How to Set Up WordPress with Docker and WP-CLI?

Prazol Rupakheti — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 14:18:16 +0000

Benefits of Dockerizing WordPress

Portability: Easily move your WordPress environment between machines.
Consistency: Avoid "it works on my machine" issues with standardized environments.
Easy Deployment: Quickly spin up and down environments without manual configuration.
Scalability: Easily add or remove services when needed.

WP-CLI Integration

Manage WordPress efficiently with command-line tools for installing, updating, and configuring WordPress. Easily use WP-CLI in the server to automate tasks and streamline management.

Folder Structure

project/
│-- config/
│-- db/
│-- html/
│-- .gitignore
│-- docker-compose.yml
│-- Dockerfile

Folder Descriptions

config/ – Contains configuration files like php.ini.
db/ – Stores MySQL database files (empty folder).
html/ – Contains WordPress files (download and rename WordPress folder as html).
.gitignore – Specifies files and folders to ignore in Git.
docker-compose.yml – Defines the Docker containers and their interactions.
Dockerfile – Defines how to build the web server environment.

Configuration Files

Example: config/php.ini

post_max_size = 128M
upload_max_filesize = 128M
serialize_precision = 6
memory_limit = 128M
max_execution_time = 300

Example: .gitignore

db/

Configure docker-compose.yml file

This file defines the services required for WordPress.

services:
  webapp:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: your-project-name
    expose:
      - 80
    ports:
      - 1000:80
    depends_on:
      - database
    working_dir: /var/www/html
    volumes:
      - ./html:/var/www/html
      - ./config/php.ini:/etc/php/8.2/apache2/conf.d/99-local.ini
    environment:
      MYSQL_HOST: database
      MYSQL_USER: admin
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: admin

  database:
    container_name: MySQL-8
    restart: always
    image: mysql:8
    volumes:
      - ./db:/var/lib/mysql
    expose:
      - 3306
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: admin
      MYSQL_USER: admin
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: admin
      MYSQL_DATABASE: your-project-name

Configure Dockerfile file

This file defines the web server and PHP environment.

FROM ubuntu:20.04
LABEL name="Prazol Rupakheti"
ENV DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive

RUN apt-get update && \
    apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends apt-utils && \
    apt-get -y install wget zip unzip curl gnupg nano cron && \
    apt-get install lsb-release ca-certificates apt-transport-https software-properties-common -y

# Install Node.js, PM2, and Apache with PHP 8
RUN curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | bash - && \
    apt-get install -y nodejs && \
    npm install -g npm@latest pm2 sass

RUN add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php -y && \
    apt-get -y install php8.2 apache2 libapache2-mod-php8.2 php8.2-cli php8.2-mysql php8.2-zip php8.2-gd \
      php8.2-mbstring php8.2-curl php8.2-xml php8.2-bcmath php8.2-imagick php8.2-intl mysql-client && \
    a2enmod rewrite headers expires

# Install phpMyAdmin
RUN wget -q https://files.phpmyadmin.net/phpMyAdmin/5.2.1/phpMyAdmin-5.2.1-english.zip && \
    unzip -q phpMyAdmin-5.2.1-english.zip && \
    mv phpMyAdmin-5.2.1-english /opt/phpMyAdmin && \
    rm phpMyAdmin-5.2.1-english.zip

# Install Composer
RUN wget -q https://getcomposer.org/download/latest-stable/composer.phar && \
    chmod +x composer.phar && \
    mv composer.phar /usr/local/bin/composer

# Install WP-CLI
RUN curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar && \
    chmod +x wp-cli.phar && \
    mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp

# Set up Apache
COPY config/000-default.conf /etc/apache2/sites-available
COPY config/phpmyadmin.conf /etc/apache2/conf-enabled
COPY config/99-local.ini /etc/php/8.2/apache2/conf.d/

EXPOSE 80
CMD apachectl -D FOREGROUND

WordPress Configuration File html/wp-config.php

Modify the wp-config.php file inside the html/ folder.

/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define('DB_NAME', 'your-project-name');

/** Database username */
define('DB_USER', 'admin');

/** Database password */
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'admin');

/** Database hostname */
define('DB_HOST', 'database');

Installing Docker

Windows & macOS

Install Docker Desktop from Docker's official site.
Ensure Docker is running.

Linux

Run the following commands to install Docker:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker.io docker-compose

Start and enable Docker:

sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

Running the Containers

Once everything is set up, open a terminal in the project root and run:

docker-compose up -d

The -d flag stands for detached mode, which means the containers will run in the background instead of keeping the terminal occupied. This allows you to continue using the terminal while the containers are running.

This will start the WordPress and MySQL containers in the background.

Verifying the Containers

Check running containers with:

docker ps

If using Docker Desktop, you should see two running containers:

Web Server (Apache + PHP)
MySQL Database

Using WP-CLI

To access the WordPress CLI inside the container, run:

docker exec -it your-project-name bash

Then, check the installed WordPress version:

wp core version

Accessing WordPress

Open a browser and go to http://localhost:1000
For phpmyadmin go to http://localhost:1000/phpmyadmin
Follow the WordPress setup wizard.

Conclusion

You have successfully set up WordPress using Docker and WP-CLI. Now you can develop, test, and manage WordPress projects in a containerized environment, ensuring consistency across development and production systems.

Happy Coding

DEV Community: Prazol Rupakheti