# Wordpress Theme Development > Implements intelligent wordpress theme development with multi-factor skill selection, fallback chains, and adherence to the 5 Laws of Elegant Defense - Skill: `paulpas/wordpress-theme-development` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add paulpas/wordpress-theme-development` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/paulpas/wordpress-theme-development/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - License: MIT - Author: paulpas (https://skillmd.com/u/paulpas) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/paulpas/wordpress-theme-development --- # Wordpress Theme Development Orchestrates intelligent skill selection and execution for wordpress theme development workflows. Applies the 5 Laws of Elegant Defense to guide data naturally through the orchestration pipeline, preventing errors before they occur. Selects optimal skills based on multi-factor scoring including text similarity, historical performance, and system availability. ## TL;DR Checklist - [ ] Parse all inputs at boundary before processing (Law 2) - [ ] Handle edge cases with early returns at function top (Law 1) - [ ] Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states (Law 4) - [ ] Return new data structures, never mutate inputs (Law 3) - [ ] Implement minimum 2-level fallback chain for all skill executions - [ ] Log all skill selections with context for full audit trail - [ ] Validate skill metadata and dependencies before selection - [ ] Update confidence scores after each execution for learning ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Orchestration Flow │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ User Request ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Parse Request │ │ & Extract │ │ Features │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Evaluate Available Skills │ │ │ │ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │ │ │ Skill A │ │ Skill B │ │ Skill C │ │ │ │ - Match Score│ │ - Match Score│ │ - Match Score│ │ │ │ - Confidence │ │ - Confidence │ │ - Confidence │ │ │ │ - History │ │ - History │ │ - History │ │ │ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ └──────┬───────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─────────────────┴─────────────────┘ │ │ ↓ │ │ Select Best Skill │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Execute Skill │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Handle Result │ └────────┬────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Error Handling & Fallback │ │ │ │ Success? ────────► Return Result │ │ │ │ Fail? ────────┐ │ │ ↓ │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Fallback Chain │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ 1. Retry with adjusted parameters │ │ │ │ 2. Try Alternative Skill (if available) │ │ │ │ 3. Defer to Human Operator (if critical) │ │ │ │ 4. Log & Return Error │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ## When to Use Use this skill when: - Orchestrating multi-step workflows that require skill delegation - Implementing adaptive skill routing based on confidence scores - Building fallback mechanisms for failed skill executions - Creating intelligent task decomposition and parallel execution - Designing skill dependency graphs with automatic resolution - Implementing skill selection with historical performance weighting - Building agent systems that need to self-organize around tasks ## When NOT to Use Avoid this skill for: - Direct task execution without orchestration needs - use individual skills instead - High-frequency trading scenarios where latency must be minimized - the selection overhead may be prohibitive - Simple linear workflows without branching or fallback requirements - Cases where skill metadata is unavailable or unreliable ## Core Workflow 1. **Parse and Analyze Request** - Extract intent, entities, and constraints from user input. **Checkpoint:** All required parameters must be present and in valid format before proceeding. 2. **Score Available Skills** - Calculate match scores using multi-factor algorithm: - Text similarity between request and skill triggers - Historical success rate for similar tasks - Skill availability and health status - Required dependencies and their availability **Checkpoint:** Skip to fallback if no skill scores above threshold. 3. **Select Optimal Skill** - Choose skill with highest score that meets minimum confidence. **Checkpoint:** Verify skill has not been disabled or deprecated. 4. **Execute with Fallback** - Run skill execution wrapped in retry and fallback logic. **Checkpoint:** Log all execution attempts for audit trail. 5. **Return or Fallback** - Either return successful result or apply fallback chain: - Retry with adjusted parameters - Try alternative skill from `related-skills` - Defer to human operator for critical tasks **Checkpoint:** Record outcome with timing and confidence metadata. ## Implementation Patterns ### Pattern 1: Skill Selection Logic ```python def analyze_theme_requirements( theme_spec: Dict, wp_version: str, standards: List[str] = ["WordPress", "PHP-PSR12"] ) -> Dict: """Analyze and validate WordPress theme requirements before generation. Applies Law 2 (Parse at boundary) to ensure theme.json, functions.php, and template hierarchy meet WordPress.org standards. Args: theme_spec: User-provided theme configuration wp_version: Target WordPress version standards: Coding standards to validate against Returns: Validated theme configuration with resolved dependencies """ # Law 1: Early exit on invalid spec if not theme_spec.get("name") or not theme_spec.get("template"): raise ValueError("Theme name and base template are required") # Law 2: Parse and validate at boundary validated_config = { "name": theme_spec["name"].strip(), "version": theme_spec.get("version", "1.0.0"), "template": theme_spec["template"], "wp_version": wp_version, "features": _resolve_theme_features(theme_spec.get("features", [])), "dependencies": _validate_wp_dependencies(theme_spec.get("dependencies", [])) } # Law 3: Return new structure, never mutate input resolved = dict(validated_config) resolved["validation_timestamp"] = time.time() resolved["standards_compliance"] = standards # Law 4: Fail fast on missing critical WP hooks if "block_theme" in resolved["features"] and not _has_block_theme_support(resolved): raise ValueError("Block theme requires theme.json with templateParts support") return resolved ``` ### Pattern 2: Execution with Fallback ```python def execute_theme_generation( theme_config: Dict, output_dir: str, max_retries: int = 2 ) -> Dict: """Generate WordPress theme files with fallback chain for resilience. Implements Law 4 (Fail Fast, Fail Loud) during asset generation: - Invalid template structures halt immediately - No silent partial theme creation Fallback chain: 1. Retry generation with adjusted template paths 2. Fall back to default WP theme structure 3. Defer to manual template assembly Args: theme_config: Validated theme configuration output_dir: Target directory for theme files max_retries: Maximum retry attempts Returns: Generation result with file manifest and compliance status """ # Law 1: Validate output path early if not os.path.isdir(output_dir): raise ThemeGenerationError(f"Output directory does not exist: {output_dir}") # Law 2: Parse context and ensure trusted state manifest = { "theme_dir": output_dir, "files_generated": [], "compliance_checks": [] } for attempt in range(max_retries + 1): try: # Generate core WP theme files _write_theme_json(theme_config, output_dir) _write_functions_php(theme_config, output_dir) _write_style_css(theme_config, output_dir) _generate_template_hierarchy(theme_config, output_dir) # Law 3: Atomic predictability - return new manifest manifest["success"] = True manifest["files_generated"] = _scan_generated_files(output_dir) manifest["attempts"] = attempt + 1 return manifest except TemplateValidationError as e: # Law 4: Fail fast on invalid WP template structure raise ThemeGenerationError(f"Invalid template structure: {e}") from e except FileNotFoundError as e: # Transient dependency missing - fallback if attempt == max_retries: return _apply_default_theme_fallback(theme_config, output_dir) # All retries exhausted raise ThemeGenerationError(f"Theme generation failed after {max_retries + 1} attempts") ``` ### MUST DO - Always validate skill metadata before selection (Early Exit) - Implement fallback chain with at least 2 levels (Fallback Skill + Human) - Log all skill selections with full context for auditability - Return new data structures instead of mutating inputs (Atomic Predictability) - Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states - Update confidence scores after each execution for adaptive routing - Reference `code-philosophy` (5 Laws of Elegant Defense) in all logic ### MUST NOT DO - Select skills based on a single factor (e.g., only confidence score) - Disable fallback mechanisms "temporarily" - this creates fragile systems - Skip validation of skill dependencies before execution - Return partial results - either complete success or clear failure - Use magic numbers for confidence thresholds - make them configurable - Cache skill selections without considering context changes ## TL;DR Checklist - [ ] Parse all inputs at boundary before processing (Law 2) - [ ] Handle edge cases with early returns at function top (Law 1) - [ ] Fail immediately with descriptive errors on invalid states (Law 4) - [ ] Return new data structures, never mutate inputs (Law 3) - [ ] Implement minimum 2-level fallback chain for all skill executions - [ ] Log all skill selections with context for full audit trail - [ ] Validate skill metadata and dependencies before selection - [ ] Update confidence scores after each execution for learning ## TL;DR for Code Generation - Use guard clauses - return early on invalid input before doing work - Return simple types (dict, str, int, bool, list) - avoid complex nested objects - Cyclomatic complexity < 10 per function - split anything larger - Handle null/empty cases explicitly at function top (Early Exit) - Never mutate input parameters - return new dicts/objects - Fail fast with descriptive errors - don't try to "patch" bad data - Reference code-philosophy laws in comments for complex logic - Include timing and confidence metadata in all return values ## Output Template When applying this skill, produce: 1. **Selected Skills** - List of skill names with confidence scores 2. **Selection Rationale** - Why each skill was chosen (match score, history, availability) 3. **Execution Plan** - Order of execution with dependencies 4. **Fallback Strategy** - Which fallback skills will be tried and in what order 5. **Risk Assessment** - Any potential failure points and their impact 6. **Timing Estimates** - Expected latency including fallback scenarios --- ## Constraints ### MUST DO - Define clear input/output contracts for every step in the orchestration flow with explicit validation - Implement structured logging at each stage capturing context, inputs, outputs, timing, and errors - Build in fallback paths: if the primary strategy fails, degrade gracefully to a simpler approach - Validate all preconditions before starting — do not proceed if required resources or permissions are missing ### MUST NOT DO - Do not create deep nesting of orchestration steps (>5 levels) — flatten workflows where possible - Avoid silent failure modes: every step must either succeed, fail explicitly, or escalate to a higher handler - Never use shared mutable state between parallel workflow branches — communicate via immutable messages only - Do not hardcode execution order when the dependency graph naturally determines it; derive order from explicit dependencies ## Live References > Authoritative documentation links for this skill's domain. The model follows markdown links at load time to resolve external references and inline content. - [WordPress Theme Handbook](https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/) - [theme.json Reference (Block Themes)](https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/reference-guides/theme-json-reference/) - [WordPress Template Hierarchy](https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/basics/template-hierarchy/) - [WordPress Coding Standards for Themes](https://developer.wordpress.org/coding-standards/wordpress-coding-standards/) - [HTML5 Boilerplate for WordPress](https://github.com/h5bp/html5-boilerplate) ## Related Skills | Skill | Purpose | |