Configuration

Table of contents

All configuration is optional

WP Starter can work without any setup at all, however one of its greatest features is its flexibility that allows for fine-grained customization of every aspect according to the project requirements.

Configuration in composer.json

Like other Composer plugins, WP Starter configuration goes into extra section of composer.json.

More specifically, it goes into a sub-object wpstarter in the extra section.

{
    "extra": {
        "wpstarter": {
            "config-name": "config value"
        }
    }
}

Configuration in wpstarter.json

For better readability and portability it is also possible to have, in the same folder as composer.json, a file named wpstarter.json containing only WP Starter configuration (anything that would go in the extra.wpstarter object):

{
    "config-name": "config value"
}

If that file is present, WP Starter will recognize it and will load configuration from there.

Configuration in a custom file

Instead of using a file named wpstarter.json in root folder it is also possible to tell WP Starter to use a different file to load configuration.

A use case could be to reuse the same WP Starter configuration for many websites that resides under the same parent folder.

To do this, in composer.json it is necessary to use the extra.wpstarter configuration to set the path of the custom file. The path must be relative to the folder containing the composer.json:

{
    "extra": {
        "wpstarter": "../wpstarter-shared-config.json"
    }
}

This also enables to have the configuration file available in a separate Composer package and make it available to WP Starter by pointing to the file in vendor folder:

{
    "extra": {
        "wpstarter": "./vendor/my-company/wp-starter-shared/config.json"
    }
}

Configuration precedence

When having both wpstarter.json file and extra.wpstarter section in composer.json, WP Starter will load configuration from both, but in case the same setting is set in both places, the wpstarter.json file takes precedence, also in the case extra.wpstarter is not a literal object but a path to a separate configuration file.

Generic configuration

There are two configuration values that affect WP Starter that cannot be placed inside the extra.wpstarter object, nor can they be set in wpstarter.json:

  • "wordpress-install-dir"
  • "wordpress-content-dir"

These two configuration values might contain a custom path where to place, respectively, WordPress core files and WordPress “content packages”: plugin, themes, MU plugins, and dropins.

"wordpress-install-dir" is not even a WP Starter specific configuration, but was first introduced by the John P. Block’s WordPress core installer and then also supported by Roots’ one.

Regardless of whether any of the above WordPress core installers is used, wordpress-install-dir configuration is required to tell WP Starter where WordPress core files are located. It defaults to "./wordpress" meaning a wordpress folder inside project root.

"wordpress-content-dir" has been introduced by WP Starter and it is located differently from other WP Starter settings to be in symmetry with "wordpress-install-dir". It defaults to "./wp-content" meaning a wp-content folder inside project root.

Next: WP Starter Steps