Code, Test, Repeat: Accelerating Development with WordPress Playground Uros Tasic Development Team Lead Awesome Motive - Thrive Themes

What is WordPress Playground? Why was it developed?

Why Development with WordPress Playground is Faster? Instant WordPress environment: Load WordPress in seconds with no installation or server configuration. No need for local environments: Avoid issues like dependencies, differing server configurations, or permissions. Testing and iteration: Quickly create, test, and reset environments to iterate on new features, plugins, or themes without the risk of breaking anything. Onboarding: Bring new developers up to speed with minimal setup, great for teams with rotating contributors or open-source projects.

Rapid Prototyping: ● Quickly test and iterate on new ideas. ● Avoid deploying on a live site, which may introduce bugs or conflicts. Testing: ● Use Playground for manual and automated tests, especially useful for plugin developers. ● Playground can integrate with automated tests (unit tests, integration tests). Plugin & Theme Development: ● Focus on creating, testing, and debugging without the traditional WordPress overhead. ● No more waiting for environments to spin up or needing complex database connections. Use Cases and Key Features

Comparison to Traditional WordPress Development Traditional Set ● Local environment dependencies (LAMP, MAMP, Docker, Vagrant, etc.). ● Database syncing, version control, and environment inconsistencies. Playground’s “no-setup-required” approach: ● Eliminate setup times and resource-heavy dependencies. ● Play around with WordPress immediately, saving hours. Performance: ● Compare how lightweight Playground is (no heavy server setup) with typical resource-hungry local environments.

● Access the Plugins, Themes, Blocks, or Patterns directories ● Temporary by design ● Loading files first ● Using WP-CLI Limitations

Case Studies & Real-World Examples

WordPress in one click, example of opening the playground for the first time.

Blueprints Query API GitHub Proxy wp-now

The following code opens a Playground with a preinstalled Gutenberg plugin and opens the post editor: https://playground.wordpress.net/?plugin=gutenberg&url=/wp-admin/post-new.php&mode=seamless

GitHub Proxy

Blueprints https://github.com/WordPress/blueprints/blob/trunk/GALLERY.md

It uses automatic mode detection to provide a fast setup process, regardless of whether you're working on a plugin or an entire site. You can easily switch between PHP and WordPress versions with a configuration flag. Under the hood, wp-now is powered by WordPress Playground and only requires Node.js. cd my-plugin-or-theme-directory npx @wp-now/wp-now start --wp=6.4 --php=8.0 wp-now streamlines the process of setting up a local WordPress environment.

Questions??? Channel: #meta-playground