WordPress Playground Blueprints

Overview

A Blueprint is a JSON file that declaratively configures a WordPress Playground instance — installing plugins/themes, setting options, running PHP/SQL, manipulating files, and more.

Core principle: Blueprints are trusted JSON-only declarations. No arbitrary JavaScript. They work on web, Node.js, and CLI.

Quick Start Template

{
  "$schema": "https://playground.wordpress.net/blueprint-schema.json",
  "landingPage": "/wp-admin/",
  "preferredVersions": { "php": "8.3", "wp": "latest" },
  "steps": [{ "step": "login" }]
}

Top-Level Properties

All optional. Only documented keys are allowed — the schema rejects unknown properties.

Property	Type	Notes
$schema	string	Always "https://playground.wordpress.net/blueprint-schema.json"
landingPage	string	Relative path, e.g. /wp-admin/
description	string	Deprecated optional top-level description. Prefer meta.description for new Blueprints
meta	object	{ title, author, description?, categories? } — title and author required
preferredVersions	object	{ php, wp } — both required when present
features	object	{ networking?: boolean, intl?: boolean } — only these two keys, nothing else. Networking defaults to true
phpExtensionBundles	any	Deprecated/no longer used; the schema leaves the value unconstrained and says to remove it from Blueprints
extraLibraries	array	["wp-cli"] — auto-included when any wp-cli step is present
constants	object	Shorthand for defineWpConfigConsts. Values: string/boolean/number
plugins	array	Shorthand for installPlugin steps. Strings = wp.org slugs
siteOptions	object	Shorthand for setSiteOptions
login	boolean or object	true = login as admin. Object = { username?, password? } (both default to "admin"/"password")
steps	array	Main execution pipeline. Runs after shorthands

preferredVersions Values

• php: Major.minor only: "7.4", "8.0", "8.1", "8.2", "8.3", "8.4", "8.5", or "latest". Patch versions like "7.4.1" are invalid. Check the schema for currently supported versions.
• wp: Recent major versions, "latest", "beta", "nightly"/"trunk", or a URL to a custom zip. The schema also accepts false for PHP-only Playground; do not combine wp: false with WordPress-only fields such as plugins, siteOptions, login, or WordPress-only steps.

Shorthands vs Steps

Shorthands (login, plugins, siteOptions, constants) are expanded and prepended to steps in an unspecified order. Use explicit steps when execution order matters.

Resource References

Resources tell Playground where to find files. Used by installPlugin, installTheme, writeFile, writeFiles, importWxr, etc.

Resource Type	Required Fields	Example
wordpress.org/plugins	slug	{ "resource": "wordpress.org/plugins", "slug": "woocommerce" }
wordpress.org/themes	slug	{ "resource": "wordpress.org/themes", "slug": "astra" }
url	url	{ "resource": "url", "url": "https://example.com/plugin.zip" }
git:directory	url, ref	See below
literal	name, contents	{ "resource": "literal", "name": "file.txt", "contents": "hello" }
literal:directory	name, files	See below
bundled	path	References a file within a blueprint bundle (e.g. { "resource": "bundled", "path": "/plugin.zip" })
zip	inner	Wraps another resource in a ZIP — use when a step expects a zip but your source isn't one (e.g. wrapping a url resource pointing to a raw directory)

git:directory — Installing from GitHub

{
  "resource": "git:directory",
  "url": "https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg",
  "ref": "trunk",
  "refType": "branch",
  "path": "/"
}

• When using a branch or tag name for ref, you must set refType ("branch" | "tag" | "commit" | "refname"). Without it, only "HEAD" resolves reliably.
• path selects a subdirectory (defaults to repo root).

literal:directory — Inline File Trees

{
  "resource": "literal:directory",
  "name": "my-plugin",
  "files": {
    "plugin.php": "<?php /* Plugin Name: My Plugin */ ?>",
    "includes": {
      "helper.php": "<?php // helper code ?>"
    }
  }
}

• files uses nested objects for subdirectories — keys are filenames or directory names, values are plain strings (file content) or objects (subdirectories). Never use resource references as values.
• Do NOT use path separators in keys (e.g. "includes/helper.php" is wrong — use a nested "includes": { "helper.php": "..." } object).

Steps Reference

Every step requires "step": "<name>". Any step can optionally include "progress": { "weight": 1, "caption": "Installing..." } for UI feedback.

Plugin & Theme Installation

{
  "step": "installPlugin",
  "pluginData": { "resource": "wordpress.org/plugins", "slug": "gutenberg" },
  "options": { "activate": true, "targetFolderName": "gutenberg" },
  "ifAlreadyInstalled": "overwrite"
}

{
  "step": "installTheme",
  "themeData": { "resource": "wordpress.org/themes", "slug": "twentytwentyfour" },
  "options": { "activate": true, "importStarterContent": true },
  "ifAlreadyInstalled": "overwrite"
}

• Use pluginData / themeData — NOT the deprecated pluginZipFile / themeZipFile.
• pluginData / themeData accept any FileReference or DirectoryReference — a zip URL, a wordpress.org/plugins slug, a git:directory, or a literal:directory (no zip wrapper needed).
• options.activate controls activation. No need for a separate activatePlugin/activateTheme step when using installPlugin/installTheme.
• ifAlreadyInstalled: "overwrite" | "skip" | "error"

Activation (standalone)

Only needed for plugins/themes already on disk (e.g. after writeFile/writeFiles):

{ "step": "activatePlugin", "pluginPath": "my-plugin/my-plugin.php" }

{ "step": "activateTheme", "themeFolderName": "twentytwentyfour" }

File Operations

{ "step": "writeFile", "path": "/wordpress/wp-content/mu-plugins/custom.php", "data": "<?php // code" }

data accepts a plain string (as shown above) or a resource reference (e.g. { "resource": "url", "url": "https://..." }).

{
  "step": "writeFiles",
  "writeToPath": "/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/",
  "filesTree": {
    "resource": "literal:directory",
    "name": "my-plugin",
    "files": {
      "plugin.php": "<?php\n/*\nPlugin Name: My Plugin\n*/",
      "includes": {
        "helpers.php": "<?php // helpers"
      }
    }
  }
}

writeFiles requires a DirectoryReference (literal:directory or git:directory) as filesTree — not a plain object.

Other file operations: mkdir, cp, mv, rm, rmdir, unzip.

Running Code

runPHP:

{ "step": "runPHP", "code": "<?php require '/wordpress/wp-load.php'; update_option('key', 'value');" }

GOTCHA: You must require '/wordpress/wp-load.php'; to use any WordPress functions.

wp-cli:

{ "step": "wp-cli", "command": "wp post create --post_type=page --post_title='Hello' --post_status=publish" }

The step name is wp-cli (with hyphen), NOT cli or wpcli.

runSql:

{ "step": "runSql", "sql": { "resource": "literal", "name": "q.sql", "contents": "UPDATE wp_options SET option_value='val' WHERE option_name='key';" } }

Site Configuration

{ "step": "setSiteOptions", "options": { "blogname": "My Site", "blogdescription": "A tagline" } }

{ "step": "defineWpConfigConsts", "consts": { "WP_DEBUG": true } }

{ "step": "setSiteLanguage", "language": "en_US" }

{ "step": "defineSiteUrl", "siteUrl": "https://example.com" }

Other Steps

Step	Key Properties
login	username?, password? (default "admin" / "password")
enableMultisite	(no required props)
importWxr	file (FileReference)
importThemeStarterContent	themeSlug?
importWordPressFiles	wordPressFilesZip, pathInZip? — imports a full WordPress directory from a zip
request	request: { url, method?, headers?, body? }
updateUserMeta	userId, meta
runWpInstallationWizard	options? — runs the WP install wizard with given options
resetData	(no props)

Common Patterns

Inline mu-plugin (quick custom code)

{
  "step": "writeFile",
  "path": "/wordpress/wp-content/mu-plugins/custom.php",
  "data": "<?php\n// mu-plugins load automatically — no activation needed, no require wp-load.php\nadd_filter('show_admin_bar', '__return_false');"
}

Inline plugin with multiple files

{
  "step": "writeFiles",
  "writeToPath": "/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/",
  "filesTree": {
    "resource": "literal:directory",
    "name": "my-plugin",
    "files": {
      "my-plugin.php": "<?php\n/*\nPlugin Name: My Plugin\n*/\nrequire __DIR__ . '/includes/main.php';",
      "includes": {
        "main.php": "<?php // main logic"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then activate it with a separate step:

{ "step": "activatePlugin", "pluginPath": "my-plugin/my-plugin.php" }

Plugin from a GitHub branch

{
  "step": "installPlugin",
  "pluginData": {
    "resource": "git:directory",
    "url": "https://github.com/user/repo",
    "ref": "feature-branch",
    "refType": "branch",
    "path": "/"
  }
}

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Correct
pluginZipFile / themeZipFile	pluginData / themeData
"step": "cli"	"step": "wp-cli"
Flat object as writeFiles.filesTree	Must be a literal:directory or git:directory resource
Path separators in files keys	Use nested objects for subdirectories
runPHP without wp-load.php	Always require '/wordpress/wp-load.php'; for WP functions
Invented top-level keys	Only documented keys work — schema rejects unknown properties
Inventing proxy URLs for GitHub	Use git:directory resource type
Omitting refType with branch/tag ref	Required — only "HEAD" works without it
Resource references in literal:directory files values	Values must be plain strings (content) or objects (subdirectories) — never resource refs
features.debug or other invented feature keys	features only supports networking and intl — use constants: { "WP_DEBUG": true } for debug mode
require wp-load.php in mu-plugin code	Only needed in runPHP steps — mu-plugins already run within WordPress
Schema URL with .org domain	Must be playground.wordpress.net, not playground.wordpress.org

Full Reference

This skill covers the most common steps and patterns. For the complete API, see:

• Blueprint docs: https://wordpress.github.io/wordpress-playground/blueprints
• JSON schema: https://playground.wordpress.net/blueprint-schema.json

Additional steps not covered above: runPHPWithOptions (run PHP with custom ini settings), runWpInstallationWizard, and resource types vfs and bundled (for advanced embedding scenarios).

Blueprint Bundles

Bundles are self-contained packages that include a blueprint.json along with all the resources it references (plugins, themes, WXR files, etc.). Instead of hosting assets externally, bundle them alongside the blueprint.

Bundle Structure

my-bundle/
├── blueprint.json          ← must be at the root
├── my-plugin.zip           ← zipped plugin directory
├── theme.zip
└── content/
    └── sample-content.wxr

Plugins and themes must be zipped before bundling — installPlugin expects a zip, not a raw directory. To create the zip from a plugin directory:

cd my-bundle
zip -r my-plugin.zip my-plugin/

Referencing Bundled Resources

Use the bundled resource type to reference files within the bundle:

{
  "step": "installPlugin",
  "pluginData": {
    "resource": "bundled",
    "path": "/my-plugin.zip"
  },
  "options": { "activate": true }
}

{
  "step": "importWxr",
  "file": {
    "resource": "bundled",
    "path": "/content/sample-content.wxr"
  }
}

Creating a Bundle Step by Step

1. Create the bundle directory and add blueprint.json at its root.
2. Write your plugin/theme source files in a subdirectory (e.g. my-plugin/my-plugin.php).
3. Zip the plugin directory: zip -r my-plugin.zip my-plugin/
4. Reference it in blueprint.json using { "resource": "bundled", "path": "/my-plugin.zip" }.

Full example — a bundle that installs a custom plugin:

dashboard-widget-bundle/
├── blueprint.json
├── dashboard-widget.zip        ← zip of dashboard-widget/
└── dashboard-widget/           ← plugin source (kept for editing)
    └── dashboard-widget.php

{
  "$schema": "https://playground.wordpress.net/blueprint-schema.json",
  "landingPage": "/wp-admin/",
  "preferredVersions": { "php": "8.3", "wp": "latest" },
  "steps": [
    { "step": "login" },
    {
      "step": "installPlugin",
      "pluginData": { "resource": "bundled", "path": "/dashboard-widget.zip" },
      "options": { "activate": true }
    }
  ]
}

Distribution Formats

Format	How to use
ZIP file (remote)	Website: https://playground.wordpress.net/?blueprint-url=https://example.com/bundle.zip
ZIP file (local)	CLI: npx @wp-playground/cli server --blueprint=./bundle.zip
Local directory	CLI: npx @wp-playground/cli server --blueprint=./my-bundle/ --blueprint-may-read-adjacent-files
Git repository directory	Point blueprint-url at a repo directory containing blueprint.json

GOTCHA: Local directory bundles always need --blueprint-may-read-adjacent-files for the CLI to read bundled resources. Without it, any "resource": "bundled" reference will fail with a "File not found" error. ZIP bundles don't need this flag — all files are self-contained inside the archive.

Testing Blueprints

Inline Blueprints (quick test, no bundles)

Minify the blueprint JSON (no extra whitespace), encode it once with encodeURIComponent(), prepend https://playground.wordpress.net/#, and open the URL in a browser:

https://playground.wordpress.net/#%7B%22%24schema%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fplayground.wordpress.net%2Fblueprint-schema.json%22%2C%22preferredVersions%22%3A%7B%22php%22%3A%228.3%22%2C%22wp%22%3A%22latest%22%7D%2C%22steps%22%3A%5B%7B%22step%22%3A%22login%22%7D%5D%7D

Very large blueprints may exceed browser URL length limits; use the CLI or a hosted Blueprint URL instead. For share-link details, use wp-playground/references/website.md.

Local CLI Testing

Interactive server (keeps running, opens in browser):

# Directory bundle — requires --blueprint-may-read-adjacent-files
npx @wp-playground/cli server --blueprint=./my-bundle/ --blueprint-may-read-adjacent-files

# ZIP bundle — self-contained, no extra flags needed
npx @wp-playground/cli server --blueprint=./bundle.zip

Headless validation (runs blueprint and exits):

npx @wp-playground/cli run-blueprint --blueprint=./my-bundle/ --blueprint-may-read-adjacent-files

Testing with WordPress Playground

Use the wp-playground skill for local or browser testing. For CLI testing, follow wp-playground/references/cli.md with --blueprint=<path-or-url>; for directory bundles, pass --blueprint-may-read-adjacent-files.