WordPress

This geneset contains fodder for installing a WordPress server on Linux, backed by a MariaDB/MySQL database.

The fodder is cross-platform WordPress server fodder. It installs Apache and PHP, downloads the latest WordPress release and installs it unattended with WP-CLI against an external MariaDB/MySQL database. It uses mod_php on Debian/Ubuntu and php-fpm plus SELinux on the RHEL family. It has been tested on Debian 13 and AlmaLinux 10 (it also works on Ubuntu and the RHEL family).

Usage

Deploy two catlets: a database catlet with the dbosoft/mariadb gene and an application catlet with the WordPress gene. Set the application's db_host to the name of the database catlet — eryph's internal DNS resolves catlet names within the project, so you don't need to look up its IP address.

Both catlets need a second drive for their persistent state — the database on the DB catlet, and WordPress's wp-content directory and wp-config.php on the application catlet: see Persistent state below. Without it the provisioning fails on purpose rather than storing state that a redeploy would silently lose.

name: wordpress-db
parent: dbosoft/debian-13/starter

drives:
 - name: sdb
   size: 10
   location: wordpress-db-data

fodder:
 - source: gene:dbosoft/mariadb:server
   variables:
     - name: db_name
       value: wordpress
     - name: db_user
       value: wordpress
     - name: db_password
       value: change-me-please
       secret: true

name: wordpress-app
parent: dbosoft/debian-13/starter

memory:
  startup: 3072

drives:
 - name: sdb
   size: 20
   location: wordpress-app-data

fodder:
 - source: gene:dbosoft/wordpress:server
   variables:
     - name: db_host
       value: wordpress-db
     - name: db_name
       value: wordpress
     - name: db_user
       value: wordpress
     - name: db_password
       value: change-me-please
       secret: true
     - name: admin_password
       value: change-me-too
       secret: true

The db_name, db_user and db_password of the mariadb gene must match the ones of the WordPress gene.

The fodder:

• installs Apache (mod_php on Debian/Ubuntu, php-fpm on the RHEL family) and the PHP modules WordPress needs
• downloads and extracts the WordPress code to /var/www/wordpress
• mounts the state drive at /var/wordpress and keeps wp-content and wp-config.php there
• on the RHEL family configures SELinux (httpd_can_network_connect_db, and httpd_sys_rw_content_t on the state directory)
• installs WP-CLI to /usr/local/bin/wp
• writes wp-config.php and runs wp core install on first deploy; re-attaches on a redeploy
• when site_url is empty, makes WordPress follow the request host (works via a NAT/forwarded address out of the box)
• opens port 80 when firewalld or ufw is active

WordPress is served over plain HTTP on port 80. For production use, put a TLS-terminating reverse proxy (e.g. the dbosoft/caddy gene) in front of it and set site_url to the public HTTPS URL.

Persistent state

WordPress keeps state the database does not: the wp-content directory (uploads, installed plugins and themes) and wp-config.php with the database credentials and the generated auth keys and salts. The database keeps its own state too, so both catlets need their own persistent drive (the dbosoft/mariadb gene requires a drive for its data directory for the same reason). The OS disk is recreated from the gene on every deploy, so that state must live on a separate, persistent drive.

Give each catlet a second drive and make it persistent with an explicit location. This is the key detail: name (sdb) only sets the device order inside the guest, while location is the drive's identity on the host. Without a location, eryph assigns a throwaway storage id and deletes the drive together with the catlet; with one, the drive lives independently of the catlet and is re-attached on the next deploy. Give each catlet its own location, unique within the project (the examples use wordpress-db-data and wordpress-app-data).

The application fodder formats its drive on first use (ext4, label wordpress), mounts it at /var/wordpress, and keeps wp-content and wp-config.php there (symlinked into the webroot); the MariaDB fodder does the same for its data directory. On a redeploy — removing the catlets and deploying them again with the same locations — the drives are re-attached, so WordPress re-attaches to the existing installation instead of reinstalling. If no empty drive is present, provisioning stops with a clear error rather than storing state that would not survive.

Configuration

The following variables can be used to configure the server fodder:

• db_host
  required, no default value

  The database server. Use the name of the database catlet (eryph's internal DNS resolves it within the project); an IP address or any resolvable hostname also works.

• db_name
  default value: wordpress

  The name of the database.

• db_user
  default value: wordpress

  The name of the database user.

• db_password
  required, secret, no default value

  The password of the database user.

• site_url
  optional, default value: empty

  The fixed site URL WordPress uses. When left empty (the default), WordPress follows the host the client used for each request, so the site works through a NAT/forwarded address out of the box without knowing that address in advance. Set it to a fixed address or domain (e.g. https://blog.example.com) for a stable canonical URL in production; WordPress then stores and always redirects to that URL.

• site_title
  default value: WordPress

  The title of the site.

• admin_user
  default value: admin

  The name of the WordPress administrator account.

• admin_password
  required, secret, no default value

  The password of the WordPress administrator account.

• admin_email
  default value: admin@example.com

  The email address of the WordPress administrator account.

• wordpress_version
  default value: latest

  The WordPress version to install. Set it to a specific release like 6.7.1 to pin the version.

Versioning

This geneset contains only fodder genes and is versioned with a major-minor version scheme.

There is no patch version - when a bug is fixed, a new minor version will be released.
A new major version is released when a gene is removed from the geneset.

The tag latest is updated with each released version. If you want to have a stable reference, don't use the latest tag, use a specific version tag.

Contributing

This geneset is maintained by dbosoft and is open for contributions.

You can find the repository for this geneset on github.com/dbosoft/eryph-genes.

License

All public dbosoft genesets are licensed under the MIT License.