nf

Plugins

Configured WordPress plugins live in nf.json under wordpress.plugins. The list is an env bootstrap checklist, not a full plugin lifecycle manager.

Configure Plugins

{
  "wordpress": {
    "plugins": [
      "stream",
      "wp-crontrol",
      "insert-headers-and-footers",
      "block-visibility",
      "imsanity",
      {
        "slug": "acf-pro",
        "source": "cache",
        "activate": true,
        "auto_update": false
      },
      {
        "slug": "client-plugin",
        "source": "repo"
      },
      {
        "slug": "sitepress-multilingual-cms",
        "install": false,
        "note": "WPML; install manually from wpml.org account"
      }
    ]
  }
}

String entries install from wordpress.org, activate, and enable auto-updates by default. Object entries require slug, may set source to a zip URL/path, env var, repo, or cache, may set activate or auto_update to false, and may set install to false for manual/documentation-only plugins that nf should check but never install.

Use source: "repo" for project-specific plugins stored at plugins/<slug>/ in the repo. Local envs bind mount configured repo plugins into /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/<slug> for live development, then nf plugin install activates them and configures auto-updates as requested. Remote installs package repo plugins into temporary zips, upload them through WP-CLI, and clean up. No plugin artifact is written to dist/ or committed to the repo.

Use source: "cache" for paid/private plugins whose installable zip is kept in nf’s local plugin cache under $NF_DATA_HOME/plugins/<slug>/<slug>.zip. This is explicit; nf does not silently fall back from wordpress.org to the cache.

Keep private plugin URLs and license data in environment variables, not nf.json.

Edit the Plugin List

nf plugin list
nf plugin add stream
nf plugin add acf-pro --source '$NF_PLUGIN_ACF_PRO_ZIP'
nf plugin add acf-pro --source cache --no-auto-update
nf plugin add client-plugin --source repo
nf plugin add sitepress-multilingual-cms --manual --note 'WPML; install manually from wpml.org account'
nf plugin remove stream

nf plugin add <plugin> appends a plugin to nf.json without installing it. Add --source <source>, --manual, --note <note>, --no-activate, or --no-auto-update when defaults are not enough. With --source repo, nf also creates a minimal plugins/<slug>/<slug>.php plugin scaffold when that plugin directory does not exist yet.

nf plugin remove <plugin> removes a plugin from nf.json without uninstalling it.

Manage the Local Plugin Cache

nf plugin cache add acf-pro ~/Downloads/acf-pro.zip
nf plugin cache save sitepress-multilingual-cms
nf plugin cache list
nf plugin cache show acf-pro

nf plugin cache add <plugin> <zip> copies an existing zip into $NF_DATA_HOME/plugins/<slug>/<slug>.zip.

nf plugin cache save <plugin> archives the plugin currently installed in the local WordPress env and stores it as the cached zip. Use this as a local recovery aid for paid/manual plugins that were installed through WordPress admin or vendor updaters.

nf plugin cache list and nf plugin cache show <plugin> inspect the local cache. Cached zips are local machine state, not project metadata, and are not committed.

Compare Config to WordPress State

Local env:

nf plugin status
nf plugin diff

Configured remote:

nf plugin status production
nf plugin diff production

nf plugin status [remote] compares nf.json against the local env or configured remote and reports whether each configured plugin is installed, active, and auto-update enabled.

nf plugin diff [remote] reports the install/activate/auto-update changes needed to make the local env or remote match nf.json. Manual plugins with install: false are still checked and report manual install required when missing. It also reports installed plugins that are not configured in nf.json. It does not mutate anything. It exits 0 when configured plugins match and no extras are installed, and 2 when drift exists.

Install Configured Plugins

Local env:

nf plugin install

Remote dry-run:

nf plugin install production --dry-run

Remote install:

nf plugin install production --yes

Local installs use configured repo plugin bind mounts and cached zips when requested. Remote installs run WP-CLI on the remote host. URL sources must be reachable from that host; local zip, cache, and repo sources are uploaded to a temporary remote directory before install and cleaned up afterward. Repo sources are zipped locally on demand before upload.

Plugin install is idempotent: it installs only missing configured plugins where install is true, activates only inactive plugins when activate is true, and enables native WordPress auto-updates only when not already enabled. It does not install manual plugins, update, remove, pin, disable auto-updates, or manage plugin licenses.