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Getting Started

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Requirements

  • PHP 8.2+
  • WordPress 6.4+
  • MySQL or MariaDB through the normal WordPress database connection
  • a writable wp-config.php when the plugin is activated

Install

Install Rudel with Composer and activate it like a normal WordPress plugin.

Shell
composer require rudel/rudel
wp plugin activate rudel

Composer installs Rudel into vendor/rudel/rudel unless your project maps WordPress plugins into wp-content/plugins (for example with composer/installers). The plugin must be in the plugins directory for wp plugin activate rudel to find it.

What activation does

Activation creates Rudel's tables, schedules the hourly cleanup event and adds one bootstrap line to wp-config.php, directly above the line that loads wp-settings.php. That line lets Rudel select a sandbox before WordPress finishes loading. Rudel writes a backup copy named wp-config.php.rudel-backup-{timestamp} first.

There is no separate install command. If wp-config.php is not writable, activation fails. Deactivation removes the line and the scheduled event.

Check the runtime status:

Shell
wp rudel status

Bootstrap installed should read yes.

Create a sandbox

Shell
wp rudel create --name=alpha --theme=twentytwentyfour

Rudel prints the generated sandbox ID, for example alpha-3be7. It clones the host WordPress tables into a sandbox-specific table prefix, copies the theme into the sandbox directory, and stores the record in the host WordPress database. The examples below use alpha-3be7; use the ID your command printed.

Use WP-CLI inside a sandbox

Shell
RUDEL_ENVIRONMENT=alpha-3be7 wp option get blogname

Without RUDEL_ENVIRONMENT, WP-CLI talks to the host.

Route HTTP into a sandbox

Shell
curl -H 'X-Rudel-Environment: alpha-3be7' http://localhost:8000/

For a browser session, set a rudel_environment cookie with the sandbox ID. Rudel reads the cookie but never sets or clears it. Delete the cookie to return to the host.

The sandbox runs on the host URL. Without the header or cookie, the same URL serves the host.

Next steps