Easy WordPress Bootstrap

Easily set up a new WordPress dev environment utilizing Laravel Herd and DBngin (or other MySQL/MariaDB solutions).

One command to spin up a new WordPress project locally:

• Creates a project folder in your Herd workspace
• Provisions MySQL DB + user via DBngin or other MySQL/MariaDB solution.
• Generates wp-config.php with salts
• Installs WP and sets default options (Home/News, other useful pages, permalinks)
• Installs/activates plugins from plugins.json
• Clones theme starter (with fresh history), activates it, and initializes a clean repo

Prerequisites

• macOS, Linux, or Windows
• Herd installed and a workspace directory (default: ~/Herd)
• DBngin or other MySQL/MariaDB server
• CLI tools in PATH: wp, git, curl, openssl, mysql, and optionally jq

Quick Start

1. Copy wp-bootstraprc.example to ~/.wp-bootstraprc and edit values (one-time setup):

   cp wp-bootstraprc.example ~/.wp-bootstraprc
   

2. (Optional) Edit plugins.json.

3. Run the bootstrap:

   chmod +x wp-bootstrap.sh
   ./wp-bootstrap.sh
   

4. Answer prompts. When finished, the script prints a summary and writes bootstrap-summary.txt.

Configuration

• Herd workspace: set HERD_WORKSPACE in ~/.wp-bootstraprc.
• Local TLD: set LOCAL_TLD (test by default).
• DBngin: set MYSQL_HOST, MYSQL_PORT, MYSQL_ROOT_USER, MYSQL_ROOT_PASS.
• Theme starter: set THEME_STARTER_REPO. The script clones shallow, removes .git, then re-initializes the theme repo.
• Theme remote: set DEFAULT_THEME_REMOTE_ORIGIN if you want the script to push the new theme repo automatically.

Plugins

Baseline plugins are defined in plugins.json. Each entry accepts either a WordPress.org slug or a direct zip URL.

Premium/private zips: use signed/internal URLs or manually download and point to a local /tmp/file.zip (adjust the script to wp plugin install /tmp/file.zip).

Notes

• The script sets friendly permalinks (/%postname%/) and creates Home/News pages by default.
• Sample content is removed if present.
• A plugin install log is written to wp-content/plugin-bootstrap.log.

Troubleshooting

• If wp is not found, ensure WP-CLI is installed and available in PATH.
• If MySQL connection fails, confirm DBngin is running and credentials are correct in ~/.wp-bootstraprc.
• On Windows, prefer WSL or Git Bash for best results.

-- DIY-first policy: keep plugins.json minimal. Add big off-the-shelf stacks (e.g., ecomm) only when warranted.