DeltaWP Toolkit
A reusable toolkit for creating and maintaining WordPress plugins with low-token LLM workflows. It covers scaffolding a new plugin from a secure starter template, retrofitting an existing plugin with structured guidance, running baseline and delta briefings for efficient AI handoff, gathering context for wider codebase analysis, validating with syntax and standards checks, and packaging for distribution. The root instructions stay short, WordPress-specific depth is deferred into a skill and bundled scripts, and the workflow is designed to be easy to share, fork, and adapt.
Open source, currently in beta. Replaces the WP Plugin Dev Toolkit.
Structure for Every Stage of Plugin Work.
The toolkit covers the full plugin development lifecycle. Each area has dedicated scripts, templates, and documentation so the workflow is consistent and repeatable, whether you are starting from scratch, retrofitting an existing plugin, or working against a Dockerized development environment.
Start a New Plugin Fast
Use the toolkit as your source, then bootstrap a self-contained plugin repo into a project workspace or directly into a Docker-mounted wp-content/plugins directory. The secure starter template includes an admin settings page, shortcode example, assets, and an uninstall routine.
Bring Structure to Existing Plugins
Copy the agent guidance, skill bundle, and maintenance scripts into an existing plugin project. Inherited plugins get immediate structure: consistent naming, a security baseline, and repeatable AI workflows without starting over.
Low-Token AI Handoffs
Generate compact, model-ready summaries that rank likely edit targets, list behavior touch points, and highlight review risks. The delta brief summarizes only changed files for cheap follow-up edits. Works in Markdown, text, or JSON output.
Know What You’re Working With
Gather a wider inventory of hooks and touch points when the brief has already narrowed the likely code path. Run syntax linting and standards checks, optionally inside a Docker container when local PHP is unavailable.
Always-On Project Instructions
A token-efficient AGENTS.md file optimized for consistent plugin work across sessions. An on-demand WordPress plugin skill bundle with procedures and reference material that stays out of context until needed.
Ship When Ready
Package the plugin for distribution with a single command. The build script assembles the plugin directory into a clean, shippable archive, ready for upload or deployment.
The DeltaWP Toolkit User Manual covers every script, workflow, and template in detail, including the scaffold flow, retrofit flow, briefing and delta briefing, context gathering, validation, and packaging.
Built for WordPress Plugin Developers.
The toolkit is useful whether you are starting a new plugin from scratch, inheriting one that has accumulated problems, or maintaining several plugins across different environments. It is especially valuable when working with an AI coding assistant and want a structured, low-token workflow rather than ad-hoc prompting.
Solo Plugin Developers
Get consistent naming, structure, and a security baseline from the start. The starter template and scaffold scripts reduce the overhead of starting a new plugin correctly.
Agencies Taking Over Plugins
The retrofit flow is designed for exactly this scenario. Install the toolkit into an existing plugin repo, run the briefing scripts to understand what you’re working with, and have a documented baseline before touching a line of code.
Teams Using AI Coding Assistants
The layered briefing approach replaces ad-hoc prompting with a controlled, repeatable workflow. Stronger models consume fewer tokens with the compact brief. Weaker models get the full context inventory when they need it.
Developers Running Dockerized WordPress
When PHP is only available in your WordPress container, the check script runs syntax linting inside the container while the rest of the validation stays local. Keep using the same commands and only add Docker parameters when local PHP is unavailable.
What’s in the Toolkit.
Install the toolkit into your plugin project or use it as a source for scaffolding new plugins. Everything is available from your plugin root once installed.
AGENTS.md
Always-on project guidance optimized for token efficiency and consistent plugin work. Keeps the AI coding assistant aligned with project conventions without burning context.
tools/
PowerShell scripts for scaffolding, baseline briefing, delta briefing, context gathering, validation, and packaging. Each script does one job well and composes with the others.
template/
A secure starter plugin with an admin settings page, shortcode example, assets, and an uninstall routine. The starting point for every new plugin scaffolded from the toolkit.
.github/skills/
On-demand WordPress plugin procedures and reference material. Deep WordPress-specific knowledge that loads only when needed, keeping the root instructions short and efficient.
Drop It Into Your Next Plugin Project.
Scaffold a new plugin from the template, retrofit an existing one with structured guidance, or run a baseline brief to get your AI coding assistant oriented. The full flow takes minutes to set up and pays off every time you start or inherit a plugin.
