wp-local

name	wp-local
description	WordPress local dev environment CLI tools (wp-local). Manage WordPress sites, run WP-CLI, debug, clone/pull from remote servers. Use when working with WordPress sites in ~/dev/wp-local, running WP-CLI commands, managing local WordPress containers, debugging WordPress, or syncing with remote servers.

wp-local Dev Tools

Detecting the current site

If CWD is inside ~/dev/wp-local/sites/<name>/..., extract <name> as the site name:

echo "$PWD" | sed -n 's|.*/wp-local/sites/\([^/]*\).*|\1|p'

Running commands

Use the wpl alias (resolves to ~/dev/wp-local/scripts/wp):

wpl <command> <site-name> [options]

Important: Commands use docker-compose (v1 with hyphen), NOT docker compose.

Command cheatsheet

Command	Usage	Purpose
create	wpl create <name> [--plugin <path>] [--multisite]	Create new WP site
clone	wpl clone <name> --from <ssh> --path <remote-path>	Clone from remote server
pull	wpl pull <name> [--db-only|--skip-db] [--skip-uploads]	Sync from remote
start	wpl start <name>	Start site containers
stop	wpl stop <name|--all>	Stop site(s)
restart	wpl restart <name>	Restart site
list	wpl list	List all sites with status
destroy	wpl destroy <name>	Remove site completely
config	wpl config <name> php <8.0|8.1|8.2|8.3>	Change PHP version
cli	wpl cli <name> <wp-command>	Run WP-CLI command
db	wpl db <name>	Show DB credentials
logs	wpl logs <name>	View live container logs
shell	wpl shell <name>	Open bash in WP container

Common workflows

Run WP-CLI

wpl cli mysite plugin list
wpl cli mysite option get siteurl
wpl cli mysite user list
wpl cli mysite search-replace 'old' 'new' --dry-run

Debug a site

1. Check debug log: ~/dev/wp-local/sites/<name>/wp-content/debug.log
2. Live container logs: wpl logs <name>
3. Open shell: wpl shell <name>
4. DB credentials: wpl db <name>

Access URLs

• Site: http://<name>.test
• Admin: http://<name>.test/wp-admin (auto-login as admin)
• phpMyAdmin: http://pma.test
• Multisite subdomains: http://<sub>.<name>.test

Plugin development

Mount a local plugin repo during creation:

wpl create mysite --plugin ~/dev/my-plugin

Changes to the plugin directory are immediately reflected in the container.

Remote sync

wpl clone mysite --from prod --path /var/www/html        # Initial clone
wpl pull mysite                                           # Full sync
wpl pull mysite --db-only                                 # Database only
wpl pull mysite --skip-db                                 # Files only
wpl pull mysite --exclude-plugin local-plugin             # Protect a plugin
wpl pull mysite --exclude-path updraft/                   # Skip a wp-content folder (saved)
wpl pull mysite --dry-run                                 # Preview changes

Table prefix auto-detection: After DB import, clone/pull verify the actual table prefix by scanning imported tables. If the prefix differs from what was detected remotely (e.g., remote WP-CLI silently fell back to wp_), it warns and fixes wp-config.php automatically.

See REFERENCE.md for full flag details, remote operations, site structure, and troubleshooting.

WordPress defaults (auto-configured)

• Credentials: admin / admin / [e-mail]
• Locale: de_CH_informal, Timezone: Europe/Zurich
• Permalinks: /%postname%/, Date: d.m.Y, Time: H:i
• Debug logging enabled (to file, not displayed)
• Auto-login mu-plugin (no login required locally)

Key paths

~/dev/wp-local/scripts/wp              # CLI tool (aliased as wpl)
~/dev/wp-local/sites/<name>/           # Site directory
~/dev/wp-local/sites/<name>/wp-content # WordPress content (plugins, themes, uploads)
~/dev/wp-local/sites/<name>/.env       # Site environment config
~/dev/wp-local/sites/<name>/.remote    # Remote sync config (if cloned)