@wp-operations/wp-app

The wp-now revival. A zero-config local WordPress dev server on @php-wasm/node: no Docker, no MySQL, no XAMPP. Point it at a theme, a plugin, or a full core checkout and it starts.

When wp-now was deprecated in favor of the blueprint-centric Playground CLI, the simple wp-now start workflow went with it. wp-app brings it back — same one-command experience, running on the current php-wasm engine (PHP 7.4 – 8.5).

Install

npm install -g @wp-operations/wp-app

Requires Node.js >= 20.10.

Usage

wp-app start                       # auto-detects project type from cwd
wp-app start --path=my-theme       # explicit path
wp-app start --php=8.3 --wp=6.8    # pin PHP / WordPress versions
wp-app start --wp=classicpress     # run ClassicPress instead (lightweight, no Gutenberg)
wp-app start --port=8881 --reset   # fresh site (wipes the managed WordPress + database)
wp-app dev                         # start + restart on file changes
wp-app build                       # composer install + npm build script, when present
wp-app php -- -r 'echo PHP_VERSION;'   # PHP CLI via php-wasm
wp-app php -- script.php               # run a PHP file

Login: admin / password.

How data is stored

• Core downloads are cached once in ~/.wp-app/cache/
• Each project gets a full persistent WordPress site in ~/.wp-app/sites/<project>-<hash>/ — files and SQLite database survive restarts; --reset deletes exactly this directory and never your project
• Your project directory is mounted into that site (as a theme, plugin, or wp-content overlay) — edits are live without restarts
• Set the WP_APP_HOME environment variable to relocate all of the above (CI, portable drives, or the .local repo convention via @wp-operations/wp-ide)

Modes

Auto-detected from the project directory, or forced with --mode:

| Mode | Detected when | What runs | |------|--------------|-----------| | theme | style.css with a Theme Name header | Managed WP + your directory mounted as a theme, auto-activated | | plugin | PHP file with a Plugin Name header | Managed WP + your directory mounted as a plugin, auto-activated | | wp-content | plugins/ + themes/ dirs | Managed WP + your entries overlaid on wp-content | | wordpress | Full core checkout | Your core served directly, SQLite-backed | | wordpress-develop | Core dev checkout | The build/ directory | | index | An index.php | Plain PHP server, no WordPress | | playground | None of the above (e.g. empty dir) | Fresh managed install |

ClassicPress

--wp=classicpress fetches the latest ClassicPress release; --wp=classicpress-2.4.1 pins a version. Everything else (modes, SQLite, mounts) works identically.

Part of wp-operations

wp-app is the foundation of wp-operations — an open-source operations toolchain for classic WordPress development: PSR-4 vendor packages as plugins, an AI skills library with security guidelines, monorepo tooling (@wp-operations/wp-ide), and a unified operations CLI (@wp-operations/wp-ops).

Credits & License

GPL-2.0-or-later. Continues the workflow of @wp-now/wp-now by the WordPress contributors, rebuilt on @php-wasm/*.