Getting Started

Getting started

Dashless has two installable packages and one generated project:

1. The local Codex plugin runs the editorial and deployment workflow.
2. Dashless for WordPress reports the site contract and, on WP Cloud, serves verified Astro releases.
3. Dashless generates an ordinary Astro project that belongs to you.

There is no remote Dashless app or Dashless account.

Requirements

Component	Supported 1.0 target
Codex host	macOS and Linux
Windows	Editorial and Astro work is experimental; local symlink and SSH/rsync deployment are not claimed
Node.js	22.12 or a newer even-numbered release
WordPress	6.5.9 through 7.0.3, single-site
PHP	8.0 through 8.5 syntax; CI covers PHP 8.0 and 8.4
Astro	The version locked in templates/astro/package-lock.json
Browser	A current browser supported by the Astro/Vite build target

Normal editorial use requires Node.js and npm. The first Astro build needs network access for its locked dependency installation. SSH deployment also needs ssh and rsync; WP Cloud deployment needs sftp. Packaging from source needs PHP CLI, zip, and unzip.

The WordPress site must use HTTPS and support Application Passwords.

Build the installable archives

git clone https://github.com/RegionallyFamous/dashless.git
cd dashless
npm run release

This produces:

• dist/dashless-1.0.0.zip — the local Codex plugin
• dist/dashless-wordpress-1.0.0.zip — the WordPress companion for conventional hosting
• dist/SHA256SUMS — SHA-256 checksums for both archives

The checkout itself is also a valid plugin root. Its entry point is .codex-plugin/plugin.json. Add the checkout or packaged archive to a local Codex marketplace. See OpenAI's Build plugins guide for the local marketplace development path.

Connect WordPress

Start a new local Codex task and say:

Connect my WordPress site to Dashless.

Dashless returns a loopback-only setup URL. Open it and complete WordPress's Application Password authorization. The credential goes from the browser page directly to the local Dashless setup server; it is not pasted into the conversation.

On macOS, the Application Password is stored in Login Keychain. On Linux, it is stored in a mode-0600 file under the application-data directory.

Use a dedicated Application Password for Dashless. That lets disconnect_site revoke only this integration later.

Inspect before building

Ask:

Inspect my connected site and explain what Dashless found.

Inspection reads the WordPress title and description, front-page settings, post counts, nested Page tree, supported post types and taxonomies, companion version, route map, and current content generation. It does not change the site.

Create the Astro project

Choose a new or empty local directory and ask:

Create my Dashless Astro frontend in /path/to/my-publication and open the complete preview.

Dashless generates the project, installs its locked dependencies, reads the content already published in WordPress, performs the Astro build, and opens the local static output. An empty WordPress site produces a real empty state, never sample posts.

The project is now yours. You can edit its layouts, components, styles, and routes like any other Astro codebase.

Install the WordPress companion

For conventional hosting, upload dist/dashless-wordpress-1.0.0.zip through WordPress's plugin installer and activate it.

For WP Cloud, do not manually copy the companion first. configure_deployment performs a read-only preflight, and the first deploy installs or safely upgrades it as a must-use plugin through key-based SFTP.

First editorial run

Try this sequence:

Create a draft titled “Hello, open web” with this body. Do not publish it.

Add the existing category “Notes,” upload this image with the alt text “...”, and use it as the featured image.

Build the exact draft in the real Astro site and open the preview.

Change the second paragraph, then make a fresh preview.

Publish exactly the version I just approved.

The final command consumes a single-use preview token. If the content changed after preview, Dashless refuses publication and asks for another build.

Continue with Editorial Workflow, or configure a target in Deployment.