Getting Started

Minimal Steps

Installation: No additional installation required—this package ships with WP-CLI.
```
wp --info | grep scaffold-command  # Verify inclusion
```
First Use Case: Generate a basic plugin scaffold:
```
wp scaffold plugin my-first-plugin
```
This creates a fully functional plugin skeleton with:
- Main plugin file (my-first-plugin.php)
- Test suite (phpunit.xml.dist, tests/)
- Build tools (Gruntfile.js, package.json)
- Documentation (readme.txt)
Key Commands to Explore:
- wp scaffold _s my-theme → Underscores starter theme
- wp scaffold post-type movie --theme=my-theme → Custom post type
- wp scaffold taxonomy genre --post_types=movie → Custom taxonomy

Where to Look First

Documentation: Run wp help scaffold for interactive CLI help.
Templates: Inspect generated files in /wp-content/plugins/ or /wp-content/themes/ to understand structure.
Underscores: For themes, visit underscores.me for reference.

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Plugin Development

# Standard workflow
wp scaffold plugin my-plugin \
  --plugin_name="My Plugin" \
  --plugin_description="Does amazing things" \
  --plugin_author="Jane Doe" \
  --activate

# With CI/CD (GitHub Actions)
wp scaffold plugin my-plugin --ci=github

Post-Generation Steps:

Edit my-plugin.php for core logic.
Use Gruntfile.js for tasks (e.g., grunt i18n for translations).

Run tests:

./bin/install-wp-tests.sh
composer test

2. Theme Development

# Underscores starter theme
wp scaffold _s my-theme \
  --theme_name="My Theme" \
  --author="Jane Doe" \
  --sassify \
  --woocommerce

# Child theme
wp scaffold child-theme my-child-theme \
  --parent_theme=twentyseventeen \
  --activate

Post-Generation Steps:

Customize style.css (theme metadata).
Extend functions.php for theme logic.
Use SASS (if --sassify flag was set) via node-sass or dart-sass.

3. Custom Post Types/Taxonomies

# In a theme
wp scaffold post-type portfolio \
  --label="Portfolio Item" \
  --dashicon="portfolio" \
  --theme=my-theme

# In a plugin
wp scaffold taxonomy skill \
  --post_types=portfolio \
  --label="Skill" \
  --plugin=my-plugin

Integration Tips:

Hooks: Use register_post_type_args filters to modify generated args.
Templates: Pair with wp generate template for custom templates.
REST API: Extend with register_rest_route in the generated file.

4. Testing

# Plugin tests
wp scaffold plugin-tests my-plugin --ci=circle

# Theme tests
wp scaffold theme-tests my-theme

Test Workflow:

Set WP_TESTS_DIR in tests/bootstrap.php.
Run:
```
composer test
```

Debug with:

WP_DEBUG=1 WP_DEBUG_LOG=/tmp/debug.log composer test

Integration Tips

Version Control:
- Commit generated scaffolds to version control (they’re opinionated but functional).
- Use .gitignore templates provided (e.g., ignore node_modules/).
Local Development:
- Use wp scaffold --force to regenerate files during development.
- For themes/plugins, symlink to /wp-content/:
```
ln -s /path/to/my-plugin /wp-content/plugins/
```
CI/CD:
- Leverage generated CI configs (e.g., .circleci/config.yml).
- Add test steps to your pipeline:
```
# Example GitHub Actions step
- name: Run tests
  run: composer test
```
Extending Scaffolds:
- Override templates by copying from wp-cli/scaffold-command/src/Templates/ to your project.
- Example: Copy post-type.php.twig to customize post type generation.

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

File Overwrites:
- --force flag is destructive. Use with caution in shared environments.
- Fix: Backup directories before scaffolding:
```
cp -r /wp-content/plugins/my-plugin /tmp/my-plugin-backup
```
Path Conflicts:
- Plugins/themes with hyphens (my-plugin) may cause issues on some systems.
- Fix: Use underscores (my_plugin) or verify paths post-generation.
PHP Version Mismatches:
- Generated composer.json may target PHP 7.4+. Ensure your server matches.
- Fix: Update composer.json or use a .php-version file.
Underscores Theme Quirks:
- --sassify requires Node.js. Install dependencies:
```
cd /wp-content/themes/my-theme && npm install
```
- Fix: Add npm install to your deployment script.
Test Environment Issues:
- WP_TESTS_DIR must point to a WordPress install. Use:
```
export WP_TESTS_DIR=/path/to/wordpress-develop
```
- Fix: Clone WordPress to a known location and reference it.

Debugging

Command Errors:
- Run with --debug for verbose output:
```
wp scaffold plugin my-plugin --debug
```
- Check WP-CLI logs at ~/.wp-cli/logs/.
Template Issues:
- Inspect generated files against the source templates.
- Tip: Use wp scaffold --raw to debug registration code without wrappers.

Permission Problems:

Ensure /wp-content/ is writable:

chown -R www-data:www-data /wp-content
chmod -R 755 /wp-content

Extension Points

Custom Templates:
- Override templates by placing them in ~/.wp-cli/templates/ or your project root.
- Example: Create ~/.wp-cli/templates/post-type.php.twig to modify post type generation.

Post-Generation Hooks:

Use wp-cli/scaffold-command's post-scaffold hook (undocumented but available):

add_action('wp-cli/scaffold-command/post-scaffold', function($command, $args) {
    // Custom logic after scaffold
});

Dynamic Values:
- Pass environment variables to templates:
```
export MY_CUSTOM_VAR="value"
wp scaffold plugin my-plugin --env=MY_CUSTOM_VAR
```
- Access in templates via {{ env.MY_CUSTOM_VAR }}.

Pro Tips

Alias for Speed: Add to ~/.wp-cli/config.yml:
```
aliases:
  sp: scaffold plugin
  st: scaffold _s
  cpt: scaffold post-type
```
Now use wp sp my-plugin instead of wp scaffold plugin my-plugin.

Dry Runs: Redirect output to a file to preview changes:

wp scaffold post-type movie --theme=my-theme > /tmp/movie-cpt.php

Multi-Environment Setups: Use --dir to scaffold in non-standard locations:
```
wp scaffold plugin my-plugin --dir=/custom/path/
```

Legacy WordPress: For older WP versions (<5.0), use --raw to avoid compatibility issues:

wp scaffold post-type movie --raw > /wp-content/themes/my-theme/post-types/movie.php

Composer Autoloading: After scaffolding, run:
```
composer dump-autoload
```
To ensure new files are autoloaded.

Scaffold Command Laravel Package