Looper For Etch

What Looper does

Looper helps you select, filter, and order the content your visitors see. Create a list of recent articles, filter media by an Etch Collection, combine taxonomy and metadata conditions, or configure an archive template’s Main Query. The generated PHP stays visible as you work.

You still design the repeated content in Etch with your own elements, components, and dynamic expressions. Looper builds the query and helps you discover its data. It adds no query processing or assets for ordinary visitors.

Choose what repeats

Query posts and public custom post types, Media Library attachments, taxonomy terms, or WordPress users. Main Query supports archive and search templates where the current URL supplies the context. Attachment queries include MIME type, parent post, and attachment-taxonomy filters such as Etch Collections.

Start with count, sorting, status, and offset. Add taxonomy rules using term-name lookup, compare stored metadata, or choose date boundaries with calendar controls. More provides registered Meta Box relationship choices when that extension is available. Advanced includes additional content-selection, author, search, hierarchy, and pagination settings for the selected source.

Nested AND/OR groups express conditions such as articles in either of two categories that also have a rating above a threshold. Friendly labels include the real WordPress argument names in tooltips, and reference links explain the underlying options.

Mark a supported scalar option as an Argument to reuse a definition with different values. For example, $count ?? 6 provides a default of six records while allowing another count when the loop is used. Lists use fixed values.

Copy first. Save when you are ready.

Copy/paste is the default workflow. Copy for Etch copies only the entries inside $query_args = [ ... ];. It omits the PHP opening tag, assignment, and outer brackets while preserving nested arrays. Paste those entries inside Etch’s existing query-arguments array in Loop Manager, then save in Etch when ready. Manual paste does not require a page reload.

You can load a supported existing query, adjust its settings, and copy the revised arguments. Loading changes only Looper’s form. Name and key fields stay hidden in copy-only mode because they are not needed for copying arguments.

Optional direct Etch actions

Enable direct Etch actions in the Settings popover to reveal name/key fields and controls to save a query definition, insert a starter loop element, or apply a query to the exact selected loop element. These controls are off by default. Applying a query preserves the element’s content, variable names, and argument overrides.

Keeping an existing key updates that definition wherever it is referenced; changing the key creates another definition. New keys use camelCase. Most direct actions update the editor without reloading, and you use Etch Save to persist them.

Etch’s public add/update API rejects some valid query shapes. Looper then offers Save changes and reload or Cancel. Confirming saves all current editor changes and the native query, then reloads to refresh Etch’s query list. Insert/apply actions continue afterward for review. Cancel leaves the form intact. Use Copy for Etch instead to avoid the automatic save and reload.

Inspect a sample and copy dynamic keys

Run preview to inspect one matching record, using the argument defaults in the form. Expand its fields and copy an expression such as {item.title}. If your loop uses another alias, replace item with that alias.

Object controls also provide .keys() and .values() expressions, such as {item.meta.keys()}. These native Etch modifiers return arrays of field names or corresponding values for use in Etch.

The sample is not a complete database schema. It reflects the matching record, active field integrations, and Etch’s dynamic-data filters, including your own cleanup filters. Main Query results must be checked in the matching archive or search context.

Optional suggestions in the HTML editor

Enable HTML loop field suggestions in Settings. Inside a loop aliased article, typing {article. lists available sample fields. Object choices drill down into nested data, and nested loops use the aliases available at that location. Objects also offer keys() and values().

Use arrow keys to navigate, Enter to insert, and Escape to dismiss. Both Settings preferences belong to your user on the current site and take effect without saving or reloading the document. They are off by default.

Autocomplete is experimental and currently limited to the HTML editor. It uses one sample, so missing fields may not appear. Required arguments must be available, and Main Query suggestions are not supported yet. Looper steps aside when a native or Etch Enhancer completion menu is visible. You can disable suggestions independently of the query builder.

Get started

1. Install the release ZIP, activate Looper, and open its button in Etch’s left toolbar.
2. Choose a source and content type, or load an existing supported query.
3. Configure the options and filters, inspect the PHP, and run a sample preview.
4. Use Copy for Etch, paste inside the existing query-arguments array, and save in Etch when ready.

Open Settings for optional HTML suggestions or direct Etch actions. Other tools in Etch’s left toolbar remain available, and selecting one closes Looper.

Good to know

Do I need to keep Looper active?

Saved queries are native Etch definitions and continue working if you deactivate or uninstall Looper. Your content, layouts, queries, and inserted native expressions stay in place. You lose Looper’s builder, sample preview, dynamic-key copying tools, and optional autocomplete.

Etch and any plugins that supply fields, galleries, or relationships still require their own features. When upgrading older Looper versions, open WordPress admin or Etch once with version 0.9.0 or later active to convert older compatibility definitions. Looper keeps a backup; resolve any migration warning before removing it.

Can it edit every Etch loop?

The query builder loads supported WordPress definitions. JSON/data-array loops, custom PHP callbacks, and queries returning only IDs or counts remain outside the visual query builder. Unsupported definitions are not silently rewritten.

What about ACF, ACPT, and Meta Box?

Meta filters work with stored keys and values, and the sample shows data exposed by Etch and its integrations. Each provider has its own storage and relationship behavior. The registered relationship-ID chooser uses Meta Box Relationships; it doesn’t convert ACF or ACPT relationships into Meta Box queries.

Does it work across a multisite network?

Content, saved queries, and preferences use the current site. This release excludes cross-site queries and a network-wide query library. A full multisite/Etch compatibility matrix remains pending.

Requirements and updates

Requires WordPress 7.1+, PHP 8.3+, and Etch with its public Loop API. Tested with Etch 1.7.1. Access requires administrator permissions or manage_options; user previews additionally require list_users. You need field, gallery, and relationship providers only for features that use them.

Stable GitHub releases appear in the normal WordPress plugin-update interface. Automatic updates remain your choice, and installed sites need no GitHub token. Download the asset named looper-for-etch.zip; GitHub’s separate source archives are for development.

Resources

• Download the latest Looper ZIP
• Source and documentation · Questions and issues
• Autocomplete behavior and limits · Native queries and deactivation tests
• Etch basic loops · Arguments and defaults
• Attachment loops · Main Query
• Etch keys(), values(), and other modifiers
• WordPress query parameters
• Meta comparisons · Date-query parameters