Wp Plugin Development

Handles the full lifecycle of WordPress plugin development, from bootstrap structure and hook registration through activation routines, Settings API integration, and release packaging. Enforces security fundamentals (nonces, capabilities, sanitization, escaping, prepared statements) and steers you toward predictable patterns like keeping admin code out of the frontend and avoiding fragile activation hook bugs. Targets WordPress 6.9+ and expects a filesystem agent with bash, node, and optionally WP-CLI. The procedure is methodical: triage the repo, detect plugin headers, apply architecture guardrails, then verify activation, settings persistence, and uninstall cleanup. If you're building or refactoring a WordPress plugin and want guardrails that match the Plugin Handbook, this keeps you honest.

skills.sh installs: 529
GitHub stars: 211
last updated: Jun 3, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add automattic/agent-skills --skill wp-plugin-development --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

WP Plugin Development

When to use

Use this skill for plugin work such as:

creating or refactoring plugin structure (bootstrap, includes, namespaces/classes)
adding hooks/actions/filters
activation/deactivation/uninstall behavior and migrations
adding settings pages / options / admin UI (Settings API)
security fixes (nonces, capabilities, sanitization/escaping, SQL safety)
packaging a release (build artifacts, readme, assets)

Inputs required

Repo root + target plugin(s) (path to plugin main file if known).
Where this plugin runs: single site vs multisite; WP.com conventions if applicable.
Target WordPress + PHP versions (affects available APIs and placeholder support in $wpdb->prepare()).

Procedure

0) Triage and locate plugin entrypoints

Run triage:
- node skills/wp-project-triage/scripts/detect_wp_project.mjs
Detect plugin headers (deterministic scan):
- node skills/wp-plugin-development/scripts/detect_plugins.mjs

If this is a full site repo, pick the specific plugin under wp-content/plugins/ or mu-plugins/ before changing code.