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Schema: Members, Profiles, and the Social Graph

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This page documents the bn_* tables that store member profiles, the extensible profile-field system, member types/labels, and the directional/bilateral social-graph relationships (follows, connections, blocks). All tables are created in BuddyNext\Core\Installer::schema() via dbDelta(). Column types, defaults, and indexes below are read directly from that method.

A member profile rendered from the bn_* profile, profile-field, and member-type tables on this page

The member directory built from the same profile and social-graph schema

Overview / Contract

The rules that shaped these tables (from the Scale-Contract):

  • Denormalized counters. Profile-group/field membership is resolved by join, but member-type and category surfaces keep their own ordering columns (sort_order) so directory queries never sort by a joined table.
  • Composite covering indexes for the hot path. The social-graph tables lead every KEY with the column the query filters on first (for example following (following_id, status) so a "who follows me, approved only" lookup is index-only).
  • Natural composite primary keys where a row is a unique pair. bn_follows, bn_blocks, and bn_member_type_assignments use the participant pair as the key, which makes the relationship itself the uniqueness constraint - no surrogate id needed, and an idempotent INSERT IGNORE is the create path.
  • Profile values are a tall EAV table. One row per user/field/repeater-entry, keyed by (user_id, field_id, entry_index), so a profile with 5 filled fields is 5 rows and a repeater group with 3 work entries is 3 rows per field.

Social-graph relationship model at a glance:

Relationship Table Shape Reciprocal?
Follow bn_follows Directional (follower -> following) No - A following B does not imply B follows A
Connection bn_connections Bilateral (request -> accept) Yes - one accepted row represents a mutual link between two members
Block / Mute / Restrict bn_blocks Directional, typed No - the type column distinguishes block, mute, and restrict

bn_follows

Directional follow graph. A row means follower_id follows following_id. The relationship is one-way: a reciprocal follow is a second, separate row. When follow approval is enabled, a new follow lands as pending and is promoted to approved on accept.

Column Type Notes
follower_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL The member doing the following. Part of the primary key.
following_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL The member being followed. Part of the primary key.
status ENUM('approved','pending') NOT NULL DEFAULT 'approved' pending only when the target requires follow approval; otherwise approved on insert.
created_at DATETIME NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP When the follow was created.

Indexes:

  • PRIMARY KEY (follower_id, following_id) - the relationship pair is the uniqueness constraint; re-following is a no-op via INSERT IGNORE.
  • KEY following (following_id, status) - "who follows this member" / follower-count lookups.
  • KEY pending_inbox (following_id, status, created_at) - the pending follow-request inbox, ordered by recency.

Relationships: follower_id and following_id both reference wp_users.ID. There is no foreign key; cleanup on user deletion is handled in application code.

bn_connections

Bilateral connection graph (the LinkedIn-style mutual relationship). One row per requester/recipient pair tracks the request through its lifecycle. An accepted row represents a mutual connection that applies in both directions - there is no second mirror row.

Column Type Notes
id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT Primary key.
requester_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL The member who sent the connection request.
recipient_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL The member who received the request.
status ENUM('pending','accepted','declined','withdrawn') NOT NULL DEFAULT 'pending' Lifecycle: pending on request, then accepted / declined by the recipient, or withdrawn by the requester.
note VARCHAR(280) NOT NULL DEFAULT '' Optional message attached to the request (opt-in; empty by default).
created_at DATETIME NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP When the request was created.

Indexes:

  • PRIMARY KEY (id).
  • UNIQUE KEY pair (requester_id, recipient_id) - one request row per ordered pair, preventing duplicate requests.
  • KEY recipient_lookup (recipient_id) - incoming requests for a member.
  • KEY recipient_status (recipient_id, status) - "my pending incoming requests".
  • KEY requester_status (requester_id, status) - "my pending outgoing requests".

Relationships: requester_id and recipient_id reference wp_users.ID. Because the table is bilateral, a "my connections" query reads rows where the current user is either the requester or the recipient and status = 'accepted'.

Note: The pair unique key is ordered, so it does not by itself prevent A->B and B->A request rows existing simultaneously. The service layer guards against an inverse pending request when one already exists.

bn_blocks

Directional moderation relationship covering block, mute, and restrict in one table. A row means blocker_id has applied a relationship of type against blocked_id. This is how the spec models all three "stop seeing / stop being seen by" controls: the type ENUM is the discriminator, not three separate tables.

Column Type Notes
blocker_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL The member applying the block/mute/restrict. Part of the primary key.
blocked_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL The target member. Part of the primary key.
type ENUM('block','mute','restrict') NOT NULL DEFAULT 'block' block = full two-way cut-off, mute = hide their content from me, restrict = limited interaction. Default block.
created_at DATETIME NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP When the relationship was created.

Indexes:

  • PRIMARY KEY (blocker_id, blocked_id) - one relationship row per pair. Changing type updates the row in place.
  • KEY blocked_type (blocked_id, type) - "who has blocked/muted me" (used by send-DM and visibility checks; mvs_can_send_message consults this table).
  • KEY blocker_type (blocker_id, type) - "my block list", filtered by type.

Relationships: blocker_id and blocked_id reference wp_users.ID. The pair primary key means a member can hold exactly one relationship type against another member at a time.

Verified: block, mute, and restrict are a single ENUM column on bn_blocks, not separate tables. There is no bn_mutes or bn_restrictions table in the installer.

bn_presence

Indexed online-presence store. One row per member holding the last-active UNIX timestamp, so the member-directory "online" filter/sort and the online-count surfaces run against an indexed integer column instead of scanning wp_usermeta with a non-sargable CAST(meta_value). Presence is written (throttled) by BuddyNext\Realtime\PresenceService and read by the member directory (Admin\Members, Insights).

Column Type Notes
user_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL The member. References wp_users.ID. Primary key.
last_active INT(10) UNSIGNED NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 Last-active time as a UNIX timestamp.

Indexes:

  • PRIMARY KEY (user_id) - one presence row per member; the upsert key.
  • KEY last_active (last_active) - sargable range scans for "online in the last N minutes" filters and counts.

Relationships: user_id references wp_users.ID. This is a derived/live-state store, not authoritative content - PresenceService::clear_on_logout() deletes the row on logout and the value is refreshed (throttled) on activity.

bn_member_types

Member-type (editorial label) registry - the directory's "Contributor / Staff / ..." badges. Shares its colour/icon/visibility columns with bn_space_categories so the unified taxonomy editor renders both the same way. Note the id column is INT UNSIGNED, narrower than the BIGINT used by most other tables.

Column Type Notes
id INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT Primary key.
slug VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL URL/filter-safe identifier. Unique.
name VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL Display label.
description TEXT DEFAULT NULL Optional description.
color VARCHAR(7) NOT NULL DEFAULT '#0073aa' Badge background hex.
text_color VARCHAR(7) NOT NULL DEFAULT '#ffffff' Badge text hex.
icon_svg MEDIUMTEXT DEFAULT NULL Optional inline SVG for the badge.
sort_order SMALLINT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 Directory/filter ordering.
show_in_dir TINYINT(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 1 Whether the type appears as a directory filter.
self_select TINYINT(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 Whether members may assign this type to themselves.
created_at DATETIME NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP When the type was created.

Indexes:

  • PRIMARY KEY (id).
  • UNIQUE KEY uq_slug (slug).
  • KEY idx_sort (sort_order).

Relationships: referenced by bn_member_type_assignments.type_id. Two starter types (contributor, staff) are seeded on a fresh install only.

bn_member_type_assignments

Join table linking members to the member types they hold. A member may hold more than one type; each user/type pairing is one row.

Column Type Notes
id INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT Primary key.
user_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL The member. References wp_users.ID.
type_id INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL The member type. References bn_member_types.id.
assigned_by BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 Admin/moderator who assigned it; 0 for self-select.
assigned_at DATETIME NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP When the assignment was made.

Indexes:

  • PRIMARY KEY (id).
  • UNIQUE KEY uq_user_type (user_id, type_id) - prevents the same type being assigned twice to one member.
  • KEY idx_user_id (user_id) - "this member's types".
  • KEY idx_type_id (type_id) - "members of this type" (directory filter).

Relationships: user_id -> wp_users.ID, type_id -> bn_member_types.id. Assignment and removal fire buddynext_member_type_assigned / buddynext_member_type_removed.

bn_profile_groups

Top-level grouping for profile fields (for example "Basic Info", "Work Experience"). A group is either flat (one set of values per member) or repeater (member can add multiple entries, like several jobs). Five system groups are seeded on install.

Column Type Notes
id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT Primary key.
group_key VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL Stable machine key (for example basic_info). Unique.
label VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL Display label.
type ENUM('flat','repeater') NOT NULL DEFAULT 'flat' repeater groups allow multiple entries per member.
visibility ENUM('public','members','followers','connections','private') NOT NULL DEFAULT 'public' Default visibility for fields in the group.
is_system TINYINT(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 1 for the built-in seeded groups.
sort_order INT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 Display ordering.
type_restriction VARCHAR(100) DEFAULT NULL Optional member-type slug limiting which members see/fill the group.

Indexes:

  • PRIMARY KEY (id).
  • UNIQUE KEY group_key (group_key).
  • KEY type_res (type_restriction) - filter groups shown for a given member type.

Relationships: referenced by bn_profile_fields.group_id. Seeded groups: basic_info, social_links (flat), work_experience, education (repeater), skills (flat).

bn_profile_fields

Individual fields within a group. Each field has a data type, optional select options (JSON), and per-field visibility/searchability/registration flags.

Column Type Notes
id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT Primary key.
group_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL Owning group. References bn_profile_groups.id.
field_key VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL Stable machine key (for example headline). Unique.
label VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL Display label.
type VARCHAR(32) NOT NULL DEFAULT 'text' Field type: text, textarea, url, date, number, boolean, etc.
options JSON DEFAULT NULL Choices for select-style fields.
description VARCHAR(255) DEFAULT NULL Optional help/description text shown under the field.
placeholder VARCHAR(255) DEFAULT NULL Optional placeholder text for the input.
is_required TINYINT(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 Whether the field must be filled.
is_searchable TINYINT(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 Whether values feed the member directory search.
show_on_register TINYINT(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 Whether the field appears on the registration form.
is_system TINYINT(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 1 for built-in seeded fields.
visibility ENUM('public','members','followers','connections','private') NOT NULL DEFAULT 'public' Field-level visibility override.
sort_order INT NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 Display ordering within the group.

Indexes:

  • PRIMARY KEY (id).
  • UNIQUE KEY field_key (field_key).
  • KEY group_idx (group_id) - all fields in a group.

Relationships: group_id -> bn_profile_groups.id; referenced by bn_profile_values.field_id.

bn_profile_values

The actual stored profile data - a tall EAV table with one row per member, per field, per repeater entry. For a flat field entry_index is 0; for a repeater each added entry increments the index.

Column Type Notes
id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT Primary key.
user_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL The member. References wp_users.ID.
field_id BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED NOT NULL The field. References bn_profile_fields.id.
entry_index SMALLINT UNSIGNED NOT NULL DEFAULT 0 Repeater-entry index; 0 for flat fields.
value LONGTEXT DEFAULT NULL The stored value (serialized as needed by the field type).
entry_visibility ENUM('public','members','followers','connections','private') DEFAULT NULL Optional per-entry visibility override; NULL inherits the field default.

Indexes:

  • PRIMARY KEY (id).
  • UNIQUE KEY user_field_entry (user_id, field_id, entry_index) - one value per member/field/entry; the upsert key.
  • KEY field_idx (field_id) - directory queries that filter on a searchable field.
  • KEY user_idx (user_id) - load a member's full profile.
  • KEY field_value (field_id, value(20)) - prefix-indexed value lookups for directory filters on a specific field.

Relationships: user_id -> wp_users.ID, field_id -> bn_profile_fields.id. A member's complete profile is the set of value rows joined back to fields and groups.

Denormalized social-graph counters (usermeta)

Follower, following, and connection totals are denormalized into wp_usermeta so a profile header or directory card never runs COUNT(*) against the edge tables. The counters are maintained by BuddyNext\Core\CounterService and read back by the service layer (FollowService::follower_count() / following_count(), ConnectionService::connection_count()).

Usermeta key Holds Counts
bn_follower_count Users following this member bn_follows rows where following_id = user AND status = 'approved'
bn_following_count Users this member follows bn_follows rows where follower_id = user AND status = 'approved'
bn_connection_count Accepted connections bn_connections rows where the user is requester or recipient AND status = 'accepted'

CounterService methods:

  • adjust_user_counter( int $user_id, string $meta_key, int $delta ) - the O(1) write path used by every follow/connection change. A single clamped UPDATE ... GREATEST(0, ...) with no re-count of the edge table. It is a no-op when the row is absent (the read path lazy-recounts a missing key), then busts the per-user meta cache.
  • recount_follow_counts( int $user_id ) / recount_connection_counts( int $user_id ) - authoritative per-user recount from the edge tables (the lazy-recount + repair path).
  • recount_all_follow_counts() / recount_all_connection_counts() - set-based drift self-heal for every user with a counter row, run from the daily recount job. Each UPDATE ... LEFT JOIN carries a WHERE meta_value <> COALESCE(...) guard so only genuinely-drifted rows are written.

Follow counts are approved-only. A pending follow to a private account is not a follower yet, so the denormalized store and the FollowService reads both filter status = 'approved'. Keep that filter when extending follow counting, or the displayed total will jump on every still-pending request.

Member search index

A member is mirrored into the unified bn_search_index table (one row per object, object_type = 'user') by ProfileService::index_user( int $user_id ). The indexed content is the member's display_name (as the title) plus the concatenation of:

  • the headline (bn_headline usermeta),
  • the bio (bn_field_bio usermeta), and
  • the public, searchable extended-profile field mirrors returned by MemberDirectoryService::searchable_mirror_keys().

Member-directory and global search then match against this row through the shared FULLTEXT primitive SearchService::match_member_ids( string $term, int $limit = 500 ), which uses the ft_search FULLTEXT index when present and falls back to LIKE otherwise, returning the matching object_id (user) list. Reuse match_member_ids() rather than writing your own query when you need a "members matching this term" id set.

Member deletion is a GDPR hard-delete

Deleting a member runs BuddyNext\Profile\MemberCleanupService::purge_user_relations( int $user_id, string $context = 'delete' ). As well as removing the member's social-graph rows, counters, and profile values, it hard-deletes the posts and comments they authored (standard GDPR erasure - there is no soft-delete or reassign-to-tombstone path). It then fires:

do_action( 'buddynext_purge_user_data', int $user_id, string $context );

so addons that store their own per-user rows can clean up in the same pass. The $context ('delete' or the erasure context) is passed through for addon information only - both contexts hard-delete. This is the canonical cleanup seam; hook it instead of deleted_user when your data is BuddyNext-scoped.

Registering a member field from code

bn_profile_fields / bn_profile_values are the storage for admin-created fields. To add an extended-profile field from code (for example an integration adding one field), call the Free helper:

buddynext_register_member_field( string $key, array $args = [] );

It is the member-side companion to buddynext_register_space_field() and shares its ( $key, $args ) shape. The field surfaces on the profile, the profile edit UI, and GET /users/{id}/profile, and - because a programmatic field has no bn_profile_fields row - its submitted value is stored to bn_field_{key} usermeta (not bn_profile_values). The $args['type'] must be one of the Free field types; the "File upload" (file) type is Pro-only and is not registered in Free. See the Extending cookbook for a worked recipe.

Notes / gotchas

  • ID width differs. bn_member_types and bn_member_type_assignments use INT UNSIGNED ids; every other table here uses BIGINT(20) UNSIGNED. Match the column type when joining or storing references.
  • No foreign keys. All cross-table references are by id only; integrity and cascade-on-delete live in the service layer, not the schema.
  • Idempotent creates. The pair-keyed tables (bn_follows, bn_blocks, bn_member_type_assignments) rely on their composite/unique keys so re-running a create is a safe INSERT IGNORE.
  • Seeding is fresh-install only for starter member types and the five system profile groups/fields, so deleting them does not bring them back on the next upgrade.
  • Visibility cascades from group -> field -> entry, with each lower level able to override (bn_profile_values.entry_visibility = NULL inherits upward).