wp scaffold post-type

Overview

Generate the register_post_type() PHP code for a custom post type — with all labels, capabilities, rewrite rules, and REST API support properly configured. Paste it directly into your plugin or theme and customise from there.

What It Does

wp scaffold post-type outputs a ready-to-use register_post_type() function call based on the options you provide. It can write the code directly to a file or output it to stdout for review.

Syntax

wp scaffold post-type <slug> [OPTIONS]

Options

Flag	Description
SLUG	Post type key (e.g., book, portfolio)
--label=LABEL	Human-readable label (singular)
--textdomain=TD	Text domain for translations
--dashicon=ICON	Admin menu dashicon
--theme	Output to the active theme's functions.php
--plugin=PLUGIN	Plugin file to append generated code to
--force	Overwrite existing files

Basic Usage

wp scaffold post-type book \
  --label="Book" \
  --textdomain=my-plugin \
  --dashicon=book

Output (printed to terminal):

<?php
/**
 * Registers the `book` post type.
 */
function book_init() {
    register_post_type( 'book', [
        'labels'                => [
            'name'                  => __( 'Books', 'my-plugin' ),
            'singular_name'         => __( 'Book', 'my-plugin' ),
            'all_items'             => __( 'All Books', 'my-plugin' ),
            'archives'              => __( 'Book Archives', 'my-plugin' ),
            'add_new'               => __( 'Add New', 'my-plugin' ),
            'add_new_item'          => __( 'Add New Book', 'my-plugin' ),
            'edit_item'             => __( 'Edit Book', 'my-plugin' ),
            'new_item'              => __( 'New Book', 'my-plugin' ),
            'view_item'             => __( 'View Book', 'my-plugin' ),
            'search_items'          => __( 'Search Books', 'my-plugin' ),
            ...
        ],
        'public'                => true,
        'hierarchical'          => false,
        'show_ui'               => true,
        'show_in_nav_menus'     => true,
        'supports'              => [ 'title', 'editor' ],
        'has_archive'           => true,
        'rewrite'               => [ 'slug' => 'book' ],
        'query_var'             => true,
        'menu_icon'             => 'dashicons-book',
        'show_in_rest'          => true,
        'rest_base'             => 'book',
        'rest_controller_class' => 'WP_REST_Posts_Controller',
    ] );
}
add_action( 'init', 'book_init' );

Write Directly to Plugin

wp scaffold post-type portfolio \
  --label="Portfolio" \
  --textdomain=my-portfolio \
  --plugin=my-portfolio-plugin

Best Practices

1. Review generated labels — WP-CLI generates all 20+ labels automatically; confirm they read naturally.
2. Enable REST API — show_in_rest => true is set by default, enabling Gutenberg support.
3. Add supports based on your needs (add thumbnail, custom-fields, etc.).

Quick Reference

wp scaffold post-type <slug> --label=<label> --plugin=<plugin>

Next Steps

• wp scaffold taxonomy — create taxonomy for the post type.
• wp post create — create posts of the new type.