WordPress Pattern Toolkit

Scaffolding, compliance checking, and HTML template validation for WordPress FSE block themes.

Generates block pattern PHP files, layout patterns, and style variations. Checks pattern .php files for structural and naming rule violations, and checks HTML template/part files for client-side block validation drift — no WordPress context required. Runs on the host machine as a standalone PHP CLI tool.

Installation

As a global tool:

composer global require imagewize/pt-cli

Or as a project dev dependency (recommended for theme development):

composer require --dev imagewize/pt-cli

Then use ./vendor/bin/pt-cli or add a Composer script.

Requires PHP 8.1+.

Usage

Scaffolding Commands

# List available templates, snippets, categories, and style variations
pt-cli list
# Scaffold a new pattern from a template
pt-cli pattern:create --title="My Hero" --slug=my-hero --template=hero-cover --category=elayne/hero
# Scaffold a layout pattern
pt-cli layout:create --title="Landing Page" --slug=landing --layout=landing-page --category=elayne/pages
# Scaffold a theme style variation
pt-cli style:create --name="Ocean Legal" --vertical=legal
# Full interactive mode (no options = prompts)
pt-cli pattern:create

Compliance Checking

# Check all patterns in a directory
pt-cli check /path/to/patterns
# Check with a specific theme config
pt-cli check /path/to/patterns --theme=elayne
# Check a single file
pt-cli check /path/to/patterns/header-default.php --theme=elayne
# Apply mechanical autofixes
pt-cli check /path/to/patterns --theme=elayne --autofix

HTML Template Compliance

# Check all .html files in a templates or parts directory
pt-cli check:templates /path/to/templates/ --theme=elayne
pt-cli check:templates /path/to/parts/ --theme=elayne
# Check a single template file
pt-cli check:templates /path/to/templates/archive-product.html --theme=elayne
# Apply mechanical autofixes (taxQuery:{} → [] and template-part theme attribute)
pt-cli check:templates /path/to/templates/ --theme=elayne --autofix

Pattern Diff & Sync

Compare a Gutenberg clipboard paste against an existing PHP pattern file, or apply the changes back while preserving all PHP translation wrappers.

# Report differences only (shows missing translations, editor attrs, CSS issues)
pbpaste | pt-cli pattern:diff patterns/woo-signature-pieces.php --from-stdin
# Include fix suggestions in the diff report
pbpaste | pt-cli pattern:diff patterns/woo-signature-pieces.php --from-stdin --show-suggestions
# Output diff results as JSON (for tooling integration)
pbpaste | pt-cli pattern:diff patterns/woo-signature-pieces.php --from-stdin --json
# Preview the merged result without touching the file
pbpaste | pt-cli pattern:diff patterns/woo-signature-pieces.php --from-stdin --apply --dry-run
# Apply clipboard changes to the PHP file (preserves esc_html_e, esc_attr_e, etc.)
pbpaste | pt-cli pattern:diff patterns/woo-signature-pieces.php --from-stdin --apply
# Lower the similarity threshold for loosely matched blocks (default: 0.95)
pbpaste | pt-cli pattern:diff patterns/woo-signature-pieces.php --from-stdin --similarity-threshold=0.80

What --apply does:

1. Strips editor-only attributes (__privatePreviewState) from block JSON.
2. Fixes bare font-size slug values (font-size:small) → CSS variable (font-size:var(--wp--preset--font-size--small)).
3. Removes nested <p> copy artefacts introduced by the Gutenberg clipboard.
4. Re-maps every text node back to its original PHP wrapper (esc_html_e, esc_attr_e, wp_kses_post) from the existing file.
5. Generates a new esc_html_e() wrapper for any text that is new in the clipboard.
6. Preserves the PHP docblock header unchanged.

The file is only written when --apply is used without--dry-run.

Commands Reference

Command	Description
list (default)	List available templates, snippets, categories, and style variations
pattern:create	Scaffold a new Elayne block pattern from a template
layout:create	Scaffold a new Elayne block layout pattern
style:create	Scaffold a WordPress theme style variation JSON
check	Check PHP pattern files for compliance violations
check:templates	Check HTML template/part files for block validation drift
pattern:diff	Diff Gutenberg clipboard against a pattern file, or apply changes preserving PHP

Workflow

pt-cli is an all-in-one tool for WordPress FSE block theme development:

Scaffolding Workflow

Step	Tool	Purpose	Where
1	pt-cli pattern:create or pt-cli layout:create	Generate pattern/layout scaffolding	Host
2	Build in WP editor	Create pattern content	VM
3	Copy blocks	Copy all blocks from editor	VM
4	pt-cli pattern:create --shell-only	Create PHP file with paste marker	Host
5	Replace marker	Paste blocks into pattern file	Host

Pattern Sync Workflow (updating existing patterns)

When an existing PHP pattern needs updating from the Site Editor, use pattern:diff --apply instead of pasting manually — it keeps all esc_html_e() and other PHP wrappers intact.

Step	Command	Purpose
1	Edit pattern in Site Editor	Make structural/layout changes
2	Copy all blocks (Cmd+A, Cmd+C)	Copy updated block HTML to clipboard
3	pbpaste | pt-cli pattern:diff <file> --from-stdin --apply --dry-run	Preview merged result
4	pbpaste | pt-cli pattern:diff <file> --from-stdin --apply	Write merged result to file
5	pt-cli check <file> --theme=elayne	Verify compliance passes

Compliance Workflow (three-pass)

Pass	Tool	Purpose	Where
1	wp pattern validate --fix	Structural validation (WordPress parser — unbalanced delimiters, malformed JSON, bad nesting)	VM
2	pt-cli check --theme=elayne	PHP pattern compliance (hardcoded values, naming rules, WooCommerce block structure)	Host
3	pt-cli check:templates --theme=elayne	HTML template compliance (WooCommerce save() drift, taxQuery, template-part theme attribute)	Host

Pass 1 requires WordPress (database connection) and runs in the Trellis VM. Passes 2 and 3 are standalone and run on the host machine.

Templates

23 pre-built pattern templates covering common use cases:

Template	Description
blank	Empty pattern with header only
hero-cover	Full-bleed wp:cover with bottom-center content
cta-fullwidth	Full-width call-to-action band
feature-grid-3col	Full-width section with 3 feature cards
stats-bar-fullwidth	Dark full-width stats/numbers bar
two-column-text-image	Text left, image right two-column layout
header-standard	Standard header — logo, navigation, social links
footer-standard	Standard footer — brand blurb, nav columns, subnav
testimonials-grid	Responsive testimonial card grid with reviewer info
pricing-comparison	Three-tier pricing table with elevated recommended card
blog-post-columns	wp:query-driven 3-column post grid (portrait images)
team-grid	Team member profile grid — photo, name, title, bio

WooCommerce templates:

Template	Description
woo-hero	Two-column hero: text + CTA left, decorative cover right
woo-ticker	Server-rendered marquee ticker bar (needs render_block filter)
woo-shop-categories	CSS bento grid: one large featured card + four smaller cards
woo-featured-products	Section header with View All + product-collection 4-col grid
woo-our-story	Two-column brand story: monogram watermark left, text + stats right
woo-testimonials	Three-column testimonial cards with star ratings and avatar circles
woo-newsletter	Full-bleed newsletter signup with decorative eyebrow
woo-shop-landing	Store homepage shell that composes sub-patterns in sequence
woo-cart	Full-width cart page wrapper (Inserter: false)
woo-checkout	Full-width checkout page wrapper (Inserter: false)
woo-filters-sidebar	Sticky sidebar: price slider + colour-chip attribute + two checkbox-list attributes
woo-product-grid	Filter-aware product-collection grid with sort toolbar + pagination

Layouts

8 layout skeletons for rapid page construction:

Layout	Description
full-width	Single column, constrained — simplest starting point
two-column	50/50 columns block
three-column	Grid with 3 equal groups
sidebar-left	Narrow left sidebar (33%) + wide content area (66%)
sidebar-right	Wide content area (66%) + narrow right sidebar (33%)
hero-image-left	Cover image left + heading, text, CTA right
hero-image-right	Heading, text, CTA left + cover image right
landing-page	Hero + 3-column features + CTA — no header/footer wrapper

Style Variations

5 preset color palettes for common business verticals:

Vertical	Color Scheme
custom	Enter your own hex color values
legal	Navy blue + gold
plumbing	Dark blue + orange
spa	Sage green + sand
food-beverage	Burgundy + gold

Snippets

13 reusable code snippets for common pattern components:

Snippet	Description
eyebrow-heading-body.txt	Eyebrow label + heading + body paragraph
3col-grid-wrapper.txt	Responsive 3-column grid wrapper
stat-item.txt	Number + label stat card (dark background)
testimonial-card.txt	Testimonial with stars, quote, author
two-button-group.txt	Primary + outline button pair
overlay-grid-cover-card.txt	Portrait cover image card + floating badge (use wp:cover, NOT wp:image)
valid-cover.txt	wp:cover with all required attrs: dimRatio, backgroundColor/customGradient, minHeight (root integer) + minHeightUnit
valid-columns-wp66.txt	wp:columns without inline gap/margin; isStackedOnMobile:false → is-not-stacked-on-mobile class
responsive-grid-min-width.txt	wp:group grid layout with minimumColumnWidth — preferred over wp:columns for 3+ columns
valid-button-attr-order.txt	wp:button with className/colors before style; font size via style.typography.fontSize
valid-fullwidth-section.txt	alignfull outer group + margin reset (top/bottom:"0" no units) + constrained inner group
valid-heading-with-preset.txt	wp:heading with fontSize slug in JSON and matching has-{slug}-font-size utility class in HTML

Configuration

Built-in configs ship with the tool:

• base — default rules for any FSE theme
• elayne — Elayne-specific rules (extends base)

Project-level override

Create .pt-cli/{theme}.json in your project root to override or extend the built-in config without needing a pt-cli release:

my-project/
├── .pt-cli/
│ └── elayne.json
└── web/app/themes/elayne/
└── patterns/

Config lookup order:

1. .pt-cli/{theme}.json (project directory)
2. config/{theme}.json (tool directory)
3. config/base.json (fallback)

Rules

Base rules (all FSE themes)

Rule	Autofixable	Severity
No hardcoded font sizes (CSS px/rem/em)	No	Error
No spacer blocks	No	Error
Margin reset on alignfull patterns	No	Error
Balanced HTML tags (<div>, <ul>, <ol>, <li>, <figure>, etc.)	No	Error
Responsive grid for 3+ columns (warn on wp:columns)	No	Warning
No hardcoded media IDs	No	Error
Translated strings (HTML tags + alt attributes)	No	Error
Proper patternName in outermost block metadata	No	Error
No HTML comments between opening tags and block comments	No	Error
No custom domain emails (use example@example.com)	No	Error
No hardcoded external URLs in src attributes	No	Error
wp:button root fontSize must use style.typography	No	Error
wp:buttonclassName must come before style in JSON	No	Error
Cover block minHeight must have root-level units	No	Error
No empty border side objects {} in block JSON	No	Error
wp:buttons must have <div class="wp-block-buttons"> wrapper	No	Error
No overflow:hidden as inline style on group blocks	No	Error
No opacity as inline style on HTML elements	No	Error
Font preset classes match root-level fontSize/fontFamily	No	Error
No stale inline blockGap/gap/margin on group/column wrappers	No	Error

Elayne-specific rules (--theme=elayne)

Rule	Autofixable	Severity
wp:template-part must have "theme":"elayne" attribute	No	Error
patternName prefix must start with elayne/	No	Error
No emoji icons	No	Warning
woocommerce/product-title inside product-template must use post-title + __woocommerceNamespace	No	Error
WC native blocks must not have __woocommerceNamespace	No	Error
woocommerce/product-collection must have query metadata	No	Error
woocommerce/product-collection must have <div class="wp-block-woocommerce-product-collection"> wrapper	No	Error
woocommerce/product-collection must not have both layout and displayLayout	No	Error

Autofixable rules (--autofix)

Rule
Strip inline gap: from groups/columns
Strip inline margin: from flex groups/columns
Reorder button JSON keys (className before style)
Migrate button root fontSize to style.typography
Inject has-{slug}-font-size class on heading/paragraph

Exceptions

• Templates (template-*, header-*, footer-*) allow: border-radius:5px, border-radius:100px, blockGap:0.5rem, blockGap:10px
• WooCommerce plugin patterns (wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/patterns/*) are exempt from all checks

Template rules (check:templates)

Applied to .html files in templates/ and parts/ directories. These checks catch client-side JavaScript save() mismatches that the PHP compliance checker and WP-CLI structural validator cannot detect.

Rule	Autofixable	Severity
taxQuery:{} must be taxQuery:[] (object → array)	Yes	Error
WooCommerce filter sub-blocks must have an HTML <div> wrapper	No	Error
woocommerce/product-filters<div> must include WooCommerce CSS custom properties	No	Error
wp:template-part must declare "theme":"<slug>"	Yes	Warning
Balanced HTML tags (<div>, <ul>, <ol>, <li>, etc.)	No	Error

Why separate from check?

The check command processes PHP pattern files. HTML template files use a different structure — raw block markup without PHP wrappers — and require different checks. In particular, WooCommerce 9.x+ changed the save() output for filter blocks to include empty <div> wrappers; templates written against older versions lack those wrappers and trigger client-side block validation errors that neither WP-CLI nor the PHP checker can catch.

Demo Rebuild Script

For rebuilding demo pages from pattern PHP files, see the Demo Rebuild Script guide.

Development

git clone https://github.com/imagewize/pt-cli
cd pt-cli
composer install
bin/pt-cli list
bin/pt-cli check --help

License

MIT — see LICENSE.