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Developing Custom WordPress Themes or plugins on Shifter with GitHub integration plugin

Tomohyco Tsunoda avatar
Written by Tomohyco Tsunoda
Updated over 5 years ago

Shifter does support custom Themes, but when developing custom WordPress Themes on Shifter there are a few tips and notes that can help make the process easier.

Custom Theme Workflow

The Ideal custom WordPress Theme Setup:

  • Develop Locally using Shifter-Local

  • Migrate your DB changes and Uploads using AIO WP Migration if necessary

  • Track Theme changes via Git

  • Deploy Theme changes tracked in Git with our Github integration plugin.


On this instruction we use our sample repository: shifter-github-hosting-tehem-samlple . We welcome your clone to local or fork.

1. [Github] Create repository for your theme or plugin, or fork our sample repository

If you've forked our sample repository, make sure release.yml  is available.

2. [Github] Enable Github Action on the repository

Click [I understand my workflows, go ahead and run them] button

"Github Actions" are enabled.

3. Create a new workflow or use our sample workflow (release.yml)

  1. Click [New workflow] button

  2. Click [Set up workflow yourself]

  3. Create workflow file, and save

If you've forked our sample repository, make sure release.yml  is available.

4. [Github] Clone the repository to local

$ git clone git@github.com:YOUR-ACCOUNT/YOUR-REPOSITORY.git ~/git/YOUR-REPOSITORY

5. [Github] Copy the repository's URL

6. [Shifter] Start WordPress and login to it

7. [Shifter] Install theme/plugin through custom Theme into Shifter

Navigate to [Appearance] --> [Add New fro Github]

8. Install Plugin or Theme with Shifter Github Theme/Plugin installer

Paste your Github's repository URL to [GitHub repo URL] field.
If your repository is private, also input access token to [GitHub token].
Then click [Install Now].

9. [Shifter] Confirm installed

10.  [Github] Create release package with a tag and deploy

After some update on the repository, create release package and deploy.

CLI

$ git tag 2
$ git push origin 2


Web Browser

1. Navigate to [releases] under [Code] tab

2. Click [Draft a new release] button

3. Input version number to [Tag version] field then click [Publish Release]

11. Back to [Actions] tab, and make sure Github Actions worked

It may take a couple minutes to complete.

12. [Shifter] Re-Login to Shifter and navigate to update page to confirm it's ready to update

13. [Shifter] Apply update and confirm it works

14. [Shifter] Generate and deploy an Artifact

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