Install skill

WordPress Copilot Advanced

Build editable WordPress from a mirror or approved mockup in Local. The AI maps the theme and writes its operating contract beside the code. Connect GitHub and hosting when the local website is ready.

By for WordPress developersv1.3.0CLI · GitHub · SSH · WP-CLI

All skills

Install the skill

Advanced is CLI-only. Use the tab for your terminal runtime.

npx skills@latest add normlstudio/norml-wordpress-copilot-advanced --skill=norml-wp-developer -a claude-code
Then ask“Set up this project for WordPress Copilot Advanced.”
On this page
  1. What it does
  2. Use it for
  3. Before you start
  4. Start in Local
  5. First run
  6. What it creates
  7. Inside the skill
  8. Safety and boundary
  9. Ready check

What it does

WordPress Copilot Advanced develops and deploys WordPress themes from a CLI runtime. It connects the local theme repository, GitHub, production SSH, remote WP-CLI, and optional staging; then records what those verified systems allow.

It works in Sage and inherited-theme modes. Existing architecture wins: the Copilot does not quietly replace a site’s framework, builder, data model, or delivery path because another stack is more familiar.

Use it for

Use Advanced when the request includes code or infrastructure:

  • Build theme templates, components, styles, and Advanced Custom Fields blocks.
  • Model custom post types or taxonomies and inspect WordPress through WP-CLI.
  • Connect GitHub or hosting and configure the delivery workflow.
  • Deploy verified work or diagnose architecture the REST API cannot see.

Use WordPress Copilot for routine content and administration, especially in Claude Desktop / Cowork.

Before you start

  • Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI opened in a local WordPress theme.
  • A running local WordPress environment and a local theme folder. Local-only migration can begin before hosting is connected.
  • For hosting-connected work: authenticated GitHub, production SSH, remote WP-CLI, and a declared delivery and backup strategy.

Claude Desktop / Cowork is not supported because Advanced requires a terminal, local filesystem, Git, and SSH.

Start in Local

Rebuilding a Squarespace capture or an approved HTML mockup? Choose local-only migration onboarding. The Copilot verifies your Local site and destination theme, maps the editable WordPress structure, and records a local project contract. Hosting operations stay disabled.

Keep the mirror as a separate reference. Build and test editable pages, images, menus and repeated content in the new theme. When local acceptance passes, complete hosting-connected onboarding below. Initial launch needs content, database, uploads and plugins as well as the theme.

Read the migration workflow

First run

For hosting-connected work, open the CLI in the theme root. Onboarding verifies GitHub, production SSH, and remote WP-CLI with read-only checks, scans the local theme, and writes .claude/capabilities.md, .claude/architecture.md, and the supporting evidence before development begins.

Development then stays inside the detected Sage or inherited structure. GitHub, staging QA, explicit confirmation, and backup acknowledgement gate delivery.

What it creates

{theme-root}/.claude/
├── CLAUDE.md
├── capabilities.md
├── architecture.md
├── ci-cd.md
├── changelog/
│   ├── README.md
│   ├── daily.md
│   ├── weekly.md
│   └── changelog.md
├── docs/
│   ├── README.md
│   ├── 01-infrastructure.md
│   ├── 02-application.md
│   ├── 03-theme-architecture.md
│   ├── 04-content-structure.md
│   └── 05-issues.md
└── skills/
    └── README.md

The theme-local .claude/ folder is committed with the code. Generated evidence can be replaced by a rescan. Durable decisions stay in CLAUDE.md; durable work history stays in changelog/. Connection metadata and secrets remain outside the repository.

Inside the skill

The installed package keeps onboarding and policy separate from executable project operations and the templates that become the committed theme-local documentation layer.

norml-wp-developer/
SKILL.md
CLI development boundary, project modes, onboarding gates, and delivery workflow.
onboarding.md
Required GitHub, SSH, WP-CLI, scanner, and project-documentation sequence.
scripts/
Cross-platform initialization, architecture scans, sync, SSH checks, and staged deployment.
development-guides/
Development conventions, Git workflow, QA, safety, and local WordPress guidance.
templates/
Theme-local capabilities, architecture, CI/CD, changelog, docs, and GitHub workflows.
install.md
Supported CLI runtimes, prerequisites, first run, and credential rules.

This is the installed CLI package. The theme-local .claude/ tree above is generated into the connected project.

Safety and boundary

GitHub credentials stay with GitHub CLI or SSH, private keys stay under ~/.ssh/, and machine-local project config contains connection metadata only. Tokens, passwords, private keys, and database credentials never belong in chat, command arguments, .claude/, commits, or workflow files.

CLI development, not Desktop administration.

For hosting-connected work, missing GitHub access, production SSH, or remote WP-CLI is an onboarding blocker, not a partially successful setup. Read-only inspection can run directly. Local writes and Git state changes require confirmation. Staging deploys require confirmation and QA.

Every production write requires explicit confirmation and a verified backup acknowledgement. A direct production code edit is elevated, recorded as [DIRECT-PROD], and mirrored into GitHub immediately so live code never remains ahead of source control.

Ready check

  • GitHub, production SSH, and remote wp --info pass read-only checks against the exact configured targets.
  • capabilities.md and architecture.md describe the verified boundary and its supporting evidence.
  • Development follows the detected Sage or inherited structure, and committed project documentation contains no secrets.