Installation

Installation

bext-wp is dual-mode: the same package works as a must-use (mu) plugin or a normal activatable plugin.

Requirements

• WordPress 5.8+
• PHP 7.4+
• The site is (or will be) served by bext — locally or via bext cloud.

Option A — Must-use plugin (recommended for a fleet)

Each WordPress site on a bext host typically runs under a strict open_basedir (/home/<user>/<site>/public/:/tmp/). A shared symlink would be blocked, so the package is copied into each site's own tree by the bundled deploy script:

git clone https://github.com/webdesign29/bext-wp.git
cd bext-wp

sudo bin/deploy-fleet.sh --list                 # discover WordPress sites on the host
sudo bin/deploy-fleet.sh --site=example.com     # canary one site first
sudo bin/deploy-fleet.sh                         # roll out to all sites

This writes, per site:

wp-content/mu-plugins/bext.php       ← loader stub (auto-loaded by WordPress)
wp-content/mu-plugins/bext-wp/…      ← the package

and chowns them to the site user. See Fleet Deployment for details, updates, and removal.

mu-plugins are always-on and can't be deactivated from wp-admin. bext-wp is built for this: it's cheap on the hot path and no-ops when the site isn't behind bext.

Option B — Normal plugin

cd wp-content/plugins
git clone https://github.com/webdesign29/bext-wp.git
# then activate "Bext for WordPress" in wp-admin → Plugins

Or download a ZIP of the repo and upload it via Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.

After installing

1. Open Bext → Settings and choose a connection mode (or rely on auto-detect).
2. Open the Dashboard to confirm Served by bext and run the health checks.
3. Edit a post and watch the purge log — that's purge-on-change working.

Updating

• Must-use: re-run sudo bin/deploy-fleet.sh (optionally at a new tag) — it's idempotent.
• Normal plugin: git pull in the plugin directory, or re-upload.

Uninstalling

• Normal plugin: Deactivate clears the sticky detection flag; Delete runs uninstall.php to remove all bext_wp_* options (multisite-aware).
• Must-use: sudo bin/deploy-fleet.sh --remove [--site=…].