WordPress for Developers
API Key Environment Variable in PHP: Where It Goes
Learn where a PHP API key environment variable should live, how to read it safely, and every place it must never end up: git,…
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Tag: Developer Workflow
WordPress for Developers
Exponential Backoff Jitter API Retries That Work
Exponential backoff jitter API retries stop retry storms when LLM calls fail together. See jitter formulas, PHP code and which errors are safe to…
AI Coding Assistants
Add an LLM to a Web Application You Have to Maintain
Your LLM call works in a test script. Production needs a server-side proxy, timeouts, retries that tell a rate limit from a spend cap,…
WordPress for Developers
WP-CLI Bulk Update Posts Safely, Without the Admin
Bulk update posts with WP-CLI: select IDs with wp post list, apply one change, and verify. Back up with wp db export first, and…
WordPress for Developers
WP_CLI add_command: Write a Custom WP-CLI Command
Register a custom WP-CLI command with WP_CLI::add_command, document its arguments in the docblock, and make it safe to run on production: dry run first.
WordPress for Developers
WordPress Child Theme functions.php That Survives Updates
A child theme's functions.php loads before the parent's, and copying the parent's file causes a fatal error. Build a child theme that survives updates.
WordPress for Developers
theme.json Block Theme Guide: Where add_theme_support Went
Where add_theme_support went in block themes: the theme.json v3 settings that replace it, the layers that override your file, and what stays in PHP.
WordPress for Developers
wp_enqueue_script Dependencies and What Breaks Without Them
A missing dependency makes WordPress drop your script tag with no warning. How $deps, handles, defer and versions really work, and how to debug…
WordPress for Developers
Custom Post Types in Code, Not in a Plugin UI
Why a custom post type vanishes on a theme switch, which register_post_type arguments actually decide behavior, and the rewrite flush that has to happen…
WordPress for Developers
Extending the REST Response Instead of Building an Endpoint
You need one more field on /wp/v2/posts. register_rest_field does it in a dozen lines, keeps pagination and permissions, and does not create a second…
WordPress for Developers
Nonces Are Not Authentication: What They Actually Protect
WordPress nonces protect against CSRF, not authentication or authorization. See how capability checks, sanitization, Ajax, and REST security fit together.
WordPress for Developers
Sanitize, Escape, Validate: Which One, Where, and Why Order Matters
Validate input, sanitize before storage, and escape at output. Understand where each step belongs in WordPress and PHP and why the order matters for…
WordPress for Developers
Why Editing functions.php Keeps Destroying Your Site
One typo in functions.php takes down the front end and the admin together. How to get back in, why it happens, and the change…
WordPress for Developers
Your First Real Plugin: Headers, Structure and Not Using functions.php
Build your first real WordPress plugin with proper headers, structure, naming, activation hooks, and site-specific code that survives theme changes.
WordPress for Developers
The init Hook Is Too Late: Choosing the Right Hook for the Job
There are hundreds of hooks and you need one. Choose by what must already exist when your code runs, not by what the last…