Wp Plugin Development

Handles the full WordPress plugin development cycle: structure, activation hooks, Settings API, security hardening, and release prep. It triages your repo, detects plugin headers, then walks you through architecture decisions, lifecycle hooks (with guardrails around fragile activation patterns), admin UI via Settings API, and mandatory security checks like nonces, capabilities, sanitization, and prepared statements. Targets WordPress 6.9+ and assumes a filesystem agent with bash, node, and optionally WP-CLI. The security-first approach is the standout here. Every workflow ends with verification that settings save correctly, uninstall is clean, and the plugin activates without warnings.

install copies · 90 days. Times the install command was copied on this site in the last 90 days, bots filtered.: 10
skills.sh installs: 8.6K
GitHub stars: 2.3K
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add wordpress/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.