Getting Started

Installation & Setup

How to spin up a new CORA site using the installer script.

On this page

• Run the installer
• What the installer creates
• First-run checklist
• Activating feature plugins

Run the installer

CORA uses a standalone npx script to scaffold new projects from the wp-env-cora boilerplate repo:

npx bitbucket:madebyvital/create-cora-site [project-name]

Replace [project-name] with your project slug (e.g. acme-university). The script will:

1. Clone the wp-env-cora boilerplate into a new local directory
2. Install WordPress via @wordpress/env (Docker required)
3. Install and activate the default CORA plugin stack
4. Activate the CORA parent theme
5. Create a child theme scaffold named for your project

What the installer creates

• /themes/cora/ — parent theme (do not edit)
• /themes/[project-name]/ — child theme (all customization goes here)
• /plugins/ — default plugin stack pre-installed
• .wp-env.json — local environment configuration

First-run checklist

1. Verify WordPress admin loads at http://localhost:8888/wp-admin
2. Confirm CORA parent theme is active under Appearance → Themes
3. Navigate to Other Content in the sidebar and confirm CORA Theme Options tabs are visible
4. Install licensed plugins (ACF, WP Migrate, Gravity Forms) using your auth.json credentials
5. Set site title and admin email under Settings → General
6. Set permalink structure to Post name under Settings → Permalinks

Activating feature plugins

After the base install, activate feature plugins based on the project scope:

• CORA Compose — persona-based personalization
• CORA Assist — on-page AI search widget
• CORA Compliance — cookie consent and accessibility auditing (requires Cloudflare)
• CORA Create AI — AI page builder (requires Claude API key)
• CORA Custom Redirects — Cloudflare edge redirects