gh-jezweb-claude-skills-skills-wordpress-plugin-core/templates/plugin-simple

Simple WordPress Plugin Template

This is a functional programming pattern for WordPress plugins. Best for small to medium plugins that don't require complex object-oriented architecture.

Features

✅ Complete plugin header with all fields ✅ ABSPATH security check ✅ Unique function prefix (mysp_) ✅ Custom post type registration (Books) ✅ Admin settings page with nonce verification ✅ AJAX handler with security checks ✅ Proper activation/deactivation hooks ✅ Uninstall script for cleanup ✅ Internationalization ready ✅ Conditional asset loading ✅ Security best practices (sanitization, escaping, capability checks)

Installation

1. Copy this folder to wp-content/plugins/
2. Rename folder and files to match your plugin name
3. Find and replace the following:
   • My Simple Plugin → Your plugin name
   • my-simple-plugin → your-plugin-slug
   • mysp_ → yourprefix_
   • MYSP_ → YOURPREFIX_
   • https://example.com → Your website
   • Your Name → Your name
4. Activate in WordPress admin

Structure

my-simple-plugin/
├── my-simple-plugin.php    # Main plugin file
├── uninstall.php            # Cleanup on uninstall
├── README.md                # This file
├── assets/                  # CSS/JS files (create as needed)
│   ├── css/
│   │   ├── admin-style.css
│   │   └── style.css
│   └── js/
│       ├── admin-script.js
│       └── script.js
└── languages/               # Translation files (create as needed)

Included Examples

Custom Post Type

• Registers "Books" post type
• Gutenberg-enabled
• Archive page support
• Custom rewrite slug

Settings Page

• Located in Settings → Simple Plugin
• Nonce verification
• Sanitization and validation
• Settings error handling

AJAX Handler

• Action: wp_ajax_mysp_action
• Nonce verification
• Capability checking
• JSON response

Activation/Deactivation

• Flushes rewrite rules
• Sets default options
• Cleans up scheduled events

Uninstall

• Deletes all plugin options
• Clears transients
• Multisite support
• Optional: Delete custom post type data

Security Checklist

• ABSPATH check at top of file
• Unique function prefix (mysp_)
• Nonces for all forms
• Capability checks (current_user_can)
• Input sanitization (sanitize_text_field)
• Output escaping (esc_html, esc_attr)
• AJAX nonce verification (check_ajax_referer)
• Conditional asset loading (don't load everywhere)
• Proper uninstall cleanup

Next Steps

1. Create the assets/ directory structure
2. Add your CSS and JavaScript files
3. Extend with additional features:
   • Meta boxes
   • Shortcodes
   • Widgets
   • REST API endpoints
   • Custom taxonomies
   • WP-CLI commands

Distribution & Auto-Updates

Enabling GitHub Auto-Updates

You can provide automatic updates from GitHub without submitting to WordPress.org:

1. Install Plugin Update Checker library:

cd your-plugin/
git submodule add https://github.com/YahnisElsts/plugin-update-checker.git

2. Add to your main plugin file:

// Include Plugin Update Checker
require plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . 'plugin-update-checker/plugin-update-checker.php';
use YahnisElsts\PluginUpdateChecker\v5\PucFactory;

// Initialize update checker
$updateChecker = PucFactory::buildUpdateChecker(
    'https://github.com/yourusername/your-plugin/',
    __FILE__,
    'your-plugin-slug'
);

// Set branch (default: main)
$updateChecker->setBranch( 'main' );

// Use GitHub Releases (recommended)
$updateChecker->getVcsApi()->enableReleaseAssets();

3. For private repos, add token to wp-config.php:

define( 'YOUR_PLUGIN_GITHUB_TOKEN', 'ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxxx' );

Then in your plugin:

if ( defined( 'YOUR_PLUGIN_GITHUB_TOKEN' ) ) {
    $updateChecker->setAuthentication( YOUR_PLUGIN_GITHUB_TOKEN );
}

4. Create releases:

# Update version in plugin header
git add my-simple-plugin.php
git commit -m "Bump version to 1.0.1"
git tag 1.0.1
git push origin main
git push origin 1.0.1

# Create GitHub Release (optional but recommended)
# - Upload pre-built ZIP file
# - Add release notes

Resources

• Complete Guide: See references/github-auto-updates.md
• Implementation Examples: See examples/github-updater.php
• Plugin Update Checker: https://github.com/YahnisElsts/plugin-update-checker

Resources

• WordPress Plugin Handbook
• WordPress Coding Standards
• Plugin Security

License

GPL v2 or later