Contributing

Thank you for your interest in contributing to ProductBay! This guide will help you set up a local development environment.

Prerequisites

Tool	Version	Purpose
Node.js	18+	JavaScript runtime
Bun	Latest	Package manager & script runner
Composer	2+	PHP dependency manager
PHP	7.4+ (8.0+ recommended)	Backend language
WordPress	6.8+	CMS platform
WooCommerce	6.1+	E-commerce dependency

You'll also need a local WordPress development environment such as XAMPP, LAMP, LocalWP, or similar.

Setup

1. Clone the Repository

cd wp-content/plugins
git clone https://github.com/wpanchorbay/productbay.git
cd productbay

2. Install Dependencies

Install JavaScript dependencies:

bun install

Install PHP dependencies:

composer install

3. Configure Environment

Copy the example environment file:

cp .env.example .env

Edit .env and set the appropriate values for your local setup.

4. Start Development

bun start

This runs both Webpack (for JS/TS compilation) and Tailwind CLI (for CSS) in parallel watch mode. Changes hot-reload automatically.

5. Build for Production

bun run build

This creates optimized, minified assets in the assets/ directory.

Project Structure

productbay/
├── app/          # PHP backend (Admin, Api, Core, Data, Frontend, Http, Utils)
├── src/          # React/TypeScript frontend source
├── assets/       # Compiled JS/CSS output
├── tests/        # PHPUnit test suite (not shipped in the release zip)
├── languages/    # Translation files
├── scripts/      # Build helper scripts
├── docs/         # This documentation site (VitePress)
├── vendor/       # Composer dependencies
└── node_modules/ # JavaScript dependencies

Testing Since v1.3.5

composer test     # PHPUnit
composer lint     # PHPCS
composer lint:fix # PHPCBF

The suite runs at the Brain Monkey level — it mocks WordPress rather than booting it, so it needs no database, no WordPress test library, and no Docker, and it finishes in under a second.

Two things worth knowing before you add to it:

• Do not class_exists() a plugin class in a test. Every file under app/ opens with if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) exit;, so autoloading one outside WordPress silently terminates the whole PHPUnit process with exit code 0 and no error message. PluginStructureTest resolves PSR-4 paths and inspects the file instead.
• ReadmeClaimsTest is a scar record, not a style rule. It cross-checks the version, stable tag, changelog heading, text domain, and compatibility headers across productbay.php, package.json, and readme.txt, because nothing else in the toolchain reads prose and those five values drift apart at release time. Read values out of the files at runtime; never re-type a literal the test is meant to be guarding, or it will pass forever.

Run both locally before you open a pull request. The repository has no CI workflow for them, so nothing else checks a change before it is reviewed.

Coding Standards

PHP

• Follow WordPress PHP Coding Standards
• Run PHPCS: ./vendor/bin/phpcs
• Use snake_case for functions/variables, PascalCase for classes
• Add PHPDoc blocks to all classes and methods
• Sanitize all inputs, escape all outputs

JavaScript / TypeScript

• TypeScript strict mode (ES2020)
• Use @wordpress/i18n for translatable strings
• Path alias: @/* → src/*
• Use CVA + clsx + tailwind-merge for dynamic class names

CSS

• Tailwind CSS v4 with utility-first approach
• All styles scoped to #productbay-root
• Frontend table classes prefixed with productbay-

Internationalization (i18n)

All user-facing strings must be translatable:

PHP:

__( 'Text', 'productbay' )   // Return translated string
_e( 'Text', 'productbay' )   // Echo translated string

React/TypeScript:

import { __ } from '@wordpress/i18n';
const label = __( 'Text', 'productbay' );

Generate translation files:

bun run i18n:make-pot     # Extract strings to .pot
bun run i18n:make-json    # Convert .po to .json for React

Reporting Issues

Found a bug or have a suggestion? Please open an issue on the GitHub Issue Tracker.

When reporting, include:

1. A clear description of the problem
2. Steps to reproduce
3. Screenshots or error logs (if applicable)
4. Your WordPress, WooCommerce, and PHP versions

Contact Developers

ProductBay is developed by WPAnchorBay. If you need help or have questions, please contact us or directly email us at support@wpanchorbay.com. If you need urgent help, reach out to the lead developer Forhad Khan.