Monthchunks
Concisely display monthly archives by year with links to each month.
Use with caution
Monthchunks works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 80+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 9 months ago, and scores 47/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (80+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.9 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Monthchunks stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| archive | >100 |
| archives | >100 |
| sidebar | >100 |
| template tag | >100 |
| wp_get_archives | #2 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews
About Monthchunks
From the official readme · v3.1.2Description
Display monthly archives by year with links to each month in the following compact format:
2012
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2011
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
2010
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Serves as a drop in replacement for wp_get_archives( array( 'type' => 'monthly' ) );.
If you’re interested in contributing to the code behind this plugin, it’s also hosted on GitHub:
https://github.com/justincwatt/wp-monthchunks
Installation
- Extract the zip file, drop the contents in your wp-content/plugins/ directory, and then activate from the Plugins page.
- Edit your theme file (e.g. sidebar.php) and replace the WordPress template tag
wp_get_archives();withmonthchunks(); - You can also add it as a widget to any sidebar
Frequently asked questions
How do I make the years display in ascending order (2010, 2011, 2012…) instead of descending (the default)?
The monthchunks function takes two optional parameters and the first is year_order, which accepts two string values: "descending" or "ascending".
Can I make months display in a format other than the default month number (1, 2, 3…)?
The monthchunks function takes two optional parameters and the second is month_format, which accepts three string values: "numeric", "alpha", or "abbreviation". The “alpha” format displays the first letter of the month (e.g. J, F, M…) which may not make sense in all languages. The “abbreviation” format displays the language-specific abbreviation for the month, e.g. (Jan, Feb, Mar…).
Changelog
Improved performance of SQL queries
3.1.1
- Fix text domain
3.1
- Changed l10n to adjust to new plugin translation process
** Updated text-domain
3.0.4
- Fix PHP Notice, incorrectly using variable instead of instance field. (thanks Birgir Erlendsson – @birgire)
3.0.3
- Improve class constructor
3.0.2
- Fix backwards compatibility calls to monthchunks
3.0.1
- Fix admin area issue
Screenshots
For developers
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Best Monthchunks alternatives
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FAQ
Monthchunks: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 9, 2026
Is Monthchunks free?
Yes. Monthchunks is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Monthchunks safe to use in 2026?
Monthchunks works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 80+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 9 months ago, and scores 47/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Monthchunks?
Monthchunks is active on 80+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 4,300 times since it launched in September 2012. It was downloaded 92 times in the last 30 days.
Does Monthchunks work with WordPress 7.1?
Monthchunks is officially tested up to WordPress 6.9.10, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Monthchunks last updated?
The latest version, 3.1.2, was released on January 4, 2026 (9 months ago).
Who makes Monthchunks?
Monthchunks is developed and maintained by Justin Watt.
What are the best alternatives to Monthchunks?
The most popular alternatives to Monthchunks are Jetpack VaultPress (10K+ installs), Zippy (8K+ installs) and Posts List (7K+ installs).
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