Contribute to Stream

Development Environment

Stream uses npm for JavaScript dependencies, Composer for PHP dependencies, and @wordpress/scripts to build assets.

Local WordPress — daily development, PHPUnit, and Playwright — runs on @wordpress/env (wp-env). You need Node.js and Docker. Keep using Composer for PHP packages (composer install).

Requirements

Node.js (see .nvmrc)
Composer
Docker Desktop or Engine, running
PHP 7.4+ to run the plugin. Host commands that use PHPUnit 11 (composer test-unit and the other Composer test scripts) need PHP 8.2+. wp-env defaults to PHP 8.2; use the switch-to:php* scripts to test other versions locally, including the PHP 7.4 runtime floor.

We suggest using the Homebrew package manager on macOS:

brew install node composer
brew install --cask docker

Minimum supported PHP

Raise the minimum supported PHP version only when the combined WordPress.org PHP usage of every version below the proposed new minimum is under 5%. This percentage is a minimum floor. A version above the floor stays supported even if its own share is under 5%.

Today that floor is PHP 7.4. PHP 7.2 is about 1.4% and PHP 7.3 is about 1.4%, so the versions below 7.4 are under the 5% bar. PHP 7.4 is about 16%, so it stays supported. Do not move the floor to 8.0, 8.1, or 8.2.

Environment Setup

See the Git Flow section below for how to fork the repository.
Run npm install and composer install to set up project dependencies. PHPUnit helper plugins (ACF, EDD, Jetpack, …) are Composer dev dependencies installed under local/public/wp-content/ and mapped into the wp-env tests environment via env.tests.mappings in .wp-env.json.
Run npm run build to build the assets.
Run npm start to start wp-env. The repo is mapped in via "plugins": ["."] in .wp-env.json; multisite is enabled there too. Stream and Email Logger are network-activated automatically via the lifecycleScripts.afterStart hook in .wp-env.json.
Visit http://localhost:8888 and log in with admin / password.

Override the development port with WP_ENV_PORT. Playwright and the E2E helpers read PLAYWRIGHT_BASE_URL or WP_ENV_PORT (default http://localhost:8888).

The testing site (used by PHPUnit via wp-env run tests-cli) is http://localhost:8889. DB settings for that container are in tests/wp-tests-config-wp-env.php.

HTTPS, Application Passwords, and MCP

The default wp-env stack is HTTP on localhost. WordPress Application Passwords work on http://localhost (core treats local environments as an exception to the HTTPS requirement). Production MCP clients that insist on HTTPS need a reverse proxy or another TLS terminator; that is not part of this environment.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration

Stream exposes its abilities as MCP-discoverable tools by tagging each registered ability with meta.mcp.public = true. The WordPress MCP Adapter does the actual MCP server work; Stream does not load or initialize the adapter itself.

The MCP Adapter is a require-dev Composer dependency declared as "type": "wordpress-plugin", so composer install drops it into local/public/wp-content/plugins/mcp-adapter/. Map it into wp-env with a gitignored .wp-env.override.json:

{
  "env": {
    "development": {
      "mappings": {
        "wp-content/plugins/mcp-adapter": "./local/public/wp-content/plugins/mcp-adapter"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then restart wp-env (npm start) and network-activate the adapter:

npm run cli -- wp plugin activate mcp-adapter --network

Enable the "Enable Abilities API and MCP" toggle in Stream → Settings → Advanced (network admin on network-activated multisite). Verify the default server route:

curl http://localhost:8888/wp-json/mcp/mcp-adapter-default-server

To use MCP from Claude Desktop or another MCP client, follow the mcp-adapter README's MCP client configuration section. On this HTTP localhost stack you can create an Application Password in the user profile and point the client at http://localhost:8888.

PHP Xdebug

Start the environment with Xdebug enabled:

npm run start-xdebug

That runs wp-env start --xdebug. Step Debugging should work in VS Code via .vscode/launch.json. wp-env mounts this checkout at /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/<directory name>. The launch config maps a checkout named stream.

For PhpStorm, follow the official guide and map ${workspaceRoot} to /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/<directory name>.

Mail

The wp-env stack includes the Email Logger plugin from the WordPress Test Handbook. It hooks into wp_mail and stores the last 50 outgoing emails in the database.

Plugin slug: wp-email-logger (installed from the handbook zip, not WordPress.org)
View logs: In wp-admin, open Email Log in the admin menu
Multisite: Network-activated alongside Stream via lifecycleScripts.afterStart in .wp-env.json

Playwright specs that need a notifier can use Stream's Highlight alert type instead of email when that is simpler for the test.

phpMyAdmin

phpMyAdmin is available at http://localhost:9001. Login: root / password.

Scripts and Commands

We use npm as the canonical task runner for the project. The following commands are available:

npm run start / npx wp-env start to start the wp-env development and tests containers (network-activates Stream and Email Logger via lifecycleScripts.afterStart).
npm run stop / npx wp-env stop to stop them.
npm run stop-all to stop all Docker containers.
npm run build to build the plugin JS and CSS files.
npm run dev to watch and build the plugin assets continuously.
npm run lint to check JS and PHP files for syntax and style issues.
npm run deploy to deploy the plugin to the WordPress.org repository.
npm run cli -- wp info runs WP-CLI inside the wp-env CLI container. For example, npm run cli -- wp plugin list.
npm run test to run PHPUnit (single-site + multisite) inside wp-env run tests-cli.
composer test-unit to run the fast PHP unit suite on the host (no Docker, no WordPress bootstrap). Requires PHP 8.2+ because PHPUnit 11 cannot run on the PHP 7.4 runtime minimum.
npm run test:php-unit to run the fast PHP unit suite in the wp-env tests container.
npm run test:php / npm run test:php-multisite to run one integration PHPUnit suite only. These pass --no-coverage because wp-env does not load a coverage driver.
composer test-coverage / composer test-coverage-multisite write tests/reports/clover.xml for npm run test-report.
npm run test-xdebug will run PHPUnit after starting wp-env with Xdebug.
npm run test-e2e will run the Playwright E2E tests against http://localhost:8888.
npm run test-e2e-debug will run the Playwright E2E tests in debug mode (Chromium + dev tools).
npm run switch-to:php7.4, npm run switch-to:php8.2, npm run switch-to:php8.3, and npm run switch-to:php8.4 restart wp-env with WP_ENV_PHP_VERSION set. PHP 7.4 is the runtime minimum. PHP 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4 match the Lint/Test and E2E matrix (PHPUnit 11 cannot run on 7.4). The default in .wp-env.json is PHP 8.2. Confirm with npm run which-php.
npm run document:connectors generates connectors.md. This runs via your local PHP.
npm run large-records-generate inserts ~1.6M rows to wp_stream and ~8.4M rows to wp_streammeta for testing
npm run large-records-remove removes the test data only
npm run large-records-show shows how much test data is in the tables, this does not include non-test entries

By default, tests have WP_DEBUG as false. wp-env run does not forward host environment variables, so set WP_STREAM_TEST_DEBUG inside the container command:

npx wp-env run tests-cli --env-cwd=wp-content/plugins/"$(basename "$PWD")" -- env WP_STREAM_TEST_DEBUG=yes composer test

wp-env issues

If the environment is stale, try npx wp-env start --update. To reset databases, npx wp-env clean all (this deletes local WordPress data). npx wp-env destroy removes containers and downloaded sources — only use it when you intend to wipe the environment.

Issues Tracker

Support issues or usage questions should be posted on the Plugin Support Forum.

The issue tracker on GitHub is the preferred channel for bug reports, features requests and submitting pull requests.

Reporting Bugs

A bug is a demonstrable problem that is caused by the code in the repository. Good bug reports with complete error messages, environment details and screenshots are extremely helpful — thank you!

Guidelines for bug reports:

Check if the bug has already been fixed — Someone may already be on top of it, so try to reproduce it using the latest from the master branch.
Use the GitHub issue search — Someone might already know about it, so please check if the issue has already been reported.
Isolate the problem — The better you can determine exactly what behavior(s) cause the issue, the faster and more effectively it can be resolved. “I’m getting an error message.” is not a good bug report. A good bug report shouldn't leave others needing to contact you for more information.

Please try to be as detailed as possible in your report. What is your environment? What steps will reproduce the issue? What browser(s) experience the problem? What outcome did you expect, and how did it differ from what you actually saw? All these details will help people to fix any potential bugs.

Example:

Short and descriptive example bug report title

A summary of the issue and the environment/browser in which it occurs. If suitable, include the steps required to reproduce the bug.

This is the first step

This is the second step

Further steps, etc.

Any other information you want to share that is relevant to the issue being reported. This might include the lines of code that you have identified as causing the bug, and potential solutions (and your opinions on their merits).

Note: In an effort to keep open issues to a manageable number, we will close any issues that do not provide enough information for us to be able to work on a solution. You will be encouraged to provide the necessary details, after which we will reopen the issue.

Feature Requests

Feature requests are very welcome! But take a moment to find out whether your idea fits with the scope and aims of the project. It's up to you to make a strong case to convince the project's developers of the merits of this feature. Please provide as much detail and context as possible.

Building something great means choosing features carefully especially because it is much, much easier to add features than it is to take them away. Additions to Stream will be evaluated on a combination of scope (how well it fits into the project), maintenance burden and general usefulness to users.

Pull Requests

Good pull requests — patches, improvements, new features — are a fantastic help. They should remain focused in scope and avoid containing unrelated commits.

Please ask first before embarking on any significant pull request (e.g. implementing features, refactoring code), otherwise you risk spending a lot of time working on something that the project's developers might not want to merge into the project. You can solicit feedback and opinions in an open enhancement issue, or create a new one.

Please use the git flow for pull requests and follow WordPress Coding Standards before submitting your work.

Git Flow for Pull Requests

Fork the project, clone your fork, and configure the remotes:

# Clone your fork of the repo into the current directory
git clone git@github.com:<YOUR_USERNAME>/stream.git
# Navigate to the newly cloned directory
cd stream
# Assign the original repo to a remote called "upstream"
git remote add upstream https://github.com/xwp/stream

If you cloned a while ago, get the latest changes from upstream:
```
git checkout master
git pull upstream master
```
Create a new topic branch (off the master branch) to contain your feature, change, or fix:
```
git checkout -b <topic-branch-name>
```
Commit your changes in logical chunks. Please adhere to these git commit message guidelines. Use Git's interactive rebase feature to tidy up your commits before making them public.
Locally merge (or rebase) the upstream development branch into your topic branch:
```
git pull [--rebase] upstream master
```
Push your topic branch up to your fork:
```
git push origin <topic-branch-name>
```
Open a Pull Request (with a clear title and description) to the develop branch.

IMPORTANT: By submitting a patch, you agree to allow the project owner to license your work under the GPL v2 license.

Release Cycle

The plugin versioning follows semantic versioning.

Pre-release

Features, bug fixes, and other changes are assigned to a milestone. Once all issues in a milestone are closed:

Create Release Branch:
- Branch off from develop.
- Name it release/vX.Y.Z, where X.Y.Z is the version number.
Update Metadata:
- Update the plugin version, changelog and other relevant information.
Create Pre-release in GitHub:
- Name the release like X.Y.Z-rc.N, e.g. 4.0.1-rc.1.
- The tag name should be prefixed with v, e.g. v4.0.1-rc.1.
Review and Test:
- Publishing a pre-release will trigger a GitHub action.
- A dry-run of WP.org deployment will occur (no files are committed).
  - Review the SVN changes log in the action output.
- A ZIP archive with the plugin is created and uploaded as a release asset.
  - Use that ZIP file for final testing.
Fix Issues:
- If any issues are found, fix them in the release branch.
- Repeat the process from step 3.

Release

Once ready, follow these steps:

Create Release in GitHub:
- Name the release like X.Y.Z, e.g. 4.0.1.
- The tag name should be prefixed with v, e.g. v4.0.1.
Confirm Deployment:
- The GitHub action deploys the plugin to WP.org.
  - Confirm the changes have been deployed to SVN in the plugin trac.
- A ZIP archive is created and uploaded to GitHub release assets.
Merge Branches:
- Merge the release branch into master.
- Merge master into develop.

By following this process, you ensure a smooth and consistent release cycle.

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contributing.md

contributing.md

Contribute to Stream

Development Environment

Requirements

Minimum supported PHP

Environment Setup

HTTPS, Application Passwords, and MCP

MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration

PHP Xdebug

Mail

phpMyAdmin

Scripts and Commands

wp-env issues

Issues Tracker

Reporting Bugs

Feature Requests

Pull Requests

Git Flow for Pull Requests

Release Cycle

Pre-release

Release

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contributing.md

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contributing.md

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Contribute to Stream

Development Environment

Requirements

Minimum supported PHP

Environment Setup

HTTPS, Application Passwords, and MCP

MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration

PHP Xdebug

Mail

phpMyAdmin

Scripts and Commands

wp-env issues

Issues Tracker

Reporting Bugs

Feature Requests

Pull Requests

Git Flow for Pull Requests

Release Cycle

Pre-release

Release