LocalWP Assistant — VS Code Chat Participant
A GitHub Copilot Chat participant (@localwp) that lets you query and manage your Local by Flywheel WordPress sites directly from VS Code.
Features
- Auto-detects the active site from your open file or workspace root
- Direct MySQL connection — no WP-CLI overhead for read queries
- WP-CLI for everything else, using Local's bundled PHP and MySQL binaries
- LM-powered answers — free-form questions are answered in human-readable Markdown, not raw JSON
- Follow-up suggestions after every response
- Remembers your site — pick once, reuse for the session
- Cross-platform — macOS, Windows, and Linux
Requirements
Install
Install from the VS Code Marketplace, or search for LocalWP Assistant in VS Code Extensions.
Development
git clone https://github.com/soderlind/localwp-assistant
cd localwp-assistant
npm install
npm run compile
Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host, or package with vsce package.
Usage
Open Copilot Chat and type @localwp followed by your question.
Slash commands
| Command |
Description |
@localwp /sites |
List all Local sites with running status |
@localwp /plugins |
List active plugins (fast — direct DB) |
@localwp /options siteurl |
Fetch options matching a pattern |
@localwp /db SELECT ... |
Run a raw read-only SQL query |
@localwp What plugins are active?
@localwp What is the siteurl?
@localwp List all users
@localwp What WordPress version is running?
@localwp Show me all transients matching _site_transient_%
@localwp --site=my-other-site What theme is active?
Targeting a specific site
If multiple sites are running, the extension auto-detects from your open file. To override:
@localwp --site=my-site-name What plugins are active?
If auto-detection can't determine the site, a QuickPick will appear. Your choice is remembered for the session — subsequent messages reuse the last selected site automatically. Use --site=<name> to switch.
Architecture
src/
├── extension.ts ← Registers the chat participant
├── localwp/
│ ├── sites.ts ← Reads sites.json + site-statuses.json
│ ├── mysql.ts ← Direct MySQL connection via socket/TCP
│ └── wpcli.ts ← Runs WP-CLI via Local's bundled PHP
└── participant/
├── handler.ts ← Routes requests to MySQL or WP-CLI
└── siteSelector.ts ← Auto-detects or QuickPicks the target site
Why direct MySQL?
On macOS/Linux, Local exposes a MySQL Unix socket per site. On Windows, it exposes a TCP port. Connecting directly with mysql2 is much faster than spinning up a PHP process for WP-CLI — especially for simple reads like listing plugins or fetching options.
WP-CLI is still used for write operations and anything that needs WordPress context (hooks, filters, PHP eval).
License
MIT
