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Code contributions

Like all WordPress projects, Playground uses GitHub to manage code and track issues. The main repository is at https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-playground and the Playground Tools repository is at https://github.com/WordPress/playground-tools/.

Contribute to Playground Tools

This guide includes links to the main repository, but all the steps and options apply for both. If you're interested in the plugins or local development tools—start there.

Browse the list of open issues to find what to work on. The Good First Issue label is a recommended starting point for first-time contributors.

Be sure to review the following resources before you begin:

Contribute Pull Requests​

Fork the Playground repository and clone it to your local machine. To do that, copy and paste these commands into your terminal:

git clone -b trunk --single-branch --depth 1 --recurse-submodules

# replace `YOUR-GITHUB-USERNAME` with your GitHub username:
git@github.com:YOUR-GITHUB-USERNAME/wordpress-playground.git
cd wordpress-playground
npm install

Create a branch, make changes, and test it locally by running the following command:

npm run dev

Playground will open in a new browser tab and refresh automatically with each change.

Troubleshooting: File watcher limit on Linux

On Linux, you might see an error like ENOSPC: System limit for number of file watchers reached when running npm run dev. This happens because the Playground repository has more files than the default system limit allows to watch.

To fix this, first check your current limit:

cat /proc/sys/fs/inotify/max_user_watches

If it's around 65,536 or lower, increase it by running:

sudo sysctl fs.inotify.max_user_watches=131070
sudo sysctl -p

Then try npm run dev again. This is a common issue on Debian, Ubuntu, and other Linux distributions.

When your'e ready, commit the changes and submit a Pull Request.

Formatting

We handle code formatting and linting automatically. Relax, type away, and let the machines do the work.

Running a local Multisite​

WordPress Multisite has a few restrictions when run locally. If you plan to test a Multisite network using Playground's enableMultisite step, make sure you either change wp-now's default port or set a local test domain running via HTTPS.

To change wp-now's default port to the one supported by WordPress Multisite, run it using the --port=80 flag:

npx @wp-now/wp-now start --port=80

There are a few ways to set up a local test domain, including editing your hosts file. If you're unsure how to do that, we suggest installing Laravel Valet and then running the following command:

valet proxy playground.test http://127.0.0.1:5400 --secure

Your dev server is now available on https://playground.test.

Debugging​

Use VS Code and Chrome​

If you're using VS Code and have Chrome installed, you can debug Playground in the code editor:

  • Open the project folder in VS Code.
  • Select Run > Start Debugging from the main menu or press F5/fn+F5.

Debugging PHP​

Playground logs PHP errors in the browser console after every PHP request.