WordPress Environment Configuration

Introduction

wp-env-config is a small yet powerful package that simplifies the process of defining configuration constants in WordPress. By leveraging PHP dotenv, this package enables you to securely store sensitive configuration data in environment variables, which is a best practice for building and deploying software according to the twelve-factor app methodology.

Note This repository houses the fundamental components of wp-env-config. If you are developing an application, please utilize wp-env-app located in this repository: wp-env-app.

Installation

To use wp-env-config, you can install it via Composer. Run the following command in your terminal:

composer create-project devuri/wp-env-app blog

or for existing projects

composer require devuri/wp-env-config

Alternatively, you can add devuri/wp-env-config to your project's composer.json file:

"require": {
    "devuri/wp-env-config": "^0.5"
}

Once installed, you can begin using the package in your WordPress project.

# This is how the structure might look.

├── .env
├── wp-config.php
├── composer.json
├── composer.lock
├── LICENSE
├── public/
│   ├── index.php
│   ├── wp-admin/
│   ├── wp-content/
│   ├── wp-includes/
│   ├── .htaccess
│   ├── robots.txt
│   └── ...
└── vendor/

Usage

To get started, create a .env file in the root directory of your project. In this file, define the environment variables you wish to use as configuration constants, update the database credentials and other settings as needed.

WP_HOME='https://example.com'
WP_SITEURL="${WP_HOME}"

WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE='production'
DEVELOPER_ADMIN='0'

MEMORY_LIMIT='256M'
MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT='256M'

DB_NAME=wp_dbName
DB_USER=root
DB_PASSWORD=
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PREFIX=wp_

Full list of Environment Variables

Then, in your wp-config.php file, add the following code:

<?php

use Urisoft\App\Setup;

require_once __FILE__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

/**
 * The base configuration for WordPress
 *
 * @link https://codex.wordpress.org/Editing_wp-config.php
 *
 * @package WordPress
 */
Setup::init(__DIR__)->config(); // production

/**
 * WordPress Database Table prefix.
 *
 * You can have multiple installations in one database if you give each
 * a unique prefix. Only numbers, letters, and underscores please!
 */
$table_prefix = env('DB_PREFIX');


if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) {
	define( 'ABSPATH', dirname( __FILE__ ) . '/' );
}

// Sets up WordPress.
require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-settings.php';

This will load the environment variables from the .env file and define them as configuration constants.

# the following files are supported (in that order)

env
.env
.env.secure
.env.prod
.env.staging
.env.dev
.env.debug
.env.local

# By default, Dotenv will stop looking for files as soon as it finds one.

You can define as many constants as you need using this approach.

Setup Options and Environment

Setup::init(__DIR__)->config(); // production

Setup::init(__DIR__)->config('development'); // development

Setup::init(__DIR__)->config('staging'); // staging

Setup::init(__DIR__)->config('production'); // production

Setup::init(__DIR__)->config('secure'); // secure

Setup::init(__DIR__)->config('development', false )->environment()->database()->salts()->apply();

dump( Setup::init(__DIR__)->getEnvironment() ); // Get the current Environment setup.

Environment Constants.

Debug must be on and 'development' set as WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE in the .env file.

dump( Setup::init(__DIR__)->get_constant_map() ); // Display a list of constants defined by Setup.

This will output the following:

"WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE" => "development"
"WP_DEBUG" => true
"SAVEQUERIES" => true
"WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY" => true
"WP_DISABLE_FATAL_ERROR_HANDLER" => true
"SCRIPT_DEBUG" => true
"WP_DEBUG_LOG" => true
"DB_NAME" => ""
"DB_USER" => ""
"DB_PASSWORD" => ""
"DB_HOST" => "localhost"
"DB_CHARSET" => "utf8mb4"
"DB_COLLATE" => ""
"WP_HOME" => ""
"ASSET_URL" => ""
"WP_SITEURL" => ""
"UPLOADS" => "wp-content/uploads"
"WP_MEMORY_LIMIT" => "256M"
"WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT" => "256M"
"CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS" => true
"FORCE_SSL_ADMIN" => true
"FORCE_SSL_LOGIN" => true
"AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL" => 180
"WP_POST_REVISIONS" => 10
"AUTH_KEY" => ""
"SECURE_AUTH_KEY" => ""
"LOGGED_IN_KEY" => ""
"NONCE_KEY" => ""
"AUTH_SALT" => ""
"SECURE_AUTH_SALT" => ""
"LOGGED_IN_SALT" => ""
"NONCE_SALT" => ""
"DEVELOPERADMIN" => null

Global helper functions.

asset()

The asset() function will generate a URL for an asset.

• We can configure the asset URL by setting the ASSET_URL in your .env ASSET_URL="${WP_HOME}/assets"
• Or optionally in the main config file.

asset( "/bootstrap/css/bootstrap-grid.css" ); // https://example.com/assets/dist/bootstrap/css/bootstrap-grid.css

asset( "/images/thing.png" ); // https://example.com/assets/dist/images/thing.png

asset( "/images/thing.png", "/static" ); // https://example.com/static/images/thing.png

asset_url()

The asset_url() URL for the asset directory.

• Note: The ASSET_URL constant is optional.
• We can configure the asset URL by setting the ASSET_URL in your .env ASSET_URL="${WP_HOME}/assets"
• Or optionally in the main config file.

asset_url(); // https://example.com/assets/dist/

asset_url() . "images/thing.png" // https://example.com/assets/dist/images/thing.png

asset_url( "/static" ); // https://example.com/static

env()

The env() function can be used to get the value of an environment variable.

env('FOO');

Kernel.

Kernel $args

We can use the Kernel $args to setup a custom directory structure.

$args = [
        'web_root'        => 'public',
        'wp_dir_path'     => 'wp',
        'asset_dir'       => 'assets',
        'content_dir'     => 'content',
        'plugin_dir'      => 'plugins',
        'mu_plugin_dir'   => 'mu-plugins',
        'disable_updates' => true,
    ];

$http_app = new Kernel(__DIR__, $args);

// or

$http_app = new Kernel(__DIR__, ['content_dir' => 'content']);

CI/CD

We can use a GitHub Actions workflow to automate the deployment process.

name: remote ssh command
on: [push]
jobs:

  build:
    name: Build
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - name: executing remote ssh commands using password
      uses: appleboy/ssh-action@v0.1.10
      with:
        host: ${{ secrets.HOST }}
        username: ${{ secrets.USERNAME }}
        password: ${{ secrets.PASSWORD }}
        port: ${{ secrets.PORT }}
        script: whoami

https://github.com/marketplace/actions/ssh-remote-commands

Headless Mode

Corcel Corcel is a collection of PHP classes built on top of Eloquent ORM (from Laravel framework), that provides a fluent interface to connect and get data directly from a WordPress database. https://github.com/corcel/corcel

Headless Mode A helper plugin for putting WordPress in "headless mode". Designed for when WordPress is the CMS for a headless/ decoupled WordPress site.

// Activate the plugin and In wp-config.php, add a line defining the constant:
define( 'HEADLESS_MODE_CLIENT_URL', 'https://example.com' );

https://github.com/Shelob9/headless-mode

Redis Object Cache

Warning

Please note that configuring Redis Object Cache can be a complex process, as it relies on an external Redis server to function properly. If you have little or no experience with setting up Redis servers, or configuring applications that use Redis, it is recommended that you seek assistance or consult with an expert before attempting to use this plugin.

The Redis Object Cache: https://wordpress.org/plugins/redis-cache/ paired with https://github.com/phpredis/phpredis/blob/develop/INSTALL.md will supercharge web application.

• We will need to install and setup the redis server, this varies widely based on your current server setup: https://redis.io/docs/getting-started/
• Install and setup phpredis https://github.com/phpredis/phpredis/blob/develop/INSTALL.md
• Install and configure the plugin: Installing Redis Object Cache: https://github.com/rhubarbgroup/redis-cache/blob/develop/INSTALL.md

Its best to use phpredis we have had issues in the past while testing where the cron jobs start failing, also if you decide to go for Redis Object Cache pro, phpredis is required.

Why

The aim of this package is to simplify the definition of WordPress configuration constants by leveraging PHP dotenv to access environment variables stored in a .env file. By utilizing environment variables in this way, we can enhance the security of our WordPress installation by avoiding the storage of sensitive credentials in our code.

This approach adheres to the twelve-factor app methodology for building and deploying software, specifically principle three, which emphasizes the importance of storing configuration data in the environment. By implementing this package, we can follow this best practice and ensure that our WordPress instance is both secure and maintainable.

Development and Support Status (in-Beta)

⚠️ This project is currently in active development. If you're considering using it for production, please feel free to get in touch, and we'll gladly offer additional guidance and support. We also encourage and welcome any issues and pull requests related to this framework.

We are still in the beta testing phase. While it's actively under development, we are actively seeking user feedback and making improvements. You're welcome to join our Slack community, where we have ongoing and active discussions.