wp-plugin-starter-template-for-ai-coding/.wiki/Usage-Instructions.md

Usage Instructions

This guide provides instructions for using and customizing the WordPress Plugin Starter Template for your own plugin development.

Basic Usage

The WordPress Plugin Starter Template is designed to be a starting point for your WordPress plugin development. It provides a well-structured codebase that you can customize to create your own plugin.

Template Structure

The template follows a modular structure:

• wp-plugin-starter-template.php: Main plugin file with plugin headers
• includes/: Core plugin functionality
  • plugin.php: Main plugin class that initializes everything
  • core.php: Core functionality class
  • updater.php: Update mechanism for multiple sources
• admin/: Admin-specific functionality
  • lib/: Admin classes
  • css/: Admin stylesheets
  • js/: Admin JavaScript files
• languages/: Translation files
• .github/workflows/: GitHub Actions workflows
• .ai-workflows/: Documentation for AI assistants
• .wiki/: Wiki documentation templates

Customizing for Your Plugin

1. Rename Files and Update Namespaces:

   • Rename wp-plugin-starter-template.php to your plugin name
   • Update the namespace from WPALLSTARS\PluginStarterTemplate to your own
   • Update text domain from wp-plugin-starter-template to your own

2. Update Plugin Headers:

   • Edit the plugin headers in the main PHP file
   • Update GitHub/Gitea repository URLs

3. Customize Functionality:

   • Modify the core functionality in includes/core.php
   • Add your own classes as needed
   • Customize admin interfaces in the admin/ directory

4. Update Documentation:

   • Update README.md and readme.txt with your plugin information
   • Customize wiki documentation in the .wiki/ directory

Advanced Usage

Adding Admin Pages

The template includes a structure for adding admin pages to the WordPress dashboard. To add an admin page:

1. Uncomment the add_admin_menu method in admin/lib/admin.php
2. Customize the menu parameters to match your plugin
3. Create the corresponding render method for your admin page
4. Create template files in an admin/templates/ directory

Adding Settings

To add settings to your plugin:

1. Create a settings class in includes/settings.php
2. Register settings using the WordPress Settings API
3. Create form fields for your settings
4. Handle settings validation and sanitization

Adding Custom Post Types or Taxonomies

To add custom post types or taxonomies:

1. Create a new class in includes/ for your post type or taxonomy
2. Register the post type or taxonomy in the class constructor
3. Initialize the class in includes/plugin.php

Internationalization

The template is ready for internationalization. To make your plugin translatable:

1. Use translation functions for all user-facing strings:
   • __() for simple strings
   • _e() for echoed strings
   • esc_html__() for escaped strings
2. Update the text domain in all translation functions
3. Generate a POT file for translations

Update Mechanism

The template includes an update mechanism that supports multiple sources:

• WordPress.org
• GitHub
• Gitea

To configure the update mechanism:

1. Update the plugin headers in the main PHP file
2. Customize the updater.php file if needed
3. Ensure your repository follows the required structure for updates

Building and Releasing

The template includes scripts for building and releasing your plugin:

1. Building the Plugin:

   ./build.sh <version>
   

2. Deploying to a Local WordPress Installation:

   ./scripts/deploy-local.sh
   

3. Creating a Release:

   • Tag a new version in Git
   • Push the tag to GitHub
   • The GitHub Actions workflow will create a release

Next Steps

After customizing the template for your needs, refer to the Architecture Overview to understand the plugin's structure in more detail.