Title: Plugin Builder
Author: Chris Taylor
Published: اوکتوبر 5, 2014
Last modified: آپریل 20, 2015
---
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This plugin **hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress**.
It may no longer be maintained or supported and may have compatibility issues when
used with more recent versions of WordPress.
# Plugin Builder
By [Chris Taylor](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mrwiblog/)
[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/plugin-builder.zip)
* [Details](https://azb.wordpress.org/plugins/plugin-builder/#description)
* [Reviews](https://azb.wordpress.org/plugins/plugin-builder/#reviews)
* [Installation](https://azb.wordpress.org/plugins/plugin-builder/#installation)
* [Development](https://azb.wordpress.org/plugins/plugin-builder/#developers)
[Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugin-builder/)
## Description
This is a plugin for WordPress plugin developers. If you don’t understand what `
PHP`, `HTML`, `CSS`, `add_action` and `apply_filters` are then this plugin is not
for you!
The [WordPress Plugin Boilerplate](https://github.com/tommcfarlin/WordPress-Plugin-Boilerplate)
is a fantastic tool for standardising WordPress plugins, and encouraging developers
to use best practices. But manual editing of every file to enter the name of the
plugin, the author name and all the other metadata is a bit of a chore. This plugin
automates that process, giving you a simple form to enter your metadata, then when
you hit the ‘Build’ button your new plugin is created with all the correct metadata.
But there’s more. You can also define Custom Post Types and even other custom classes
which will have .php files created automatically, and all the relevant code to include
those files in your plugin. Once your plugin is built you can, of course, edit the
files in any way you want to add extra methods.
Plugin Builder will even create a manager class for your Custom Post Types if you
want, as a place to store methods related to your CPTs – such as a get_all() method,
for example.
And that’s not all. Some developers like to include extra items in their plugins,
like utility classes or frameworks such as the [WordPress Settings Framework](https://github.com/gilbitron/WordPress-Settings-Framework).
Plugin Builder automates that process, too, by downloading and including the files
you choose in your new plugin.
Plugin Builder comes with a range of these additional includes you can choose from,
but if there are other items you want to include you can make those part of the
build process really easily (by extending a simple interface and using a filter).
So, let’s look at the traditional way of using the WordPress Plugin Boilerplate
to create a new plugin:
1. Download the Boilerplate and extract it
2. Rename all the files using your plugin name (e.g. ‘class-plugin-name.php’ to ‘
class-my-plugin.php’)
3. Go through all the files and replace the metadata with your plugin details (name,
slug, author, URIs etc)
4. Create your CPT class and the registration code,
5. Add the code to include the CPT file and register the CPT with WordPress
6. Create a custom class
7. Add the code to include your custom class file
8. Download your favourite utility files to your plugin folder
9. Add the code to include your utility files in your plugin
Or, using Plugin Builder:
1. Enter the details of your plugin (name and description – the slug and class name
are automatically created)
2. Enter the details of your Custom Post Type (name and description, whether you want
a manager class creating)
3. Enter the details of your custom class (name and description)
4. Check the box next to any utility files you want to be included
5. Press ‘Build’
My guess is Plugin Builder will save you 2-4 hours work, and make your plugins much
more standard in their architecture.
When your plugin is built the settings for it will be saved so you can rebuild your
plugin at any time (this will overwrite any changes you’ve made manually) or make
a few changes and create a new plugin.
### Optional includes
The optional includes available in Plugin Builder are:
#### WordPress Settings Framework
The [WordPress Settings Framework](https://github.com/gilbitron/WordPress-Settings-Framework)
aims to take the pain out of creating settings pages for your WordPress plugins
by effectively creating a wrapper around the WordPress settings API and making it
super simple to create and maintain settings pages.
#### util.php
[util.php](http://brandonwamboldt.github.io/utilphp/) is a collection of useful
functions and snippets that you need or could use every day, designed to avoid conflicts
with existing projects.
Expect more includes to be bundled with future versions of Plugin Builder. If you
have an idea for an include you want and you think it may be useful for other developers
let me know. Or, add your own include (see the next section for details).
#### Adding your own includes
Adding your own includes to Plugin Builder is really easy. There’s an interface
named Plugin_Builder_Include which you need to extend, it has a few methods that
need to be implemented. Then you add a call to a method in your include class for
the plugin_builder_includes filter. Here’s a simple example:
```
class My_Include implements Plugin_Builder_Include {
/**
* The method run when the user has selected this include.
*
* @since 1.0.0
* @var Plugin_Builder_Settings $settings The settings for the plugin being built.
*/
public function process_include( $settings ) {
// This is where you would do the work for your include; downloading files and saving them locally,
// creating folders, adding settings etc.
// Returns 'true' if your processing succeeds, and a string detailing the error if it fails.
// We ALWAYS use the WordPress Filesystem API for file operations, see this for details: https://codex.wordpress.org/Filesystem_API
global $wp_filesystem;
if ( ! isset( $wp_filesystem ) || null == $wp_filesystem ) {
return false;
}
// get the file we want to include in the new plugin from a local folder
// Note: it's tempting to get your files from somewhere on the Internet (such as Github or your own site) but
// this would be against the WordPress Plugin Guidelines: https://wordpress.org/plugins/about/guidelines/
// Also you can't include your files in a Zip or other archive, they have to be diff-able (i.e. text-based) files.
$cache_file = PLUGIN_BUILDER_DIR . 'cache/my-include.php';
// copy the file to the build folder
$wp_filesystem->copy( $cache_file, $settings->build_path . 'includes/my-include.php' );
return true;
}
/**
* Returns any code to be injected into the top of the load_dependencies() method.
*
* @since 1.0.0
*/
public function get_dependencies_code() {
// Be careful here: you're writing PHP code as a string to be injected into a .php file, so it must be valid.
return "
/**
* My Include
*
* My Include is an example include for the Plugin Builder plugin.
*
*/
require_once plugin_dir_path( dirname( __FILE__ ) ) . 'includes/my-include.php';
";
}
/**
* Returns the unique slug for this include.
*
* @since 1.0.0
*/
public function get_slug(){
return 'my-include';
}
/**
* Returns the translated title for this include.
*
* @since 1.0.0
*/
public function get_title() {
return __( 'My Include' );
}
/**
* Returns the translated description (HTML allowed) for this include.
*
* @since 1.0.0
*/
public function get_description() {
return __( 'My Include is an example include for the Plugin Builder plugin.
' );
}
/**
* Returns the URL giving more information on this include.
*
* @since 1.0.0
*/
public function get_info_url() {
return 'https://some-website.com/my-include/';
}
/**
* The method that will be called when the add_includes filter runs.
*
* @since 1.0.0
* @var array $includes The array of includes.
*/
public function add_includes( $includes ) {
return $includes;
}
}
// add this include to Plugin Builder using the plugin_builder_includes filter
$my_include = new My_Include();
add_filter( 'plugin_builder_includes', array( $my_include, 'add_include' ) );
```
## Screenshots
* [[
* The list of built plugins. You can open the plugin build settings form, make
changes and rebuild, or you can build with a different slug (which makes a new
plugin).
* [[
* The main settings form; the advanced section is hidden by default.
* [[
* The form to create Custom Post Types. You can add as many CPTs as you want.
* [[
* The form to create custom classes. You can add as many custom classes as you
want.
* [[
* The form to add optional includes.
## Installation
I recommend you install this only on your development environment, so you can open
your new plugins and continue your development. There’s no point installing it on
a live site!
1. Upload the `plugin-builder` folder to the `/wp-content/plugins/` directory
2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
Or install direct from the Plugin Repository using the Plugins system in WordPress.
## FAQ
Why did you create Plugin Builder?
I’m a big fan of the WordPress Plugin Boilderplate, but the tedious manual work
required to get a plugin started annoyed me. I wanted to develop plugins in a standard
way more quickly.
Is Plugin Builder an official part of WordPress Plugin Boilerplate?
No. It’s built on top of the Boilerplate, but it’s not part of that project.
Why not just get the latest version of the Boilerplate from Github? Why have it
in the Plugin Builder plugin itself?
Because loading executable code for inclusion in a WordPress installation goes against
the [WordPress Plugin Guidelines](https://wordpress.org/plugins/about/guidelines/).
Having the files for the Boilerplate in Plugin Builder means they are diff-able,
and therefore can be checked by the WordPress team. The Plugin Repository is their
place, after all, and needs to be kept secure (as do people’s WordPress sites who
use this plugin).
Where’s the LEGO image from?
It’s [from Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/eepaul/7396791752/in/photostream/).
The photo was taken by [Paul Wilkinson](https://www.flickr.com/photos/eepaul/) and
shared with a Creative Commons Attribution licence. Thanks, Paul.
## Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
## Contributors & Developers
“Plugin Builder” is open source software. The following people have contributed
to this plugin.
Contributors
* [ Chris Taylor ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mrwiblog/)
[Translate “Plugin Builder” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/plugin-builder)
### Interested in development?
[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/plugin-builder/), check
out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/plugin-builder/), or
subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/plugin-builder/)
by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/plugin-builder/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).
## Changelog
#### 1.0.1
* Tested up to WordPress 4.7.1
* Fixed bug if util.php was included in more than one built plugin.
#### 1.0
* The first release
## Meta
* Version **1.0.0**
* Last updated **11 ایللر ago**
* Active installations **20+**
* WordPress version ** 3.0.1 or higher **
* Tested up to **4.7.33**
* Language
* [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/plugin-builder/)
* Tags
* [boilerplate](https://azb.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/boilerplate/)[development](https://azb.wordpress.org/plugins/tags/development/)
* [Advanced View](https://azb.wordpress.org/plugins/plugin-builder/advanced/)
## Ratings
No reviews have been submitted yet.
[Add my review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugin-builder/reviews/#new-post)
[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugin-builder/reviews/)
## Contributors
* [ Chris Taylor ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mrwiblog/)
## Support
Got something to say? Need help?
[View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/plugin-builder/)
## Donate
Would you like to support the advancement of this plugin?
[ Donate to this plugin ](http://www.stillbreathing.co.uk/wordpress/plugin-builder/)