Setting Up WordPress in Lando for Plugin Development with landowp

Every time I start a new WordPress plugin project, I used to repeat the same dance:

write a .lando.yml
configure PHP + DB
install WordPress manually
wire up WP-CLI
pray nothing breaks

After the 20th time… yeah, no thanks.

So I built landowp — a tiny CLI bash script that sets up a full WordPress + Lando local development environment in one command, specifically for plugin development.

If you’ve ever searched for:

setting up WordPress in Lando for plugin development
WordPress Lando plugin development environment
Lando WordPress local setup
WordPress plugin dev with Docker and Lando

This is exactly for you.

What is landowp?

landowp is a lightweight CLI wrapper around Lando that:

boots a WordPress stack
downloads WordPress core automatically
configures WP‑CLI
forwards commands to Lando
keeps everything disposable and repeatable

Basically: stop configuring, start coding.

GitHub: https://github.com/easterncoder/landowp

Why Lando for WordPress plugin development?

Lando sits on top of Docker and gives you:

consistent PHP versions
built‑in database
WP‑CLI ready
easy start/stop/reset

For plugin dev, that means faster setup and fewer “why is this broken on my machine” moments.

Install prerequisites

You’ll need:

Docker
Lando

Install those first.

Install landowp

git clone https://github.com/easterncoder/landowp
cd landowp
chmod +x landowp
sudo mv landowp /usr/local/bin/

Now you can call landowp anywhere.

Build your WordPress environment

Inside your plugin folder:

landowp build my-plugin-app

This will:

create .landowp/
generate .lando.yml
generate wp-cli.yml
start Lando
download WordPress
auto-install WordPress

Grab coffee. It’s done before the mug cools.

Daily usage

Everything forwards to Lando automatically:

landowp start
landowp stop
landowp wp plugin install query-monitor
landowp wp db reset

Feels native. Less typing. Less thinking.

Clean up

landowp purge

Deletes the environment completely. No leftovers. No zombie containers.

Typical workflow

mkdir my-awesome-plugin
cd my-awesome-plugin
landowp build plugin-dev
code .

Then just code → refresh → repeat.

That’s it.

What gets created

.landowp/
  ├─ .lando.yml
  ├─ wp-cli.yml

Defaults include:

PHP 8.4
MariaDB 11.4
Xdebug enabled
Admin credentials : admin/password

(Change credentials. Please.)

Why I built this

Because writing the same YAML over and over isn’t engineering — it’s busywork.

I wanted one command and zero setup drama.

So I made it.

License

landowp is licensed under GPL‑2.0, the same license as WordPress.

Free to use. Free to modify. Free to share.

Fork away.

TL;DR

landowp build

Done.

Environment ready. Brain still intact.