@wordpress/env (wp-env)

Zero-config, Docker-based local WordPress development environment for plugins, themes, and core.

When to use

• User asks to set up a local WordPress development environment
• Project contains a .wp-env.json file
• User mentions wp-env, @wordpress/env, or Docker-based WordPress development
• User wants to run WP-CLI commands, PHPUnit tests, or debug with Xdebug locally
• Triage detects a plugin or theme project that needs a local WordPress instance

wp-env or wp-playground? For a quick local WordPress, prefer the wp-playground skill by default — it's faster, disposable, and needs no Docker. Use wp-env when the task actually requires it:

• the repo already contains a .wp-env.json
• a real MySQL database is needed (PHPUnit against the DB, wp db commands, data that survives restarts)
• arbitrary commands must run inside the environment (shell access, Composer, full WP-CLI via wp-env run)
• this is a WordPress core or Gutenberg checkout
• the user explicitly asks for wp-env or Docker

wp-env can also run without Docker by using Playground as its runtime (npx @wordpress/env start --runtime=playground, experimental). That is still wp-env, driven by the same .wp-env.json, so treat it as a Docker-free fallback for a project that already carries wp-env config, not as a third option. It swaps MySQL for SQLite and drops wp-env run and the separate tests environment, which are most of the reasons to pick wp-env in the first place. For a quick Docker-free WordPress with no wp-env config, use the wp-playground skill directly.

Inputs required

1. Docker status -- verify Docker is installed and running: docker info
2. Node.js version -- must be >= 18.12.0: node -v
3. Project type -- plugin, theme, or full site (check for .wp-env.json, plugin headers, or style.css theme headers)
4. Existing config -- read .wp-env.json and .wp-env.override.json if present

Procedure

1. Install wp-env

# Global (recommended)
npm -g install @wordpress/env

# Or project-local
npm i @wordpress/env --save-dev
# Then use: npx wp-env start

2. Start the environment

wp-env start

Default credentials:

• URL: http://localhost:8888/wp-admin/
• Username: admin
• Password: password

Common start options:

• wp-env start --update -- pull latest sources and reconfigure
• wp-env start --xdebug -- enable Xdebug (debug mode)
• wp-env start --xdebug=profile,trace -- multiple Xdebug modes
• wp-env start --auto-port -- find available ports when defaults are busy

3. Auto-detection (no config file)

When no .wp-env.json exists, wp-env scans the current directory:

4. Configure with .wp-env.json

Place at the project root. All fields are optional.

{
  "core": null,
  "phpVersion": "8.1",
  "plugins": [
    ".",
    "https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/akismet.zip",
    "WordPress/classic-editor"
  ],
  "themes": [],
  "port": 8888,
  "multisite": false,
  "phpmyadmin": false,
  "config": {
    "WP_DEBUG": true,
    "SCRIPT_DEBUG": true
  },
  "mappings": {
    "wp-content/mu-plugins": "./mu-plugins"
  },
  "lifecycleScripts": {
    "afterStart": "wp-env run cli wp rewrite structure /%postname%/"
  }
}

Source string formats (for core, plugins, themes, mappings)

GOTCHA: WordPress.org plugin/theme slugs (bare names like "akismet") do NOT work. Use the full ZIP URL.

Local overrides with .wp-env.override.json

Create .wp-env.override.json next to .wp-env.json for personal settings (gitignored). Only config and mappings are merged -- all other fields (including plugins and themes arrays) fully replace the base.

5. Run commands in containers

# WP-CLI commands
wp-env run cli wp user list
wp-env run cli wp plugin list
wp-env run cli wp option update blogname "My Site"
wp-env run cli "wp rewrite structure /%postname%/"

# Run commands in a specific directory
wp-env run cli --env-cwd=wp-content/plugins/my-plugin composer install

# PHPUnit tests
wp-env run cli --env-cwd=wp-content/plugins/my-plugin vendor/bin/phpunit

# Pass flags with -- separator
wp-env run cli php -- --version

# MySQL access
wp-env run mysql mysql -- --user=root --password=password wordpress

Available containers: mysql, wordpress, cli, composer, phpmyadmin.

6. Manage the environment

wp-env stop                    # Stop and free ports
wp-env reset development       # Reset dev database (keeps test)
wp-env reset all               # Reset all databases
wp-env logs                    # Stream PHP/Docker logs
wp-env logs --no-watch         # Print logs and exit
wp-env status                  # Show URLs, ports, config
wp-env status --json           # Machine-readable status
wp-env cleanup                 # Remove containers/volumes (keep images)
wp-env destroy                 # Remove everything including images

7. Xdebug setup

wp-env start --xdebug          # Enable debug mode
wp-env start --xdebug=coverage # For code coverage
wp-env start                   # Disable Xdebug (restart without flag)

Modes: debug, profile, trace, develop, coverage.

IDE listens on port 9003. VS Code launch.json needs:

{
  "type": "php",
  "request": "launch",
  "name": "Listen for Xdebug",
  "port": 9003,
  "pathMappings": {
    "/var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/your-plugin": "${workspaceFolder}"
  }
}

8. Multisite

{ "multisite": true, "plugins": ["."] }

Verification

• wp-env status shows running containers with correct ports
• http://localhost:8888/wp-admin/ loads the WordPress admin
• wp-env run cli wp plugin list shows expected plugins
• Plugin/theme under development appears in the WordPress admin
• Database resets work: wp-env reset development

Failure modes / debugging

Escalation

• Docker issues beyond wp-env scope (networking, disk space, WSL2 backend)
• Custom Docker Compose configurations that conflict with wp-env
• CI/CD pipeline integration requiring non-standard Docker setups
• WordPress Playground runtime (--runtime=playground) is experimental and has limited feature parity

References

• Official documentation
• Getting started guide
• Source code