wp-plugin-development

This skill guides agents through developing WordPress plugins, including architecture setup, WordPress hooks and lifecycle management, admin interfaces using…

by AutomatticOfficial publisherNot reviewed

Identity proven by GitHub's verified organisation badge (Automattic)

Agents: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, OpenCode
License: No license stated
Pin: 48d4aa2pinned Oct 9, 2026
Context cost: about 900 tokenswhen the skill loads
GitHub stars: 211on automattic/agent-skills
Scripts: 1 script

What it does

“Use when developing WordPress plugins: architecture and hooks, activation/deactivation/uninstall, admin UI and Settings API, data storage, cron/tasks, security (nonces/capabilities/sanitization/escaping), and release packaging.”

The author's description, from SKILL.md

Generated summary from the skill's own text

This skill guides agents through developing WordPress plugins, including architecture setup, WordPress hooks and lifecycle management, admin interfaces using the Settings API, security hardening with nonces and sanitization, and release packaging. It targets WordPress 6.9+ with PHP 7.2.24+ and uses bash and Node.js for filesystem operations, with optional WP-CLI integration.

When to use it

Building new plugins or refactoring existing plugin code structure
Adding hooks, settings pages, or admin UI to WordPress plugins
Implementing activation, deactivation, and uninstall behavior
Fixing security issues like CSRF protection, input sanitization, or SQL safety

When not to

WordPress versions below 6.9 or PHP below 7.2.24
Theme development or WordPress core modifications
Projects requiring only theme customization without plugin code

Review

Not reviewed by a person yet. The trust card below shows what our automated checks found at the pinned commit.

Trust card

What our automated checks found

At commit 48d4aa21d0da0e7bda1c7ac155fef2e16b87aa25, checked Oct 8, 2026.

License: No license statedno license file, field or repository license
Scripts: Yes, 1 script:
scripts/detect_plugins.mjs
Network domains: developer.wordpress.org
allowed-tools: None requested
Unpinned packages: None found
Spec issues: None found
Files: 8 files, 11 KB in totalLargest: SKILL.md (4.0 KB)
Context cost: Description: 227 characters, in context whenever the agent runs.Body: about 900 tokens, in context when the skill loads.
Warnings: License not statedno license file, field or repository license
Contains scriptsscripts/detect_plugins.mjs
Contacts network domainsdeveloper.wordpress.org
Repository: Archived on GitHub, so it no longer receives changes.

Automated checks look for known patterns and can be bypassed. They decide what a reviewer reads first. This is not a guarantee.

Pins

Pin history

48d4aa2Oct 9, 2026Current

Install

No license stated: install from the publisher's repository, and ask the author before you reuse or share it.

These commands install from the publisher's repository and need no account.

skills CLI

npx skills add automattic/agent-skills --skill wp-plugin-development

Installs from the repository's default branch, which may have changed since the commit we checked.

GitHub CLI 2.90 or later

gh skill install automattic/agent-skills wp-plugin-development@48d4aa21d0da0e7bda1c7ac155fef2e16b87aa25

Installs the commit we checked (48d4aa2).

Copy by hand

Download the folder at 48d4aa2 and put it in .claude/skills/wp-plugin-development for Claude Code and in .agents/skills/wp-plugin-development for Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode.

Skill folder on GitHub at 48d4aa2

Claude Code plugin

/plugin install build-with-wordpress@claude-plugins-official

The publisher's plugin in Claude's official marketplace. It may hold more than this skill, and we have not pinned it.

Copy for your agent

A prompt for any coding agent. It installs this skill from GitHub at the pinned commit, copies the files as they are, and runs nothing unless you ask.

Prompt

Install the agent skill "wp-plugin-development" by Automattic.

Source, pinned to commit 48d4aa21d0da0e7bda1c7ac155fef2e16b87aa25:
https://github.com/automattic/agent-skills/tree/48d4aa21d0da0e7bda1c7ac155fef2e16b87aa25/skills/wp-plugin-development

1. Download that folder at exactly this commit. Do not use the default branch.
2. Copy every file unchanged, keeping the folder structure, into .claude/skills/wp-plugin-development/ for Claude Code and .agents/skills/wp-plugin-development/ for Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode. Create the folders if they do not exist.
3. Do not edit the files, and do not run any script in the folder unless I ask you to.
4. When you are done, list the files you copied and where you put them.

Its license is restricted or not stated. Show me the license terms from the repository before you copy anything.

Listing and checks: https://www.agentnative.dev/skills/automattic/wp-plugin-development

SKILL.md at the pin

The license of this skill does not let us show its files here.

View SKILL.md on GitHub at 48d4aa2

Files

SKILL.md4.0 KB · 89f320ecffc5
references/
data-and-cron.md678 B · 6a21d6a919b5
debugging.md559 B · 045e6cfe9bfc
lifecycle.md854 B · 231fb911cff2
security.md787 B · 95c923157212
settings-api.md703 B · 535fde7f0194
structure.md401 B · 00ae05f608a5
scripts/
detect_plugins.mjs2.8 KB · 3fe7315c5756

8 files, 11 KB in total. Each file has a sha256 in the pin's manifest; the first 12 characters are shown.

Skill folder on GitHub at 48d4aa2

All 31 skills from Automattic

wp-plugin-development

What it does

When to use it

When not to

Install

Copy for your agent

SKILL.md at the pin

Files

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When not to

Install

Copy for your agent

SKILL.md at the pin

Files

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