BuddyBoss and BuddyPress normally use this profile URL structure:

https://example.com/members/username/

For a social network or community website, you may want a cleaner Instagram-style profile URL like:

https://example.com/@username/

BuddyBoss has documentation for changing profile navigation tab slugs and component slugs, but that only helps with normal slugs such as /members/, /users/, /profile/, or profile tab URLs. It does not natively create root-level @username routing. BuddyBoss profile and component slugs are part of how BuddyPress/BuddyBoss resolves members, profile tabs, groups, messages, and other community screens. (BuddyBoss)

This guide shows a safe code-based method to make:

/@username/

load the real BuddyBoss profile page while keeping BuddyBoss functionality working.

What We Are Building

We want this old BuddyBoss profile URL:

https://hollaappmenow.com/members/webdevayon/

to become:

https://hollaappmenow.com/@webdevayon/

The page should still show the actual BuddyBoss member profile, profile tabs, activities, friends, photos, messages, and other BuddyBoss profile features.

The important part is this:

/@username/

must load the profile page internally, not redirect again and again.

Why BP_MEMBERS_SLUG Is Not Enough

BuddyBoss/BuddyPress allows changing component slugs. For example:

define( 'BP_MEMBERS_SLUG', 'users' );

This can change:

/members/username/

to:

/users/username/

But it cannot create:

/@username/

because @username is not a normal component base slug. BuddyBoss expects a component path like:

/members/username/

So for Instagram-style routing, we need custom URL handling.

Best Method: Use an MU Plugin

Do not add this code inside Elementor, theme customizer, or random header/footer snippets.

Use an MU plugin because it loads earlier than normal plugins and themes.

Create this folder if it does not exist:

/wp-content/mu-plugins/

Then create this file:

/wp-content/mu-plugins/buddyboss-at-username.php

Full Working Code

Paste this full code inside:

<?php
/**
 * Plugin Name: BuddyBoss Instagram Style @username URLs
 * Description: Converts BuddyBoss profile URLs from /members/username/ to /@username/.
 * Author: Webzlo
 * Version: 1.0.0
 */

/**
 * Internally map /@username/ to /members/username/
 * without changing the browser URL.
 */
add_action('muplugins_loaded', function () {

    if (is_admin()) {
        return;
    }

    $uri = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] ?? '';

    if (preg_match('#^/@([^/?]+)(/[^?]*)?(\?.*)?$#', $uri, $m)) {

        $username = sanitize_title($m[1]);
        $extra    = $m[2] ?? '/';
        $query    = $m[3] ?? '';

        $_SERVER['BB_AT_PROFILE_REQUEST'] = '1';
        $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] = '/members/' . $username . $extra . $query;
    }

}, 0);


/**
 * Stop WordPress canonical redirect from breaking /@username/.
 */
add_filter('redirect_canonical', function ($redirect_url) {

    if (!empty($_SERVER['BB_AT_PROFILE_REQUEST'])) {
        return false;
    }

    return $redirect_url;

}, 1);


/**
 * Change BuddyBoss generated profile links to /@username/.
 *
 * Important:
 * Do not change the domain while internally loading /@username/,
 * otherwise BuddyBoss may create a redirect loop.
 */
add_filter('bp_core_get_user_domain', function ($domain, $user_id) {

    if (!empty($_SERVER['BB_AT_PROFILE_REQUEST'])) {
        return $domain;
    }

    $user = get_userdata($user_id);

    if (!$user) {
        return $domain;
    }

    return home_url('/@' . $user->user_nicename . '/');

}, 1, 2);


/**
 * Replace remaining frontend /members/username/ links in final HTML.
 * This helps profile menus, widgets, member cards, and some BuddyBoss template links.
 */
add_action('template_redirect', function () {

    if (is_admin() || wp_doing_ajax()) {
        return;
    }

    ob_start(function ($html) {

        $site_url = home_url();

        // Replace absolute profile URLs.
        $html = preg_replace(
            '#' . preg_quote($site_url, '#') . '/members/([^/"\'<\s]+)/?#',
            $site_url . '/@$1/',
            $html
        );

        // Replace relative profile URLs.
        $html = preg_replace(
            '#/members/([^/"\'<\s]+)/?#',
            '/@$1/',
            $html
        );

        return $html;
    });

}, 999);

Step-by-Step Setup

Step 1: Remove Old Snippets

Before adding this code, remove any old code related to:

/@username/

or:

/members/username/ redirect

Do not keep multiple versions. Multiple snippets can create redirect loops.

Step 2: Add the MU Plugin

Upload this file:

/wp-content/mu-plugins/buddyboss-at-username.php

You can do this using:

cPanel File Manager
FTP
SFTP
SSH

Recommended path:

public_html/wp-content/mu-plugins/buddyboss-at-username.php

Step 3: Save Permalinks

Go to:

WordPress Dashboard → Settings → Permalinks

Click:

Save Changes

You do not need to change anything. Just saving refreshes rewrite rules.

Step 4: Clear Cache

Clear all cache layers:

LiteSpeed Cache
WP Rocket
Cloudflare
Server cache
Browser cache

If you are testing on a staging subdomain, clear that subdomain cache too.

Step 5: Test Profile URL

Test old URL:

https://example.com/members/webdevayon/

Then test new URL:

https://example.com/@webdevayon/

The new URL should show the same BuddyBoss profile page.

Why This Code Avoids Redirect Loops

A redirect loop usually happens when:

/@username/

is internally changed to:

/members/username/

Then BuddyBoss checks the user profile URL and tries to redirect it back to:

/@username/

Then the process repeats.

This part prevents that:

if (!empty($_SERVER['BB_AT_PROFILE_REQUEST'])) {
    return $domain;
}

It tells BuddyBoss:

“While loading an internal @username request, keep the original BuddyBoss member domain.”

That is the key fix.

Optional: Redirect Old /members/username/ URLs

After everything works perfectly, you may want to redirect old profile URLs to the new format.

Add this only after testing the main code:

/**
 * Optional: Redirect old /members/username/ URLs to /@username/
 */
add_action('template_redirect', function () {

    if (!empty($_SERVER['BB_AT_PROFILE_REQUEST'])) {
        return;
    }

    $uri = $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI'] ?? '';

    if (preg_match('#^/members/([^/?]+)(/[^?]*)?(\?.*)?$#', $uri, $m)) {

        $username = sanitize_title($m[1]);
        $extra    = $m[2] ?? '/';
        $query    = $m[3] ?? '';

        wp_redirect(home_url('/@' . $username . $extra . $query), 301);
        exit;
    }

}, 10);

Only use this if your /@username/ page is already working.

Final Result

Before:

https://hollaappmenow.com/members/webdevayon/

After:

https://hollaappmenow.com/@webdevayon/

This gives your BuddyBoss community a cleaner, social-media-style profile URL structure while still using the original BuddyBoss profile system in the background.

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