Prerequisite: Before you begin, you need Docker installed. On Linux, you might need to install docker-compose separately.
Docker Compose builds and starts four containers by default: db-headless, wp-headless, frontend:
docker-compose up -d
Wait a few minutes for Docker to build the services for the first time. After the initial build, startup should only take a few seconds.
You can follow the Docker output to see build progress and logs:
docker-compose logs -f
Alternatively, you can use some useful Docker tools like Kitematic and/or VSCode Docker plugin to follow logs, start / stop / remove containers and images.
Optional: you can run the frontend locally while WordPress still runs on Docker:
docker-compose up -d wp-headless
cd frontend && yarn && yarn start
Once the containers are running, you can visit the React frontends and backend WordPress admin in your browser.
This starter kit provides two frontend containers:
frontendcontainer powered by the WP REST API is server-side rendered using Next.js, and exposed on port3000: http://localhost:3000
Here's what the frontend looks like:
You can follow the yarn start output by running docker-compose logs command followed by the container name. For example:
docker-compose logs -f frontend
If you need to restart that process, restart the container:
docker-compose restart frontend
PS: Browsing the Next.js frontend in development mode is relatively slow due to the fact that pages are being built on demand. In a production environment, there would be a significant improvement in page load.
The wp-headless container exposes Apache on host port 8080:
- Dashboard: http://localhost:8080/wp-admin (default credentials
nedstark/winteriscoming) - REST API: http://localhost:8080/wp-json
This container includes some development tools:
docker exec wp-headless composer --help
docker exec wp-headless phpcbf --help
docker exec wp-headless phpcs --help
docker exec wp-headless phpunit --help
docker exec wp-headless wp --info
Apache/PHP logs are available via docker-compose logs -f wp-headless.
The db-headless container exposes MySQL on host port 3307:
mysql -uwp_headless -pwp_headless -h127.0.0.1 -P3307 wp_headless
You can also run a mysql shell on the container:
docker exec db-headless mysql -hdb-headless -uwp_headless -pwp_headless wp_headless
To reinstall WordPress from scratch, run:
docker exec wp-headless wp db reset --yes && docker exec wp-headless install_wordpress
To import data from a mysqldump with mysql, run:
docker exec db-headless mysql -hdb-headless -uwp_headless -pwp_headless wp_headless < example.sql
docker exec wp-headless wp search-replace https://example.com http://localhost:8080
At this point you can start setting up custom fields in the WordPress admin, and if necessary, creating custom REST API endpoints.
The primary theme code is located in wordpress/wp-content/themes/postlight-headless-wp.
Remember to lint your code as you go.
To lint WordPress theme modifications, you can use PHP_CodeSniffer like this:
docker exec -w /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/postlight-headless-wp wp-headless phpcs
You may also attempt to autofix PHPCS errors:
docker exec -w /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/postlight-headless-wp wp-headless phpcbf
To lint and format the JavaScript apps, both Prettier and ESLint configuration files are included.
Most WordPress hosts don't also host Node applications, so when it's time to go live, you will need to find a hosting service for the frontend.
That's why we've packaged the frontend app in a Docker container, which can be deployed to a hosting provider with Docker support like Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform. For a fast, easier alternative, check out Now.
Docker Caching
In some cases, you need to delete the wp-headless image (not only the container) and rebuild it.
CORS errors
If you have deployed your WordPress install and are having CORS issues be sure to update /wordpress/wp-content/themes/postlight-headless-wp/inc/frontend-origin.php with your frontend origin URL.
Happy coding!