WordPress VIP Development

WordPress VIP is an enterprise WordPress hosting platform with specific architecture requirements and tooling.

Project Structure

project/
├── client-mu-plugins/       # Client must-use plugins
│   ├── plugin-name/
│   │   ├── plugin.php
│   │   └── inc/
│   └── plugin-loader.php    # Loads client mu-plugins
├── plugins/                 # Standard plugins
├── themes/
│   └── theme-name/
│       ├── functions.php
│       ├── inc/
│       └── theme.json
├── vip-config/
│   └── vip-config.php       # VIP-specific configuration
├── images/                  # Imported media (optional)
├── languages/               # Translation files
└── composer.json

VIP CLI Commands

VIP uses vip CLI (install via npm: npm install -g @automattic/vip):

Application Management

vip app list                           # List your VIP applications
vip app --app=<app-id>                 # Select application context

WP-CLI Access

vip @<app>.<env> -- wp <command>

# Examples:
vip @mysite.production -- wp post list --post_type=page
vip @mysite.develop -- wp user list
vip @mysite.staging -- wp option get siteurl
vip @mysite.develop -- wp cache flush

Database Access

vip @<app>.<env> db                    # Interactive database shell

Logs

vip @<app>.<env> logs                  # Application logs
vip @<app>.<env> logs --type=batch     # Batch/cron logs

Dev Environment (Local)

vip dev-env create                     # Create local environment
vip dev-env start                      # Start local environment
vip dev-env stop                       # Stop local environment
vip dev-env destroy                    # Remove local environment

# WP-CLI in local dev-env
vip dev-env exec -- wp <command>

client-mu-plugins Architecture

Client code lives in client-mu-plugins/:

<?php
// client-mu-plugins/my-feature/plugin.php
namespace Project\MyFeature;

function bootstrap() : void {
    add_action( 'init', __NAMESPACE__ . '\\register' );
}

Load via plugin-loader.php:

<?php
// client-mu-plugins/plugin-loader.php
require_once __DIR__ . '/my-feature/plugin.php';
Project\MyFeature\bootstrap();

VIP-Specific Constraints

Forbidden Functions

VIP restricts certain functions for security and performance:

• No eval(), create_function()
• No direct file writes outside uploads: use VIP File System API
• No wp_remote_get() to localhost
• Limited use of set_time_limit()

Required Practices

• Use wpcom_vip_file_get_contents() for remote requests with caching
• Use wpcom_vip_attachment_url_to_postid() instead of attachment_url_to_postid()
• Avoid uncached queries: use VIP's caching layer

Environment Variables

Access via:

$value = defined( 'MY_CONSTANT' ) ? MY_CONSTANT : getenv( 'MY_CONSTANT' );

Code Analysis

VIP provides code analysis tools:

# Run VIP code analysis locally
vip @<app> code-analysis

# Or use the PHPCS VIP ruleset
vendor/bin/phpcs --standard=WordPress-VIP-Go

Deployment

VIP deploys from git branches:

• develop branch → develop environment
• preprod branch → staging environment
• master/main branch → production environment

Deployments are triggered by git push and go through VIP's review process.

Asset Handling

Similar to standard WordPress, but note:

• Use wp_enqueue_* functions exclusively
• CDN is handled automatically by VIP
• Use versioning via asset manifest files

function enqueue_assets() : void {
    $manifest = json_decode(
        file_get_contents( get_template_directory() . '/build/manifest.json' ),
        true
    );

    wp_enqueue_script(
        'theme-scripts',
        get_template_directory_uri() . '/build/' . $manifest['main.js'],
        [],
        null,
        true
    );
}
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', __NAMESPACE__ . '\\enqueue_assets' );