Hyperthings Event Importer for Meetup

What Pro Adds

Hyperthings Event Importer for Meetup - Pro is a paid add-on for the free WordPress plugin. It does not replace the free plugin; it extends the same admin screens and import engine when the free plugin is installed and active.

Area	Free plugin	Pro add-on
Meetup groups	One configured active group.	Multiple saved groups, an active group selector, per-group import status, and per-group schema overrides.
Imports	Manual group imports for the configured group.	Import one group, all configured groups, past and future events, or individual event URLs/IDs.
Automation	Manual imports only.	Scheduled imports for all configured groups using WordPress cron.
Meetup access	Public Meetup pages only.	Optional Chrome extension connector can send an authenticated Meetup browser session to WordPress.
Schema	Global Event schema settings and base Event JSON-LD.	Global Pro defaults plus per-group and per-event organizer, performer, and offer overrides.
Updates	Public/free plugin update flow.	Private Pro updates from the configured GitLab repository while update access is active.
Multisite	Normal site-level plugin behavior.	Network-aware GitLab update settings in Network Admin.

The Pro add-on is separate from Meetup.com Pro. It is a Hyperthings WordPress add-on and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or officially connected to Meetup LLC or meetup.com.

Requirements

WordPress 6.0 or newer.
PHP 7.4 or newer.
The free HT Event Importer for Meetup plugin installed and active.
A Pro license key for Pro workflows and update access.
Outbound HTTPS access from WordPress to the license server, meetup.com, and the configured GitLab repository when private updates are used.
ZipArchive on the server if administrators need to download the bundled Chrome extension ZIP from WordPress.
Plugin Update Checker v5.7 installed at vendor/plugin-update-checker/plugin-update-checker.php for private GitLab updates.

If the free plugin is inactive, Pro shows an admin notice and does not register its Pro workflows. Activate the free plugin first.

Installation

Install and activate the free HT Event Importer for Meetup plugin.
Upload the hyperthings-event-importer-for-meetup-pro folder to /wp-content/plugins/.
Activate Hyperthings Event Importer for Meetup - Pro from the WordPress Plugins screen.
Open HT Event Importer for Meetup > Pro License.
Paste the license key, save, and confirm the license status.
Open HT Event Importer for Meetup > Settings to configure scheduled imports, Pro schema defaults, and the Chrome connector.
Open HT Event Importer for Meetup > Pro Groups to add, test, resolve, and manage additional Meetup groups.

Do not deactivate the free plugin after enabling Pro. Pro depends on the free plugin classes, storage, event post type, settings form, importer, shortcode, widget, and admin screens.

License Activation

Licensing is managed from HT Event Importer for Meetup > Pro License. Saving a key validates it against the configured license endpoint with the product key ht-meetup-importer-pro, the site URL, the Pro plugin version, and the current WordPress version.

Status	Meaning	Effect
`valid`	The key is active and update access is available.	Pro workflows and Pro updates are enabled.
`stale`	The key is recognized, but update access is not current.	Installed Pro workflows remain enabled locally; Pro updates are unavailable until renewal.
`invalid`	The key is missing, incorrect, expired beyond allowed use, or cannot be validated for this product/site.	Pro-only workflows are not registered.

Use Test connectivity on the Pro License page when saving a key fails or the license server status is uncertain. If validation temporarily fails but the same key was previously valid or stale, the plugin preserves the previous working status and stores the latest validation error for review.

The yearly Pro fee controls update access. A stale license does not remove already installed Pro workflows, but it stops future Pro updates and compatibility fixes until renewal.

Private GitLab Updates

Pro updates are delivered through WordPress admin with Plugin Update Checker and the private GitLab repository. The default repository URL is https://gitlab.hyperthings.es/hyperthings/meetup-event-importer, the default plugin path is hyperthings-event-importer-for-meetup-pro, and the branch is main.

Open HT Event Importer for Meetup > Pro License on a single-site install, or Network Admin > Settings > Meetup Pro GitLab Updates on multisite.
Enter the GitLab repository URL.
Enter the GitLab plugin path if the plugin lives in a subdirectory.
Enter a private token with at least Reporter access and the read_api and read_repository scopes.
Save the GitLab settings.
Click Test GitLab updates and review the result.

Test result	What it means
Success with a remote version	WordPress can read the `main` branch and the Pro plugin file.
Can read branch but not plugin file	Check the configured plugin path, the main plugin filename, and repository file API permissions.
Cannot read branch	Check repository URL, branch name, token role, token scopes, and network access.
Plugin Update Checker missing	Install the dependency at `vendor/plugin-update-checker/plugin-update-checker.php`.

Pro Groups

Pro replaces the free single-group submenu with a Pro Groups screen. The free plugin still keeps one active group for compatibility with existing views, while Pro stores additional groups in a dedicated Pro option.

Open HT Event Importer for Meetup > Pro Groups.
Paste a Meetup group URL or group slug.
Click Add Group.
Click Test / Resolve to fetch resolved group metadata.
Use Set Active when you want that group to drive free-plugin views and compatibility paths.
Use Remove to delete a group from the Pro group list.

Field or status	Purpose
Group label	Uses the resolved Meetup group name when available, otherwise the entered slug or URL.
Meetup URL	Shows the resolved URL when validation succeeds.
Valid	The group was resolved and can be imported.
Untested	The group has been saved but has not been resolved yet.
Error	Meetup did not return usable group data or the group could not be reached.
Last import	Shows when that group was last imported and how many found events were imported.

Use the readable Meetup slug whenever possible. Numeric group IDs and private-only groups are more likely to fail validation or return incomplete public data.

Manual Pro Imports

When Pro is active, the free Events screen gains a Pro Import panel above the event table. The panel supports group imports and direct event URL/ID imports.

Import by group

Open HT Event Importer for Meetup > Events.
Choose a saved group, or choose the all-groups option when available.
Choose Future only for normal publishing or Past and future when you want historical events too.
Click Import Events.
Review the import notice and import history for found, imported, and error counts.

Import event URLs or IDs

Use direct imports when a specific event is missing, belongs to a configured group, or needs to be refreshed without importing the whole group. Paste one event URL or event ID per line, or separate entries with commas.

315466787
https://www.meetup.com/example-group/events/315466787/

For plain IDs, Pro builds event URLs from the configured group URLs and tries them until an event imports successfully. For full URLs, Pro uses the matching configured group when it can infer one, otherwise it falls back to the first configured group as context.

Scheduled Imports

Scheduled imports are configured inside the main free plugin settings form after Pro is active. They import all configured Pro groups through WordPress cron.

Open HT Event Importer for Meetup > Settings.
Enable Automatic imports under Pro Scheduled Imports.
Choose Daily or Twice daily.
Save settings.
Return later to confirm Next run, Last run, and Last result values.

The scheduled task imports past and future events for all configured groups, then stores a summary such as found and imported event counts.

WordPress cron depends on site traffic unless your server triggers wp-cron.php separately. Low-traffic sites should use a real server cron for reliable timing.

Chrome Extension Connector

The Chrome connector can send the current Meetup browser session from Chrome to WordPress. Pro then adds those cookies to Meetup requests. This is useful when public Meetup pages hide venue, address, coordinates, or other details that the signed-in Meetup account can see.

Open HT Event Importer for Meetup > Settings.
In Pro Chrome Connector, click Download Chrome extension.
Copy the extension setup field, which contains the WordPress REST endpoint and connector token.
Open chrome://extensions, enable Developer mode, unzip the extension package, and load the unpacked hyperthings-event-importer-for-meetup-pro-extension folder.
Sign in to meetup.com in the same Chrome profile.
Open the extension popup, paste the WordPress URL and connector token, and save settings.
Click Import Session to send the current Meetup cookies to WordPress.
Return to WordPress and import the relevant group or event again.

Control	Purpose
REST endpoint	The WordPress REST route that receives the session payload.
Connector token	A 32-character token required in the `X-Hyperthings-Event-Importer-For-Meetup-Token` header.
Rotate token on save	Generates a new connector token and invalidates the previous extension setup.
Meetup session status	Shows whether encrypted session cookies are available and when they were last received.

Only trusted administrators should import an authenticated Meetup session. Review Meetup terms and your own privacy obligations before importing data that is not publicly visible.

Advanced Event Schema

Pro can override schema.org Event organizer, performer, and offer data at three levels. Event-level values win over group-level values, and group-level values win over global Pro defaults.

HT Event Importer for Meetup > Settings: global Pro schema defaults.
HT Event Importer for Meetup > Pro Groups: per-group schema override rows.
HT Event Importer for Meetup > Events: per-event schema override rows.

Schema field	Use it for
Organizer name and URL	The organization responsible for the event.
Performer name and URL	Speakers, artists, instructors, panels, workshops, or named presenters.
Offer enabled	Adds schema.org `Offer` data when you want ticket or price metadata.
Offer name, price, currency, URL, availability	Ticket label, amount, 3-letter currency code such as `EUR` or `USD`, purchase/info URL, and schema.org availability URL.

Configured offer data is used as a fallback. Imported Meetup pricing data has priority when available.

Multisite Behavior

On single-site installs, license and GitLab update settings are managed from the site admin Pro License page. On multisite installs, GitLab update settings move to Network Admin because WordPress plugin updates run in the network admin context.

Use Network Admin > Settings > Meetup Pro GitLab Updates for the GitLab repository URL, plugin path, and private token.
Use the individual site admin for site-specific Pro license and import workflow settings.
The updater stores network-wide GitLab settings on multisite and site-level GitLab settings on single-site installs.

Privacy and Data Handling

Pro uses the same event storage model as the free plugin. It can store imported event title, date, description, image URL, venue data, coordinates, attendee count, waitlist count, capacity, event status, source URL, group metadata, schema overrides, and import history when Meetup exposes those fields.

The plugin does not display attendee names.
Exact location and coordinates can be hidden from frontend output in the free plugin settings.
Authenticated Meetup cookies from the Chrome connector are stored encrypted when the server supports the plugin encryption path.
Rotate the connector token after administrator turnover or any suspected exposure.
Use authenticated session imports only when the connected Meetup account is allowed to access and republish the event details you import.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
Pro menu is missing	Confirm the free plugin is active. Pro only registers its admin menus when the free plugin classes are available.
License remains invalid	Check the key, product key `ht-meetup-importer-pro`, outbound HTTPS, license endpoint availability, and whether the key belongs to this product/site.
License server unreachable	Use `Test connectivity`, then check firewall, DNS, SSL, and server outbound request restrictions.
Updates do not appear	Confirm update access is valid, Plugin Update Checker is installed, the GitLab token can read the `main` branch, and the plugin path is correct.
GitLab test reads branch but not plugin file	Check `hyperthings-event-importer-for-meetup-pro` as the repository subdirectory and confirm the main plugin file exists there.
Group import skips a group	Test/resolve the group, verify the URL or slug, and confirm Meetup returns event data for that group.
Direct event ID import finds nothing	Use a full event URL, or ensure the event belongs to one of the configured group URLs used to build ID-based import attempts.
Scheduled import does not run	Confirm Pro is licensed as valid or stale, automatic imports are enabled, WP-Cron is working, and production server cron is configured for low-traffic sites.
Chrome extension cannot send the session	Check the copied REST endpoint, connector token, HTTPS access, security plugins, and whether the token was rotated after the extension was configured.
Authenticated data still missing	Confirm the Chrome profile is signed in to Meetup and that the Meetup account can actually see the hidden event details in the browser.
Extension download fails	Confirm PHP `ZipArchive` is installed on the WordPress server.
Per-event schema does not appear	Confirm the event is an imported Meetup event post and that Event schema output is enabled in the free plugin settings.

FAQ

Can I use Pro without the free plugin?

No. Pro is an add-on. It depends on the free plugin for the event post type, importer, storage, admin screens, shortcode, widget, and settings form.

Does a stale license disable my installed Pro features?

No. A stale license keeps installed Pro workflows enabled locally, but Pro updates are unavailable until renewal.

Which scheduled frequencies are available?

The settings UI offers Daily and Twice daily. The plugin also registers an internal six-hour cron interval for Pro use.

Where are GitLab update settings stored on multisite?

They are stored network-wide and managed from Network Admin because plugin updates run in the network admin context.

Does the Chrome connector expose attendee names?

No. The plugin is focused on event publishing and does not display attendee names. The connector only helps WordPress make Meetup requests with the administrator-provided browser session.