Anyone here use automatic WordPress deployments from dev environment to production? If so what do you recommend to do so?

I tend to use simple web hook setup, though mine needs some fixing up, hadn't touchedi n a while rarst.net/wordpress/simple-deploy

@CoderSte You're talking about code deployments or db/data migration? The "from dev environment to production" confuses me...

@kraftner basically I was looking for a way of deploying my theme to the production site along with db migration. Something like wp-deploy. Where it backs-up the database etc. just wondering if there is anything else out there other than wp-deploy or wordmove

Plenty probably. I am using a custom built combo of capistranorb.com, wp-cli.org and rsync rsync.samba.org

May I ask what OS you use? MacOS, Windows or Linux?

Ubuntu Linux. But that shouldn't really matter that much I think.

I tend to find these automatic deployments are much better fitted to UNIX-like systems like MacOS and Linux - it's such a chore to set-up on Windows

Might be. But then just leave Windows behind ;) Or let it run in a VM. I do that using Vagrant in any case.

I use Mac at home but while in the office they only have Windows on the machine :/

Even more a reason to set up everything inside a VM so you're actual environment is always the same.

Yea probably should get round to setting one up

Found this github.com/lavmeiker/capistrano-wpcli seems interesting

Looks interesting...basically the same approach I have.

you know what's a chore? changing operating system because people write platform–specific stuff :D

Yeah, true. But you know what also is a chore? Trying to make things work cross platform when you can just spin up a VM and make everything 3 times easier.

And Capistrano, WP-CLI and rsync do work on windows. Probably just not as smooth as on osx/linux.

@Rarst I second that :D

I had never in my life encountered a task that went faster with "spin up a VM", at that point you are usually debugging VM for the next day :D

and to be clear there are tasks that benefit from the virtualization, exact environment match and so on and so on. it's just that web dev is imploding from overbuilt complexity right now. (IMO)

today’s context :D

PS @kraftner is better at this webdev business stuff than me, so listen to him :)

No idea how you've come to that conclusion...I should stop talking like I know stuff... ;)

well, do you have a job right now? yes = better :)

Well I'm freelancing so this is always somewhat non-boolean. ;)

Anyway generally I'm totally with you. I also try to keep thinks simple and carefully compare what is worth extra effort. What I like about VMs is that it keeps stuff separate from each other. I don't want some weird stuff I tried with a webserver for client A interfere with the setup for client B. Whenever I rework my setup step 1 is kick as much out as possible. And only then carefully introduce stuff that makes things easier that have been a chore until now.

Also concerning you mentioning "faster" - I realized that especially when being a one man show for time spent it matters a lot when that time is spent. If I'm not fully booked spending a day optimizing some workflow that might never save me a day of work, but does save me an hour when stressed out or in some high urgency situation it is still worth it.

yeah, I get your point completely. but this applies much less for solutions that are meant to be widely released. people who overly bottle up their environment end up sucking at writing robust cross–platform code.

one of my work “services” and reasons I stay on Windows is that I clean up cross–platform bugs and messes after others.

100% agree on that. That is also why I'm not using some specialized service but take bits and pieces (rsync, wp-cli,...) that are flexible, replaceable in part, don't lock me in and which I can also use for other stuff once I've learned how to use them.

maybe cross–platform is too narrow way to put it. for example I saw non–insignificant feature shipped that was completely broken outside of 64–bit PHP.

@Rarst And that totally is a very good reason to do so.

Diversity is always a good thing.

It's just all very complicated. And my conclusions often stem from the fact that I am not writing publicly released stuff and being a one man show. So this might not make any sense at all under some other circumstances, sure.

I think one of the biggest disconnects in WP right now is that content sites are essentially what it matters for, but people feel like they need to “class it up” with Single Page Abominations and stuff

Not sure how that last statement ties in to the discussion before.

overcomplication

I see.

I read essentially a blog yesterday (start to finish for two hours) and it was the best site I had seen in a long time. but no one in WP will say — hey we made awesome blog, which is beautiful, fast, and fits content wonderfully. not hip anymore. we made React–centric wreck [for no good reason] is currently the rage.

Well the web as a whole is becoming more complex as new things become possible. Often this overcomplicates stuff that once was easy or people tend to set the wrong focus or get distracted. But I think the main difficulty is that everyone wants and needs something else from an ever increasing list of possibilities while always looking for a ready-made one-size-fits-all solution. This just can't work out. Ever.

sadly yes. good design is driven by needs, not possibilities.

Yes. Just an example: I jumped on the VM/Vagrant bandwagon because it solved an actual problem in my actual day to day work. But I'm ignoring Docker because it mostly solves the same thing. Yes it solves some more stuff, but those aren't issues I am having so it is not worth the extra effort. But coming to that conclusion also took some time and effort. It just always stays complicated.

So I'd say always keep your eyes and ears open. But whenever I talk to other people I'm more interested in WHY they've chosen to go down one route or the other rather than WHICH route they have chosen.

Hey, that's us!

now I don’t know if I should listen because WPSE or not because Matt.