wp scaffold plugin

Overview

Generate a complete plugin boilerplate in seconds — plugin header, main class, activation/deactivation hooks, readme.txt, and optionally a PHPUnit test suite. The fastest way to start a new plugin that follows WordPress coding standards.

What It Does

wp scaffold plugin creates a new directory in wp-content/plugins/ with a full plugin structure including the main PHP file, activation/deactivation stubs, class loading, and optional unit test scaffolding.

Syntax

wp scaffold plugin <slug> [OPTIONS]

Options

Flag	Description
SLUG	Plugin directory and file name
--plugin_name=NAME	Human-readable plugin name
--plugin_description=DESC	Plugin description
--plugin_author=NAME	Author name
--plugin_author_uri=URL	Author URL
--plugin_uri=URL	Plugin URL
--skip-tests	Don't generate PHPUnit test files
--activate	Activate the plugin after creation
--force	Overwrite existing files

Basic Usage

wp scaffold plugin my-awesome-plugin \
  --plugin_name="My Awesome Plugin" \
  --plugin_description="Does awesome things." \
  --plugin_author="Jane Doe" \
  --activate

Output:

Success: Created plugin files.
Success: Created test files.
Activating 'my-awesome-plugin'...
Success: Plugin 'my-awesome-plugin' activated.

Generated File Structure

wp-content/plugins/my-awesome-plugin/
├── my-awesome-plugin.php    ← Main plugin file
├── readme.txt
├── includes/
│   └── class-my-awesome-plugin.php
├── admin/
│   ├── class-my-awesome-plugin-admin.php
│   └── css/
│       └── my-awesome-plugin-admin.css
├── public/
│   └── class-my-awesome-plugin-public.php
└── tests/
    ├── bootstrap.php
    └── test-sample.php

Generated Main Plugin File (Example)

<?php
/**
 * Plugin Name: My Awesome Plugin
 * Description: Does awesome things.
 * Version:     1.0.0
 * Author:      Jane Doe
 * License:     GPL-2.0+
 */

if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) { exit; }

function my_awesome_plugin_activate() { /* ... */ }
register_activation_hook( __FILE__, 'my_awesome_plugin_activate' );

function my_awesome_plugin_deactivate() { /* ... */ }
register_deactivation_hook( __FILE__, 'my_awesome_plugin_deactivate' );

Real-World Scenarios

Scenario 1: Full plugin with tests

wp scaffold plugin client-portal \
  --plugin_name="Client Portal" \
  --plugin_author="My Agency"

Scenario 2: Quick utility plugin (no tests)

wp scaffold plugin quick-redirect \
  --plugin_name="Quick Redirect" \
  --skip-tests \
  --activate

Best Practices

1. Don't skip tests — even a basic test setup makes it easy to add unit tests later.
2. Use the dot-separated slug matching your namespace, e.g., mycompany-blog-tools.
3. Activate immediately with --activate to verify the scaffolded plugin loads without errors.

Quick Reference

wp scaffold plugin <slug>
wp scaffold plugin <slug> --activate --skip-tests

Next Steps

• wp scaffold plugin-tests — add tests to an existing plugin.
• wp scaffold post-type — add CPTs inside the plugin.