Improve Playground blueprint with modern PHP and cleaner syntax

[huzaifaalmesbah]

Updated the WordPress Playground blueprint with cleaner syntax, explicit plugin activation, and a modern PHP version.

Changes

Change	Before	After
PHP version	7.4	8.2
Plugin reference	Verbose resource object	Simple slug string
Login step	Inline in steps	Top-level login: true shorthand
Activation	Implicit/unclear	Explicit activatePlugin step

Rationale

1. PHP version update (7.4 → 8.2)

PHP 7.4 reached end-of-life on November 28, 2022 and no longer receives security updates. Using an EOL PHP version in the Playground demo:

• Sets a bad example for users exploring the plugin
• May cause warnings or compatibility issues as WordPress core continues to modernize

The plugin supports PHP 7.2+ per composer.json, so PHP 8.2 is fully compatible.

Ref: https://www.php.net/supported-versions.php

2. Simplified plugin syntax

The plugins shorthand accepts strings directly for WordPress.org plugins. Per the JSON schema:

"plugins": {
  "type": "array",
  "items": {
    "anyOf": [
      { "type": "string" },
      { "$ref": "#/definitions/FileReference" }
    ]
  }
}

The schema explicitly allows { "type": "string" } as a valid item type alongside FileReference. This means:

// Before (verbose)
"plugins": [{ "resource": "wordpress.org/plugins", "slug": "two-factor" }]

// After (concise - valid per schema)
"plugins": ["two-factor"]

Ref: https://playground.wordpress.net/blueprint-schema.json (#/properties/plugins)

3. Top-level login shorthand

The schema defines login as a top-level property accepting boolean or object:

"login": {
  "anyOf": [
    { "type": "boolean" },
    { "type": "object", "properties": { "username": { "type": "string" } } }
  ]
}

Using login: true is cleaner than embedding a login step in the steps array, and is the recommended shorthand for simple admin authentication.

Ref: https://playground.wordpress.net/blueprint-schema.json (#/properties/login)

4. Explicit plugin activation

The activatePlugin step is defined in the schema as:

{
  "step": { "type": "string", "const": "activatePlugin" },
  "pluginPath": { "type": "string" },
  "required": ["pluginPath", "step"]
}

While plugins shorthand installs the plugin, adding an explicit activatePlugin step ensures the Two-Factor plugin is active when the user lands on the profile page, making the demo immediately usable.

Ref: https://playground.wordpress.net/blueprint-schema.json (step definition: activatePlugin)

Testing

Tested inline via:

https://playground.wordpress.net/#{"$schema":"https://playground.wordpress.net/blueprint-schema.json","landingPage":"/wp-admin/profile.php#two-factor-options","preferredVersions":{"php":"8.2","wp":"latest"},"login":true,"plugins":["two-factor"],"steps":[{"step":"activatePlugin","pluginPath":"two-factor/two-factor.php"}]}

Confirmed the Playground loads, plugin activates, and user lands on the profile page with Two-Factor options visible.

Generated with

This PR was created with assistance from Claude Code using the blueprint skill for WordPress Playground blueprint review and best practices.

Skill reference: https://github.com/WordPress/agent-skills/blob/trunk/skills/wp-playground/SKILL.md

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Co-authored-by: huzaifaalmesbah <huzaifaalmesbah@git.wordpress.org>
Co-authored-by: todeveni <skithund@git.wordpress.org>

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[todeveni]

PHP 7.4 reached end-of-life on November 28, 2022 and no longer receives security updates.

I'm here just to clear this common mistake. PHP 7.4 has reached EOL, but some Linux distros still provide security backports for PHP 7.4. That's what LTS (long term support) distros are for. I wouldn't be surprised if some Red Hat version even supports PHP 5.x.