Sloth — WordPress Theme Framework

A modern WordPress theme framework built with Laravel components, designed for developers who want to build powerful WordPress themes with a clean, object-oriented architecture.

Features

Laravel Components: Container, Validation, Pagination, View, Cache, Events and more — without the full Laravel stack
Symfony Routing: Laravel-esque custom routing backed by symfony/routing — zero extra dependencies
HTTP Layer: Response::make(), Response::json(), Response::redirect() and more
ACF Support: Seamless integration with Advanced Custom Fields
Module System: Organized module-based architecture for theme components
Template Hierarchy: brain/hierarchy integration for intelligent template loading
WordPress REST API: Easy API endpoint creation with auto-discovery
DebugBar: PHP DebugBar integration for development
WP-CLI: Artisan-style console commands via wp sloth

Requirements

PHP: 8.4 or higher
WordPress: 5.0 or higher
Composer: 2.0 or higher

Installation

composer create-project sixmonkey/sloth my-theme

Quick Start

1. Theme Activation

Activate the theme in WordPress admin. Sloth automatically bootstraps and registers all service providers.

2. Defining Routes

Create app/routes/web.php or theme/routes/web.php:

<?php

use Sloth\Facades\Route;
use Sloth\Http\Response;

// Basic route
Route::get('/css/products', function () {
    return Response::make(view('styles.index'), 200)
        ->header('Content-Type', 'text/css');
})->name('product-styles');

// Route with parameters
Route::get('/posts/{slug}', function (string $slug) {
    return Response::make(view('single', compact('slug')));
})->name('post.show');

// JSON response
Route::get('/api/status', function () {
    return Response::json(['status' => 'ok']);
});

// Redirect
Route::get('/old-path', function () {
    Response::redirect('/new-path');
});

Custom routes run on template_redirect at priority 1 — before WordPress template loading. If no route matches, WordPress handles the request normally.

Note: Custom routes are for non-WordPress URLs like /css/products, /sitemap.xml, or /api/custom. Do not register routes that conflict with WordPress template URLs unless you intentionally want to override them.

3. Using Models

<?php

use App\Model\NewsModel;

// Get a post by ID
$post = NewsModel::find(123);

// Query posts
$posts = NewsModel::published()
    ->orderBy('post_date', 'DESC')
    ->limit(10)
    ->get();

4. Using the View System

<?php

use Sloth\Facades\View;

// Render a Twig view
View::make('partials.header', ['title' => 'Welcome']);

5. Validation

<?php

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Validator;

$validator = Validator::make($data, [
    'name'  => 'required|min:3|max:255',
    'email' => 'required|email',
]);

if ($validator->fails()) {
    $errors = $validator->errors();
}

Routing

Sloth's router is backed by symfony/routing and provides a Laravel-esque API. Routes are loaded from app/routes/web.php and theme/routes/web.php — both are optional.

HTTP Methods

Route::get('/path', fn() => Response::make('hello'));
Route::post('/path', fn() => Response::json(['ok' => true]));
Route::put('/path', fn() => Response::noContent());
Route::delete('/path', fn() => Response::noContent());

Route Parameters

Route::get('/posts/{slug}', function (string $slug) {
    return Response::make(view('single', compact('slug')));
});

Route::get('/archive/{year}/{month}', function (string $year, string $month) {
    return Response::make(view('archive', compact('year', 'month')));
});

Named Routes & URL Generation

Route::get('/posts/{slug}', fn($slug) => Response::make(view('single')))->name('post.show');

// Generate URL via facade
URL::route('post.show', ['slug' => 'hello-world']);
// → https://example.com/posts/hello-world

// Or via helper
url()->route('post.show', ['slug' => 'hello-world']);

HTTP Response

Sloth\Http\Response extends Illuminate\Http\Response with static factory methods.

use Sloth\Http\Response;

// HTML response
Response::make('<h1>Hello</h1>', 200);
Response::make('<h1>Hello</h1>', 200, ['Content-Type' => 'text/html']);

// JSON response
Response::json(['key' => 'value']);
Response::json(['error' => 'Not found'], 404);

// No content
Response::noContent();
Response::noContent(205);

// File download
Response::download('/path/to/file.pdf', 'download.pdf');

// Inline file (display in browser)
Response::file('/path/to/file.pdf');

// Redirect (uses wp_redirect() when available)
Response::redirect('/new-path');
Response::redirect('/new-path', 301);

All methods support chaining for headers:

Response::make(view('styles.index'), 200)
    ->header('Content-Type', 'text/css')
    ->header('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=3600');

URL Generation

Sloth provides a UrlGenerator that abstracts WordPress URL functions and integrates with the router for named route URLs. All values are read from the container — WordPress functions are never called directly in your code.

Via Facade

use Sloth\Facades\URL;

URL::home()                                   // https://example.com
URL::to('/about')                             // https://example.com/about
URL::theme()                                  // https://example.com/wp-content/themes/my-theme
URL::theme('css/app.css')                     // https://example.com/.../my-theme/css/app.css
URL::asset('css/app.css')                     // https://example.com/.../my-theme/public/css/app.css
URL::content()                                // https://example.com/wp-content
URL::uploads()                                // https://example.com/wp-content/uploads
URL::route('post.show', ['slug' => 'hello'])  // https://example.com/posts/hello
URL::current()                                // /current/path
URL::full()                                   // https://example.com/current/path

Via Helper

url('/about')            // https://example.com/about
url()->theme('css/app')  // https://example.com/.../theme/css/app.css
url()->asset('js/app.js') // https://example.com/.../theme/public/js/app.js
url()->route('post.show', ['slug' => 'hello'])

In Twig

{{ url('/about') }}
{{ url().theme('css/app.css') }}
{{ url().asset('js/app.js') }}
{{ url().route('post.show', { slug: 'hello' }) }}

Configuration

Database

Sloth reads database configuration from database config key. WordPress constants (DB_HOST, DB_NAME etc.) are used as fallbacks. Override in app/config/database.php:

<?php

return [
    'default' => 'wordpress',

    'connections' => [
        'wordpress' => [
            'driver'    => 'mysql',
            'host'      => env('DB_HOST', DB_HOST),
            'database'  => env('DB_NAME', DB_NAME),
            'username'  => env('DB_USER', DB_USER),
            'password'  => env('DB_PASSWORD', DB_PASSWORD),
            'prefix'    => env('DB_PREFIX', DB_PREFIX),
            'charset'   => 'utf8mb4',
            'collation' => 'utf8mb4_unicode_ci',
        ],

        // Add extra connections
        'external' => [
            'driver'   => 'mysql',
            'host'     => env('EXTERNAL_DB_HOST'),
            'database' => env('EXTERNAL_DB_NAME'),
            'username' => env('EXTERNAL_DB_USER'),
            'password' => env('EXTERNAL_DB_PASSWORD'),
            'prefix'   => '',
            'charset'  => 'utf8mb4',
            'collation'=> 'utf8mb4_unicode_ci',
        ],
    ],
];

Use a specific connection in a model:

class ExternalModel extends Model
{
    protected $connection = 'external';
}

Environment Variables

APP_ENV=local
APP_DEBUG=true
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_NAME=wordpress
DB_USER=root
DB_PASSWORD=
DB_PREFIX=wp_

Custom Configuration

Add files to app/config/ — each filename becomes a config key:

// app/config/theme.php
return [
    'colors' => ['primary' => '#ff0000'],
];

// Access via
config('theme.colors.primary');

Auto-Discovery: Convention over Configuration

Sloth automatically discovers and registers classes in convention-based directories.

`app/` vs `theme/`

Path	Scope	When to use
`app/`	Always loaded, regardless of active theme	Shared models, APIs, reusable components
`theme/`	Only loaded for the active theme	UI, presentation logic, theme-specific hooks

Recommended Structure

Component	Location	Why
Models	`app/Model/`	Data structure — theme-independent
Taxonomies	`app/Taxonomy/`	Data structure — belongs with models
Routes	`app/routes/web.php` or `theme/routes/web.php`	App-wide or theme-specific routes
Modules	`theme/Module/`	UI components — always theme-specific
API Controllers	Both	General APIs in `app/`, theme-specific in `theme/`
Providers	Both	Framework services in `app/`, theme hooks in `theme/`
Includes	Both	Shared helpers in `app/`, theme functions in `theme/`

Models (Custom Post Types)

<?php
// app/Model/NewsModel.php

namespace App\Model;

use Sloth\Model\Model;

class NewsModel extends Model
{
    protected $postType = 'news';

    protected $options = [
        'public'       => true,
        'show_in_rest' => true,
        'menu_icon'    => 'dashicons-admin-post',
    ];

    protected $names = [
        'singular' => 'News',
        'plural'   => 'News',
        'slug'     => 'news',
    ];
}

What happens automatically:

Post type news is registered via register_extended_post_type()
Model is available for Eloquent queries (NewsModel::all())

To disable registration:

protected $register = false;

Taxonomies

<?php
// app/Taxonomy/CategoryTaxonomy.php

namespace App\Taxonomy;

use Sloth\Model\Taxonomy;

class CategoryTaxonomy extends Taxonomy
{
    protected $slug = 'category';
    protected $postTypes = ['news', 'post'];
    protected $unique = false;
    protected $names = [
        'singular' => 'Category',
        'plural'   => 'Categories',
    ];
}

Modules

<?php
// theme/Module/TeaserModule.php

namespace Theme\Module;

use Sloth\Module\Module;

class TeaserModule extends Module
{
    public $json = ['params' => ['id']];
}

What happens automatically:

Available in Twig: {% include 'module/teaser' %}
REST endpoint: GET /sloth/v1/module/teaser[/{id}]

Service Providers

<?php
// theme/Providers/ThemeProvider.php

namespace Theme\Providers;

use Sloth\Core\ServiceProvider;

class ThemeProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
    public function register(): void
    {
        $this->app->singleton('my-service', fn() => new MyService());
    }

    public function boot(): void
    {
        // Boot-time setup
    }

    public function getHooks(): array
    {
        return [
            'init' => fn() => $this->doSomething(),
            'admin_menu' => ['callback' => fn() => $this->addMenu(), 'priority' => 20],
        ];
    }

    public function getFilters(): array
    {
        return [
            'the_content' => fn(string $c) => $this->transform($c),
        ];
    }
}

API Controllers

<?php
// app/Api/NewsController.php

namespace App\Api;

use Sloth\Api\Controller;

class NewsController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        return NewsModel::published()->get();
    }

    public function single($id)
    {
        return NewsModel::find($id);
    }
}

What happens automatically:

index() → GET /wp-json/sloth/v1/news
single() → GET /wp-json/sloth/v1/news/{id}

Includes

Any .php file in app/Includes/ or theme/Includes/ is automatically require_once'd during boot.

Service Provider Hooks

Registering Actions

public function getHooks(): array
{
    return [
        // Single callback (priority 10)
        'init' => fn() => $this->registerPostTypes(),

        // With explicit priority
        'admin_menu' => ['callback' => fn() => $this->addMenu(), 'priority' => 20],

        // Multiple callbacks
        'wp_loaded' => [
            ['callback' => fn() => $this->early(), 'priority' => 5],
            ['callback' => fn() => $this->late(), 'priority' => 20],
        ],
    ];
}

Registering Filters

public function getFilters(): array
{
    return [
        'the_title' => fn(string $title) => '★ ' . $title,

        'body_class' => [
            'callback' => fn(array $classes) => [...$classes, 'my-class'],
            'priority' => 20,
        ],
    ];
}

When to Use EventBridge Instead

For shared hooks that multiple components might listen to, use the EventBridge in boot():

use Sloth\Event\WpHookFired;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Event;

public function boot(): void
{
    Event::listen('wp:the_content', function (WpHookFired $event) {
        $event->result = transform($event->result);
    });
}

WordPress Event Bridge

Sloth bridges WordPress hooks to the Laravel event system.

Listening to Actions

Event::listen('wp:wp_loaded', function (WpHookFired $event) {
    // WordPress fully loaded
});

Modifying Filters

Event::listen('wp:body_class', function (WpHookFired $event) {
    $event->result = [...(array) $event->result, 'my-class'];
});

Available Hooks

Hook	Type	Phase
`muplugins_loaded`	action	MU-plugins loaded
`plugins_loaded`	action	All plugins loaded
`after_setup_theme`	action	Theme loaded
`init`	action	WordPress initialized
`wp_loaded`	action	Full WordPress setup
`template_redirect`	action	Before template loading
`wp_head`	action	Inside `<head>`
`wp_footer`	action	Before `</body>`
`the_content`	filter	Post content
`the_title`	filter	Post title
`the_excerpt`	filter	Post excerpt
`body_class`	filter	Body classes
`shutdown`	action	PHP shutdown

Dynamic Hook Registration

$bridge = app(WordPressEventBridge::class);
$bridge->addHook('save_post', 'action');

Event::listen('wp:save_post', function (WpHookFired $event) {
    $postId = $event->firstArg();
});

Directory Structure

sloth/
├── src/
│   ├── ACF/            # ACF integration
│   ├── Admin/          # WordPress admin
│   ├── Api/            # REST API controllers
│   ├── Cache/          # Cache layer
│   ├── Configure/      # Legacy config compat
│   ├── Console/        # WP-CLI commands
│   ├── Context/        # View context
│   ├── Core/           # Container, Application, ServiceProvider
│   ├── Database/       # Eloquent/Capsule setup
│   ├── Debug/          # DebugBar integration
│   ├── Event/          # WordPress EventBridge
│   ├── Exceptions/     # Exception handling
│   ├── Facades/        # Facade classes
│   ├── Filesystem/     # File system helpers
│   ├── Http/           # Response, HttpServiceProvider
│   ├── LayotterBridge/ # Layotter page builder integration
│   ├── Media/          # Media handling
│   ├── Model/          # Eloquent models + registrars
│   ├── Module/         # Module system
│   ├── Pagination/     # Pagination
│   ├── Routing/        # Route, Router, RoutingServiceProvider
│   ├── Support/        # Manifests, utilities
│   ├── Template/       # WordPress template hierarchy
│   ├── Theme/          # Theme bootstrapping
│   ├── Translation/    # i18n
│   ├── Validation/     # Form validation
│   └── View/           # Twig view rendering
├── tests/              # Pest test suite
├── composer.json
└── phpunit.xml

Available Facades

Facade	Description
`Route`	Custom routing (`Route::get/post/put/delete`)
`Response`	HTTP responses (`Response::make/json/redirect`)
`View`	Twig template rendering
`Cache`	Laravel cache
`Validation`	Form validation
`Configure`	Legacy config access (deprecated — use `config()`)
`File`	Filesystem operations
`URL`	URL generation (`URL::home/theme/asset/route`)

WP-CLI Commands

# List commands
wp sloth list

# Welcome message
wp sloth inspire

# Clear manifest cache
wp sloth manifest:clear

# Get a config value
wp sloth config:get app.env

Creating Custom Commands

<?php
// app/Console/Commands/MyCommand.php

namespace App\Console\Commands;

use Sloth\Console\Command;
use function Termwind\render;

class MyCommand extends Command
{
    protected $signature = 'my:command {name?}';
    protected $description = 'My custom command';

    public function handle(): int
    {
        render('<div class="text-green-500">Hello ' . $this->argument('name') . '!</div>');
        return self::SUCCESS;
    }
}

Commands are auto-discovered from src/Console/Commands/, app/Console/Commands/, and theme/Console/Commands/.

Development

# Run tests
composer test

# Static analysis
composer analyse

# Code style check
composer cs-check

# Code style fix
composer cs-fix

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for details.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 1,224 Commits
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
bin		bin
config		config
src		src
tests		tests
.gitignore		.gitignore
.php-cs-fixer.dist.php		.php-cs-fixer.dist.php
ARCHITECTURE.md		ARCHITECTURE.md
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
MIGRATE.md		MIGRATE.md
README.md		README.md
captainhook.json		captainhook.json
composer.json		composer.json
package.json		package.json
phpdoc.xml		phpdoc.xml
phpstan-baseline.neon		phpstan-baseline.neon
phpstan.neon		phpstan.neon
phpunit.xml		phpunit.xml
pnpm-lock.yaml		pnpm-lock.yaml
rector.php		rector.php

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Sloth — WordPress Theme Framework

Features

Requirements

Installation

Quick Start

1. Theme Activation

2. Defining Routes

3. Using Models

4. Using the View System

5. Validation

Routing

HTTP Methods

Route Parameters

Named Routes & URL Generation

HTTP Response

URL Generation

Via Facade

Via Helper

In Twig

Configuration

Database

Environment Variables

Custom Configuration

Auto-Discovery: Convention over Configuration

app/ vs theme/

Recommended Structure

Models (Custom Post Types)

Taxonomies

Modules

Service Providers

API Controllers

Includes

Service Provider Hooks

Registering Actions

Registering Filters

When to Use EventBridge Instead

WordPress Event Bridge

Listening to Actions

Modifying Filters

Available Hooks

Dynamic Hook Registration

Directory Structure

Available Facades

WP-CLI Commands

Creating Custom Commands

Development

Contributing

License

Contributors

Links

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Topics

Resources

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Forks

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`app/` vs `theme/`

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