).
• Hashtag indexing currently supports threads, posts, and optional profile posts.
• Other content types such as Resource Manager, Media Gallery, or custom content are not indexed in this initial release unless supported later.
• Automatic linking and editor autocomplete are limited to supported content areas to avoid confusing users.
• Existing content should be rebuilt from the Admin CP tools if you want historic hashtag data indexed.
• Large forums should run rebuild tools in sensible batches.

A practical hashtag system for XenForo communities​

XenCustomize Hashtags gives XenForo communities a complete, XF-native way to use hashtags for content discovery, topic browsing, and member engagement.

If you want hashtag pages, trending discovery, grouped hashtags, watch notifications, and clean Admin CP management in one focused add-on, XenCustomize Hashtags gives you a solid foundation to build on.

Screenshots​

Admin Options


License setup


User group permissions


Hashtag view page example


Hashtag view page example


Hashtag watch alerts example


Hashtags index page - Search hashtags


Hashtags index page - Popular and Most recent Hashtags blocks


Hashtags index page - Trending hashtags blocks


Hashtags index page - Grouped hashtags


Hashtags index page example


Hashtag widgets


Hashtag widgets example


Trending hashtag widget options


Popular/recent hashtag widget options


Admin CP - Manage hashtags


Admin CP - Batch update hashtags


Admin CP - Batch update hashtags


Admin CP - Hashtag groups


Admin CP - Edit hashtag group


Cron entry