WordPress Playground
When to use
- Spin up a disposable WordPress to test a plugin/theme without full stack setup.
- Run or iterate on Playground Blueprints (JSON) locally.
- Build a reproducible snapshot of a site for sharing or CI.
- Switch WP/PHP versions quickly to reproduce issues.
- Debug plugin/theme code with Xdebug in an isolated Playground.
Inputs required
- Host machine readiness: Node.js ≥ 20.18,
npm/npx available. - Project path to mount (
--auto-mount or explicit mount mapping). - Desired WP version/PHP version (optional; defaults to latest WP, PHP 8.3).
- Blueprint location/URL if running a blueprint.
- Port preference if 9400 conflicts.
- Whether Xdebug is needed.
Procedure
0) Guardrails
- Playground instances are ephemeral and SQLite-backed; never point at production data.
- Confirm Node ≥ 20.18 (
node -v) before running CLI. - If mounting local code, ensure it is clean of secrets; Playground copies files into an in-memory FS.
1) Quick local spin-up (auto-mount)
cd <plugin-or-theme-root>
npx @wp-playground/cli@latest server --auto-mount
- Opens on http://localhost:9400 by default. Auto-detects plugin/theme and installs it.
- Add
--wp=<version> / --php=<version> as needed. - For classic full installs already present, add
--skip-wordpress-setup and mount the whole tree.
2) Manual mounts or multiple mounts
- Use
--mount=/host/path:/vfs/path (repeatable) when auto-mount is insufficient (multi-plugin, mu-plugins, custom content). - Mount before install with
--mount-before-install for bootstrapping installer flows. - Reference:
references/cli-commands.md
3) Run a Blueprint (no server needed)
npx @wp-playground/cli@latest run-blueprint --blueprint=<file-or-url>
- Use for scripted setup/CI validation. Supports remote URLs and local files.
- Allow bundled assets in local blueprints with
--blueprint-may-read-adjacent-files when required. - See
references/blueprints.md for structure and common flags.
4) Build a snapshot for sharing
npx @wp-playground/cli@latest build-snapshot --blueprint=<file> --outfile=./site.zip
- Produces a ZIP you can load in Playground or attach to bug reports.
5) Debugging with Xdebug
- Start with
--xdebug (or --enable-xdebug depending on CLI release) to expose an IDE key, then connect VS Code/PhpStorm to the host/port shown in CLI output. - Combine with
--auto-mount for plugin/theme debugging. - Checklist:
references/debugging.md
6) Version switching
- Use
--wp= to pin WP (e.g., 6.9.0) and --php= to test compatibility. - If feature depends on Gutenberg trunk, prefer the latest WP release plus plugin if available; Playground images track stable WP plus bundled Gutenberg.
7) Browser-only workflows (no CLI)
- Launch quick previews with URL fragments or query params:
- Fragment:
https://playground.wordpress.net/#<base64-or-json-blueprint> - Query:
https://playground.wordpress.net/?blueprint-url=<public-url-or-zip> - Use the live Blueprint Editor (playground.wordpress.net) to author blueprints with schema help; paste JSON and copy a shareable link.
Verification
- Verify mounted code is active (plugin listed/active; theme selected).
- For blueprints/snapshots, re-run with
--verbosity=debug to confirm steps executed. - Run targeted smoke (e.g.,
wp plugin list inside Playground shell via browser terminal if exposed) or UI click-path.
Failure modes / debugging
- CLI exits complaining about Node: upgrade to ≥ 20.18.
- Mount not applied: check path, use absolute path, add
--verbosity=debug. - Blueprint cannot read local assets: add
--blueprint-may-read-adjacent-files. - Port already used:
--port=<free-port>. - Slow/locked UI: disable
--experimental-multi-worker if enabled; or enable it to improve throughput on CPU-bound runs.
Escalation
- If PHP extensions or native DB access are required, Playground may be unsuitable; fall back to full WP stack or wp-env/Docker.
- For browser-only embedding or VS Code extension specifics, consult the upstream docs: https://wordpress.github.io/wordpress-playground/
