A build process

We’ve had an implicit build process in the WordPress codebase for a considerable time now. Most of that process is now contained within bumpbot, a little script that lives on the WordPress.org servers. Whenever we update CSS or JavaScript files, bumpbot comes around, minifies them, and commits the result. Despite bumpbot’s efforts, this process is less than ideal. Our source files (in this case, JavaScript and CSS) live alongside our production-optimized files, which causes confusion and makes contributing to core considerably more difficult. Our built output—the files optimized for machines—shouldn’t live alongside the source code that’s optimized for developers, and beyond that, shouldn’t be tracked in source control.

We’re adopting Grunt to write a real build process and help us manage and run our various tools. Grunt is a JavaScript task runner that has a robust ecosystem of plugins focused around building modern web applications. We can include tools such as integrated testing, minification, linting (for PHP, JS, and CSS), image optimization, and LiveReload—and that’s just the beginning.

Using Grunt will be an optional but encouraged part of WordPress development. These tools are all built atop Node.js, which Grunt needs in order to function.

Yes! Grunt is the tool that should be a part of every frontend engineer’s toolbox. Glad to see that core Wordpress is now using it.