DEV Community: Ido Barnea

Automating WordPress Code Reviews Locally with WP Review & Claude Code

Ido Barnea — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 06:04:18 +0000

Introduction

Manual code reviews for WordPress themes and plugins are time-consuming. Checking for naming collisions, security vulnerabilities, and adherence to WordPress Coding Standards is essential—but doing it from scratch for every project quickly becomes a bottleneck.

I built WP Review to solve this.

It’s a local utility that acts as a first-pass assistant, providing a structured analysis and a Markdown report before you even dive into the source code.

The Problem: The "Context Gap" in AI Reviews

When using LLMs like Claude for code review, they often lack:

local file context
awareness of WordPress-specific structures such as themes vs. plugins
understanding of WordPress coding standards

On top of that, many developers are hesitant to upload entire codebases to cloud tools due to privacy concerns.

The Solution: WP Review

WP Review is a Python-based CLI tool designed to run locally. It detects the project type, runs a series of security and standards checks, and outputs a score along with a detailed report.

Key Features

Auto-Detection

Automatically distinguishes between a WordPress theme and a plugin.
Local-First

Your code never leaves your machine—built with privacy in mind.
Claude Code Integration

It can be installed as a local skill, allowing Claude Code to trigger audits and discuss the results with you in real time.
Standardized Output

Generates a clean REPORT.md file for documentation or team sharing.

How It Works

The tool uses pattern-based checks focused on common WordPress pitfalls.

You can run it directly from your terminal:

Bash / CLI

# Example usage
python wp-review.py ./path-to-your-plugin

If you're using Claude Code, you can simply ask:

Analyze this local plugin for security standards.

Claude will then use the WP Review skill to scan files and provide a summarized verdict based on the generated report.

Installation

The project includes a wrapper for easy installation across environments.

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/barbareshet/wp-review-claude

2. Run the Installer

Windows

.\install_wrapper.ps1

Linux / Mac

bash install_wrapper.sh

Why a Practical Assistant?

WP Review is not a replacement for human security audits.

Instead, it acts as a practical assistant to:

catch low-hanging issues early
enforce consistent standards
reduce review time

Think of it as your baseline quality gate before deeper inspection.

Conclusion

Whether you're a solo plugin author or part of an agency, standardizing your review process is one of the best ways to scale efficiently.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the tool—or any WordPress checks you'd like to see added.

Check it out on GitHub: barbareshet/wp-review-claude

What you need to know when you are coding a game for kids

Ido Barnea — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 08:28:10 +0000

Over the weekend I found myself coding a JS game for my kids. The game is very straightforward a word scrambler for kids at the ages of 6-9.
After finishing the first version, I sent the game to some colleagues to get feedback, and here are the things I learned:

plan the game before you start coding. Try to imagine the game flow, write the scenes on paper, and try to understand the game as it is.
Big control: while coding, always test your code, and see if things are working as expected.
get your kid's opinion, about everything, colors, text, words, settings.
feedback is important, while they are playing the game, kids, especially young ones, must have some kind of feedback, preferably visual.
hints and help: following the previous point, they sometimes need help. Adding some kind of help/clue after 2-3 failures is a must, otherwise, they will feel frustrated.

Essential JavaScript Skills for Web Designers: A Comprehensive Guide

Ido Barnea — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 08:23:50 +0000

As a web designer, learning JavaScript may greatly improve the interactivity and functionality of your work. Here's a complete overview of the essential JavaScript subjects you should know:

1. Basics of JavaScript

Understanding JavaScript's fundamentals, such as variables, data types, and basic syntax, enables you to write simple scripts that improve the interactivity of your web designs. Start with a JavaScript Tutorial for Beginners.

2. DOM Manipulation

Understanding how to manage the DOM (Document Object Model) enables you to dynamically change the content, structure, and design of your web pages. This is essential for building dynamic and interactive web experiences. Learn more with this JavaScript DOM Manipulation tutorial.

3. Event Handling

Event handling makes your web pages respond to user actions like clicks, mouse movements, and keyboard inputs. This is necessary for developing interactive features such as buttons, forms, and navigation menus. Check out JavaScript Events to get started.

4. Functions

Understanding how to write and use functions allows you to improve the structure of your code, making it more reusable and manageable. Functions allow you to encapsulate functionality and execute it as needed. Learn more about this JavaScript Functions Tutorial.

5. Asynchronous JavaScript

Learning asynchronous JavaScript concepts such as callbacks, promises, and async/await will allow you to perform time-consuming processes, such as data fetching, without stopping the main thread. Start with JavaScript Promises In 10 Minutes.

6. Basic Error Handling

Error management is critical for building resilient online apps. Using try, catch, and finally allows you to anticipate and gracefully manage potential failures, enhancing the reliability and user experience of your web projects. Watch this JavaScript Error Handling tutorial.

7. ES6+ Features

Modern JavaScript (ES6 and later) offers capabilities like as template literals, destructuring, and arrow functions, which improve code conciseness and readability. These features also help you build more efficient and maintainable code. Learn the basics with Modern JavaScript ES6 - ES8.

8. Basic Debugging

Debugging skills are required to find and resolve errors in your code. Using browser developer tools, you can inspect items, debug scripts, and track performance, resulting in more dependable and efficient web designs. Get started with Debugging JavaScript in Chrome.

9. Basic Animations

Understanding how to generate animations in JavaScript helps improve the visual appeal and interactivity of your online designs. You can utilize animations to highlight critical components, improve navigation, and provide a more engaging user experience. Watch this JavaScript Animations tutorial.

10. Libraries and Frameworks

Knowledge of popular libraries like jQuery and current frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular can help you speed up development and construct more complex and feature-rich applications. These products frequently come with built-in functionality that makes basic activities easier. Start with What is jQuery? and explore modern frameworks with React JS Crash Course, Vue.js Crash Course, and Angular Crash Course.

By learning these themes, you'll be able to construct more dynamic, engaging, and user-friendly web designs, hence increasing the overall user experience on your websites.

Console.log with style

Ido Barnea — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 04:59:08 +0000

Ever wondered how do console messages get their colours and styles? Well, it is very simple.
All you have to do in your 'console.log' function is adding some styles.

How can you do it?

1st,

add the '%c' before your message, as so: console.log('%c my cool message');

2nd,

after adding %c at the beginning of the message, you now can add a second argument to the console.log function, which is the styles.
So, from a borring console.log('my cool message'); we go to:
console.log('%cmy cool message', 'color:cyan; font-size:24px;');