wp-env - WordPress Local Development Environment

This skill provides assistance for working with wp-env, a tool that sets up local WordPress development environments using Docker with minimal configuration.

About wp-env

wp-env (@wordpress/env) creates Docker-based WordPress environments for plugin and theme development. It provides:

• Zero-config setup - Works out of the box for plugins and themes
• Dual environments - Separate development (port 8888) and testing (port 8889) instances
• Pre-configured tools - Includes WP-CLI, Composer, PHPUnit, and Xdebug
• Flexible configuration - Customize via .wp-env.json for complex setups

Default Access:

• Development site: http://localhost:8888
• Testing site: http://localhost:8889
• Login: username admin, password password
• Database: user root, password password

Prerequisites Check

Before working with wp-env, verify these dependencies are installed and running:

# Check Docker is installed and running
docker --version
docker ps

# Check Node.js and npm
node --version
npm --version

# Check if wp-env is installed
wp-env --version

If Docker is not running: Start Docker Desktop application first - wp-env cannot function without Docker.

If wp-env is not installed: Install globally with npm -g install @wordpress/env

Common Workflows

First-Time Environment Setup

When setting up wp-env for the first time in a plugin or theme directory:

# 1. Ens

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## Source

[View on GitHub](https://github.com/emdashcodes/wp-ability-toolkit)