README

Scaffold a WordPress plugin powered by WpApp.

Usage

composer create-project akirk/create-wp-app my-plugin

This will prompt you for:

• Plugin name — Display name for your plugin
• Namespace — PHP namespace for your classes
• Author — Plugin author (optional)
• URL path — Where your app lives (e.g., /my-plugin/)
• Setup type — Minimal or Full (with BaseApp structure)

Screenshot

Setup Types

Minimal

A simple setup with just the essentials:

my-plugin/
├── my-plugin.php      # Main plugin file with WpApp initialization
├── templates/
│   └── index.php      # Your app's home page
├── composer.json
└── .gitignore

Full

A structured setup for larger applications:

my-plugin/
├── my-plugin.php      # Main plugin file
├── src/
│   └── App.php        # BaseApp subclass with routes, menu, database hooks
├── templates/
│   └── index.php
├── composer.json
└── .gitignore

Non-Interactive Mode

For CI/CD or scripting, use environment variables:

WP_APP_PLUGIN_NAME="My App" \
WP_APP_NAMESPACE="MyApp" \
WP_APP_AUTHOR="Your Name" \
WP_APP_URL_PATH="my-app" \
WP_APP_SETUP_TYPE="minimal" \
WP_APP_OVERWRITE="1" \
WP_APP_DEPENDENCY_MODE="composer" \
WP_APP_AUTOLOAD_MODE="composer" \
composer create-project --no-interaction akirk/create-wp-app my-plugin

The command above creates a my-plugin/ directory, configures the plugin from the environment variables, and removes the setup script:

my-plugin/
├── my-plugin.php       # Main plugin file for "My App"
├── templates/
│   └── index.php       # App home page shown at /my-app/
├── vendor/
│   └── autoload.php    # Composer-generated autoloader
├── composer.json       # Generated package metadata for my-plugin/my-plugin
├── README.md
└── .gitignore

If WP_APP_SETUP_TYPE="full", the generated directory also includes src/App.php and composer.json includes PSR-4 autoloading for MyApp\.

Programmatic Usage

Use Akirk\CreateWpApp\Scaffolder when another tool, CLI, or WordPress ability needs to create the app without reimplementing file generation. If target_dir does not exist, the scaffolder creates it and seeds the base plugin files before applying the config.

Normal Composer Project

This mode writes the generated app's composer.json and runs composer dump-autoload:

<?php

require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use Akirk\CreateWpApp\Scaffolder;

$result = Scaffolder::create( [
    'slug'            => 'my-app',
    'plugin_name'     => 'My App',
    'namespace'       => 'MyApp',
    'author'          => 'Your Name',
    'url_path'        => 'my-app',
    'setup_type'      => 'minimal', // or 'full'
    // Created automatically if it does not exist.
    'target_dir'      => '/path/to/wp-content/plugins/my-app',
    'overwrite'       => true,
    'dependency_mode' => 'composer',
    'autoload_mode'   => 'composer',
] );

foreach ( $result['messages'] as $message ) {
    echo $message . PHP_EOL;
}

With the example above, the scaffolder creates this minimal plugin:

/path/to/wp-content/plugins/my-app/
├── my-app.php          # Main plugin file; requires vendor/autoload.php
├── templates/
│   └── index.php       # App home page shown at /my-app/
├── vendor/
│   └── autoload.php    # Composer-generated autoloader
├── composer.json       # Normal Composer project requiring akirk/wp-app
├── README.md
└── .gitignore

If setup_type is full, it also keeps src/App.php and adds PSR-4 autoloading for your namespace:

/path/to/wp-content/plugins/my-app/
├── my-app.php
├── src/
│   └── App.php         # BaseApp subclass for routes, menu, and lifecycle hooks
├── templates/
│   └── index.php
├── vendor/
│   └── autoload.php
├── composer.json
├── README.md
└── .gitignore

No-Composer / Playground Project

This mode still writes a normal composer.json, but it also copies akirk/wp-app into the generated app and creates a Composer-lite vendor/autoload.php:

<?php

require_once __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use Akirk\CreateWpApp\Scaffolder;

$result = Scaffolder::create( [
    'slug'              => 'my-app',
    'plugin_name'       => 'My App',
    'namespace'         => 'MyApp',
    'author'            => 'Your Name',
    'url_path'          => 'my-app',
    'setup_type'        => 'minimal', // or 'full'
    // Created automatically if it does not exist.
    'target_dir'        => '/path/to/wp-content/plugins/my-app',
    'overwrite'         => true,
    'dependency_mode'   => 'copy',
    'autoload_mode'     => 'polyfill',
    // Optional. If omitted, create-wp-app looks in its own vendor tree.
    'wp_app_source_dir' => '/path/to/create-wp-app/vendor/akirk/wp-app',
] );

The generated plugin code is the same in both modes: it requires vendor/autoload.php. If the user later runs composer install or composer dump-autoload, Composer replaces the polyfill with the real autoloader.

With the Playground example above, the scaffolder creates this self-contained plugin:

/path/to/wp-content/plugins/my-app/
├── my-app.php              # Main plugin file; still requires vendor/autoload.php
├── templates/
│   └── index.php
├── vendor/
│   ├── autoload.php        # create-wp-app generated Composer-lite autoloader
│   └── akirk/
│       └── wp-app/         # Copied dependency used by the autoload polyfill
├── composer.json           # Normal Composer project metadata remains present
├── README.md
└── .gitignore

For setup_type => 'full', the same tree also includes src/App.php and the root composer.json includes your namespace's PSR-4 mapping.

The polyfill intentionally implements only the runtime pieces this scaffold needs; Composer can replace it later with a normal generated autoloader.

After Setup

1. Move the folder to wp-content/plugins/ (if not already there)
2. Activate the plugin in WordPress
3. Visit your app at the URL path you configured

Documentation

See the WpApp documentation for details on routing, the masterbar, access control, and more.

License

GPL-2.0-or-later