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.

Opening Adminer ​

While the dev server is running, a DB inspect (Adminer) link appears beside the server URL in the site view, after wp-admin. 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 link 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.