kanopi/wp-core-installer

A Composer plugin that safely installs WordPress core files into a configured web-root without overwriting your project's own files, and automatically manages a .gitignore block for all Composer-managed WordPress packages.

The problem it solves

The default johnpbloch/wordpress-core-installer maps the install path directly to your project root or web-root, causing Composer's extractor to mirror / clobber the entire target directory — wiping composer.json, composer.lock, .env, and everything else that lives there.

This plugin instead:

1. Extracts WordPress core into a private staging directory inside vendor so Composer's internal tracking works correctly.
2. Selectively copies files from staging into your web-root.
3. Skips a built-in list of protected paths (and any extras you declare).
4. Manages two .gitignore blocks — one for WP core files, one for every Composer-managed plugin, theme, and the vendor directory — so you never accidentally commit them.

---

Installation

composer require kanopi/wp-core-installer

Then require WordPress core:

composer require johnpbloch/wordpress-core

---

Configuration

All configuration lives under extra in your project's composer.json:

{
    "extra": {
        "wordpress-install-dir": ".",

        "wp-core-installer": {
            "protected-paths": [
                "my-custom-loader.php",
                "config"
            ],
            "skip-if-exists": [
                "robots.txt"
            ]
        }
    }
}

wordpress-install-dir

Value	Meaning
"."	Deploy WP files into the project root itself
"public"	Deploy into <project-root>/public/
"public/wp"	Deploy into <project-root>/public/wp/
(omitted)	Defaults to "public"

wp-core-installer.protected-paths

Additional paths relative to the web-root that must never be touched. Extends the built-in list.

wp-core-installer.skip-if-exists

Paths that are copied on first install only, never overwritten on update. The built-in list covers .htaccess, wp-config-sample.php, and the silence-is-golden wp-content/index.php stubs.

---

Three-tier protection model

Tier	Behaviour	Examples
protected-paths	Never copied, never gitignored	wp-config.php, wp-content/themes, wp-content/plugins
skip-if-exists	Copied on first install only; not gitignored	.htaccess, wp-content/index.php
Everything else	Always synced from core; gitignored	wp-admin/, wp-includes/, wp-login.php

---

Managed .gitignore blocks

The plugin writes and maintains two independent marked blocks in your project's .gitignore. Everything outside these blocks is untouched.

Core block

Updated whenever composer install or composer update runs the WordPress core installer:

# <kanopi/wp-core-installer:core:begin>
# Managed by kanopi/wp-core-installer — do not edit this block manually.

# WordPress core staging directory (Composer internal — do not commit)
/wp-content/mu-plugins/vendor/.wordpress-core-staging/

# WordPress core files (managed via Composer — do not commit)
/wp-admin/
/wp-includes/
/index.php
/wp-activate.php
…

# <kanopi/wp-core-installer:core:end>

Packages block

Updated on every composer install / composer update run via a post-install-cmd / post-update-cmd hook:

# <kanopi/wp-core-installer:packages:begin>
# Managed by kanopi/wp-core-installer — do not edit this block manually.

# Composer vendor directory
/wp-content/mu-plugins/vendor/

# Composer-managed WordPress plugins
/wp-content/plugins/akismet/
/wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/

# Composer-managed WordPress themes
/wp-content/themes/twentytwentyfive/

# <kanopi/wp-core-installer:packages:end>

Both blocks are replaced wholesale on each run (not appended), so adding or removing a package automatically keeps the ignore list in sync. Running composer remove johnpbloch/wordpress-core strips the core block.

---

Built-in protected paths (never overwritten)

Path	Reason
composer.json, composer.lock	Project manifests
wp-config.php	WordPress runtime config
wp-content/themes	Project-owned themes
wp-content/plugins	Project-owned plugins
wp-content/mu-plugins	Project-owned must-use plugins
wp-content/uploads	User-uploaded media
wp-content/upgrade, wp-content/languages	WordPress-managed dirs
.env / .env.*	Environment / secrets
.git, .gitignore, .gitattributes	VCS metadata
node_modules, vendor	Other dependency trees

---

Typical project layout

my-wordpress-site/
├── composer.json               ← protected
├── composer.lock               ← protected
├── wp-config.php               ← protected (you create this)
├── wp-admin/                   ← deployed by this plugin; gitignored
├── wp-includes/                ← deployed by this plugin; gitignored
├── index.php                   ← deployed by this plugin; gitignored
├── .htaccess                   ← skip-if-exists (first install only)
└── wp-content/
    ├── index.php               ← skip-if-exists (first install only)
    ├── mu-plugins/
    │   └── vendor/             ← gitignored (Composer vendor dir)
    ├── plugins/
    │   ├── index.php           ← skip-if-exists
    │   └── akismet/            ← gitignored (Composer-managed plugin)
    └── themes/
        ├── index.php           ← skip-if-exists
        ├── twentytwentyfive/   ← gitignored (Composer-managed theme)
        └── my-custom-theme/    ← NOT gitignored (not Composer-managed)

---

License

MIT