WordPress Contributor Toolkit

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Browsing the database ​

The dev server runs WordPress on SQLite, and the app bundles Adminer so you can look inside that database from your browser.

Open Adminer ​

While the dev server is running, an Open Adminer button appears next to the server URL in the site view. Clicking it opens Adminer in your browser, already logged into the site's SQLite database — no credentials to enter. From there you can browse tables, inspect rows, and run SQL, the same way you would against a MySQL-backed install.

The database file itself lives inside the Playground environment at /wordpress/wp-content/database/.ht.sqlite. It is not a file you can open directly on disk; go through Adminer.

Adminer is only reachable while the dev server runs — the button disappears when the server stops, and so does the page it opened.

Is SQLite enough for core development? ​

For most new contributors, yes. WordPress's SQLite support has matured considerably: most plugins and most core unit tests work, and thanks to the query parser, remaining gaps are tracked and steadily closed.

It is not a complete substitute for MySQL, though. Be aware of the limits:

  • Some queries and features behave differently on SQLite than on MySQL, and a small number do not work at all.
  • If your contribution touches the database layer itself — wpdb, schema changes, MySQL-specific SQL — you should verify it against a real MySQL install before submitting. The toolkit cannot do that for you: WordPress Playground can work with MySQL, but this app does not ship a MySQL server.

For the typical first contribution — a fix in PHP, JavaScript, or CSS that reads and writes ordinary posts, options, and users — the difference will not affect you.