woocommerce-backend-dev

SKILL.md

WooCommerce Backend Development

This skill provides guidance for developing WooCommerce backend PHP code according to project standards and conventions.

When to Use This Skill

ALWAYS invoke this skill before:

Writing new PHP unit tests (*Test.php files)

Creating new PHP classes

Modifying existing backend PHP code

Adding hooks or filters

Instructions

Follow WooCommerce project conventions when adding or modifying backend PHP code:

Creating new code structures: See file-entities.md for conventions on creating classes and organizing files (but for new unit test files see unit-tests.md).

Naming conventions: See code-entities.md for naming methods, variables, and parameters

Coding style: See coding-conventions.md for general coding standards and best practices

Type annotations: See type-annotations.md for PHPStan-aware PHPDoc annotations

Working with hooks: See hooks.md for hook callback conventions and documentation

Dependency injection: See dependency-injection.md for DI container usage

Data integrity: See data-integrity.md for ensuring data integrity when performing CRUD operations

Writing tests: See unit-tests.md for unit testing conventions

Key Principles

Always follow WordPress Coding Standards

Use class methods instead of standalone functions

Place new internal classes in src/Internal/ by default

Use PSR-4 autoloading with Automattic\WooCommerce namespace

Write comprehensive unit tests for new functionality

Run linting and tests before committing changes

Version Information

To determine the next WooCommerce version number for @since annotations:

Read the $version property in includes/class-woocommerce.php on the trunk branch

Remove the -dev suffix if present

Example: If trunk shows 10.4.0-dev, use @since 10.4.0

Note: When reviewing PRs against trunk, the version in trunk is correct even if it seems "future" relative to released versions