wp scaffold taxonomy

Overview

Generate the register_taxonomy() PHP code for a custom taxonomy — with all labels, rewrite rules, REST API support, and post type association configured. Output directly to a plugin file or review it first in the terminal.

What It Does

wp scaffold taxonomy outputs a valid, complete register_taxonomy() function call that you can drop directly into your plugin or theme.

Syntax

wp scaffold taxonomy <slug> [OPTIONS]

Options

Flag	Description
SLUG	Taxonomy key (e.g., genre, location)
--post_types=TYPES	Comma-separated post types to associate the taxonomy with
--label=LABEL	Human-readable label (singular)
--textdomain=TD	Text domain for i18n
--theme	Write code to the active theme's functions.php
--plugin=PLUGIN	Append code to a plugin file
--force	Overwrite existing

Basic Usage

wp scaffold taxonomy genre \
  --post_types=book \
  --label="Genre" \
  --textdomain=my-plugin

Output (to terminal):

<?php
/**
 * Registers the `genre` taxonomy,
 * for use with 'book'.
 */
function genre_init() {
    register_taxonomy( 'genre', [ 'book' ], [
        'hierarchical'          => false,
        'public'                => true,
        'show_in_nav_menus'     => true,
        'show_ui'               => true,
        'show_admin_column'     => false,
        'query_var'             => true,
        'rewrite'               => true,
        'labels'                => [
            'name'                       => __( 'Genres', 'my-plugin' ),
            'singular_name'              => __( 'Genre', 'my-plugin' ),
            'search_items'               => __( 'Search Genres', 'my-plugin' ),
            'popular_items'              => __( 'Popular Genres', 'my-plugin' ),
            'all_items'                  => __( 'All Genres', 'my-plugin' ),
            'edit_item'                  => __( 'Edit Genre', 'my-plugin' ),
            'update_item'                => __( 'Update Genre', 'my-plugin' ),
            'add_new_item'               => __( 'Add New Genre', 'my-plugin' ),
            'new_item_name'              => __( 'New Genre Name', 'my-plugin' ),
            'not_found'                  => __( 'No genres found.', 'my-plugin' ),
        ],
        'show_in_rest'          => true,
        'rest_base'             => 'genre',
        'rest_controller_class' => 'WP_REST_Terms_Controller',
    ] );
}
add_action( 'init', 'genre_init' );

Write to Plugin

wp scaffold taxonomy location \
  --post_types=portfolio \
  --label="Location" \
  --plugin=my-portfolio-plugin

Best Practices

1. Use show_in_rest=true (set by scaffold default) so the taxonomy works in Gutenberg.
2. Consider hierarchical — true for category-like taxonomies, false for tag-like.
3. Pair with a CPT created by wp scaffold post-type.

Quick Reference

wp scaffold taxonomy <slug> --post_types=<type> --plugin=<plugin>

Next Steps

• wp scaffold post-type — create a CPT to attach this taxonomy to.
• wp term create — add terms to the new taxonomy.