Quick and simple Local WordPress Setup for Lazy Developers

Quick and simple WordPress Setup for Lazy Developers

I needed a fast way to set up WordPress locally. I tried various methods, but they were either too complex or didn't work. So, I created a simple, lazy solution.

This is by no way secure, but it runs on the first try 😁

The code is in this GitHub repository. Feel free to use it.

How It Works

This setup revolves around 4 files:

1 docker-compose.yml :

This file:

• Uses the latest official containers for WordPress, MariaDB, PHPMyAdmin, and WP-CLI.
• Sets up a wordpress database with user and password root.
• Launches a WordPress instance linked to the database.

2 setup.sh :

This script:

• Detects whether you have docker-compose or docker compose and uses the correct one.
• Sets your UID and GID in a .env file.
• Generates an alias file for quick commands.

3 start.sh :

This script:

• Creates the WordPress directory.
• Sets permissions to 777 (yes, it's insecure).
• Starts Docker Compose.

4 alias.sh :

Autogenerated by setup.sh or start.sh. Source it to get these aliases:

• dc: Docker Compose commands.
• wpcli: WP-CLI commands.
• wpbackup: Backs up the database to ./backups.
• wpdown: Backs up and then stops and removes containers and volumes.

How to Use

First you need to clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/dacog/lazy-docker-compose-wordpress-setup.git
cd lazy-docker-compose-wordpress-setup

Run these commands to get started:

chmod +x setup.sh
chmod +x start.sh
./start.sh
source alias.sh

Now you are good to go. You will see a new folder wordpress is created in the path you were in.

Now you can:

• Check http://localhost:8000 for the WordPress site
• Check http://localhost:8080 for PHPMyAdmin. User and password is root

You receive this information also when you run start.sh.

Using the Aliases

alias dc

• Bring up the services:

dc up -d

• Stop the services:

dc down

• Stop and remove volumes:

dc down -v

• View the status of the services:

dc ps

alias wpcli

Run WP-CLI as root (it includes --allow-root):

• Check WordPress version:

wpcli core version

• Install a plugin:

wpcli plugin install hello-dolly --activate

• Update WordPress core:

wpcli core update

• Create a new post:

wpcli post create --post_title='My New Post' --post_content='This is the content of the post.' --post_status=publish

wpbackup

Back up the database to ./backups:

wpbackup

wpdown

Back up the database and files, then stop and remove everything:

wpdown

Alternatives

Here are some other methods to consider:

1. Local by Flywheel: User-friendly local WordPress setup with advanced features. To be fair, I completely forgot about this when I was trying to get WordPress to run locally. This is way more powerful, but you need many clicks... and you need to fill a form to download it.
2. DevKinsta: Offers local development with easy deployment to Kinsta hosting. I haven't tried this one.