Training course · OpenAI Codex · WordPress

OpenAI Codex for WordPress Developers

Delegate development work with OpenAI Codex: CLI and cloud agent, AGENTS.md, sandboxing, approvals and team PR workflows.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“OpenAI Codex for WordPress Developers” is a hands-on course for roles such as WordPress theme and plugin developers, Web agencies and freelancers specialising in WordPress and WooCommerce developers. Rather than learning OpenAI Codex in the abstract, you work on tasks from your daily routine – with examples, exercises and templates from WordPress.

OpenAI Codex is a coding agent that runs both locally, as a command-line tool and IDE extension, and as a cloud agent. Locally, Codex reads your repository, proposes changes and runs commands inside a sandboxed environment. In the cloud, it works on delegated tasks in parallel inside isolated containers and returns results as traceable diffs or pull requests. Over two days you will learn how to combine both modes effectively and how to scope tasks so that the agent can complete them reliably and with minimal back-and-forth.

Control and security sit at the heart of the course. With AGENTS.md you hand Codex project knowledge, build and test commands, and conventions. You configure approval modes and sandboxing so that the agent only does what you permit, and you set up cloud environments with suitable setup scripts. You will also integrate Codex into your pull request workflows, use automated code review, and define team rules on which tasks are delegated and how results are checked before they are merged into the main branch.

WordPress powers a large share of all websites, from corporate sites and WooCommerce shops to complex portals. Development has changed considerably along the way: block themes, full site editing, Gutenberg blocks built in React and the REST API now sit alongside classic PHP plugins and long-lived themes. AI coding assistants and agents help you build custom blocks and plugins faster, modernise legacy code, track down security flaws such as missing escaping or nonces and analyse performance issues. Because WordPress projects are often maintained by small teams or individuals, the productivity gain is especially noticeable. In this course you learn to apply AI in line with the WordPress coding standards, combine it with WP-CLI and local development environments and ship plugins that are secure and maintainable.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • WordPress theme and plugin developers
  • Web agencies and freelancers specialising in WordPress
  • WooCommerce developers
  • Frontend developers building Gutenberg blocks
  • Technically minded website owners

Typical challenges we address

  • Long-lived themes and plugins with outdated PHP code and hard-to-maintain dependencies
  • Security flaws from missing escaping, missing nonces and unsafe database queries
  • Performance issues caused by plugin bloat, unnecessary queries and poor caching
  • Moving from classic themes and page builders to block themes and full site editing

What you will be able to do

  • You use Codex locally and in the cloud for the development tasks each mode suits best.
  • You write an AGENTS.md that guides the agent reliably through your project.
  • You configure approval modes and sandboxing to match your security requirements.
  • You delegate tasks to the cloud agent and review the results systematically.
  • Develop Gutenberg blocks, plugins and block themes with AI support in line with the WordPress coding standards.
  • Systematically find and fix security and performance issues in existing WordPress installations.
  • Automate maintenance, deployment and content migrations with WP-CLI and AI agents.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 Codex at a glance: CLI, IDE and cloud
  • Comparing how Codex works locally and in the cloud
  • Installing the Codex CLI, signing in and starting it in a repository
  • Interactive sessions, non-interactive execution and model choice
  • Distinguishing tasks that suit a coding agent from those that do not
Module 2 Project knowledge with AGENTS.md
  • Building an AGENTS.md with build, test and lint commands
  • Stating conventions, architectural notes and prohibitions precisely
  • Using nested AGENTS.md files for monorepos and sub-projects
  • Checking effectiveness and refining instructions iteratively
Module 3 Sandboxing, approvals and security
  • Choosing approval modes deliberately, from read-only to largely autonomous
  • Understanding sandbox boundaries for file system and network access
  • Handling secrets, dependencies from the internet and prompt injection
  • Configuration files for team standards and safe defaults
Module 4 Delegating tasks to the cloud agent
  • Configuring cloud environments with setup scripts and dependencies
  • Writing tasks with a clear goal, context and acceptance criteria
  • Launching several tasks in parallel and comparing the results
  • Using logs and test output to understand the proposed solutions

Day 2

Module 5 PR workflows and code review in the team
  • Turning results into pull requests and requesting follow-up changes
  • Using automated Codex code review on GitHub
  • Embedding Codex in scripts and CI pipelines
  • Setting team rules for delegation, review duties and accountability
Module 6 Practice lab: WordPress
  • Developing Gutenberg blocks
  • Building and modernising plugins
  • Running a security audit
  • Analysing performance
  • Extending WooCommerce
  • Automating maintenance
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • WordPress projects handle form, customer and order data: you learn not to pass unfiltered database dumps to AI services, to respect GPL obligations for plugins and generated code, to protect credentials in wp-config.php and to implement GDPR requirements for tracking and forms.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Developing Gutenberg blocks

Generate custom blocks with block.json, React components for editor and front end, block attributes and style variations, and implement dynamic blocks with server-side rendering in PHP.

Building and modernising plugins

Generate plugin scaffolding with namespaces, autoloading, hooks and settings pages and gradually move existing plugins to current PHP language features and the WordPress coding standards.

Running a security audit

Examine theme and plugin code for missing escaping, unvalidated input, missing nonce and capability checks and unsafe SQL without prepare, and produce corrected versions. Each finding is explained.

Analysing performance

Investigate slow pages with Query Monitor and profiling data, optimise expensive WP_Query calls, autoloaded options and asset loading order, and propose sensible caching strategies using transients.

Extending WooCommerce

Implement custom shipping methods, payment hooks, product fields and checkout tweaks while staying compatible with High-Performance Order Storage and the block-based cart and checkout pages.

Automating maintenance

Create WP-CLI scripts for updates, database search and replace, migrations between environments and content imports, and wire them into deployment pipelines for staging and production.

Possible hands-on projects

Block library for client sites

A plugin with reusable blocks such as teasers, FAQ accordions and contact boxes, including style variations from theme.json and full translation support.

Plugin security scanner

A command-line tool that searches plugin code for common security patterns and produces a prioritised report with remediation hints. It runs locally or in CI.

Content migration script

A WP-CLI command that imports content from a CSV or XML source, maps fields, brings over images and detects duplicates.

Prerequisites

You have hands-on programming experience, are comfortable with Git and the command line, and know pull-request-based workflows. You have practical experience with PHP and WordPress theme or plugin development; basic JavaScript knowledge helps for block development.

Technical requirements

Your own laptop with a terminal, Git and a Node.js runtime; a ChatGPT plan with Codex access or an OpenAI API key, plus a GitHub account for the cloud exercises.

Data protection & compliance

WordPress projects handle form, customer and order data: you learn not to pass unfiltered database dumps to AI services, to respect GPL obligations for plugins and generated code, to protect credentials in wp-config.php and to implement GDPR requirements for tracking and forms.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Mon, 23 November 2026 – Tue, 24 November 2026 Online Request
  • Mon, 30 November 2026 – Tue, 1 December 2026 Augsburg Request
  • Mon, 14 December 2026 – Tue, 15 December 2026 Online Request
  • Wed, 13 January 2027 – Thu, 14 January 2027 Online Request
  • Mon, 18 January 2027 – Tue, 19 January 2027 Kaiserslautern Request
  • Mon, 25 January 2027 – Tue, 26 January 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

When should I use Codex locally and when in the cloud?

Locally you work interactively and close to the code, for example when debugging or making exploratory changes where you want to follow every step. The cloud agent suits well-defined tasks that can run independently, such as adding tests or fixing smaller bugs. You can start several of these in parallel and review each one as a pull request.

What belongs in a good AGENTS.md?

A good AGENTS.md explains how the project is built, tested and checked, which conventions apply and which areas must not be touched. It is concise, concrete and kept up to date. Notes on architecture and common pitfalls also help. During the course you write an AGENTS.md for a project of your own and test how it changes the agent’s behaviour.

How safe is it to let Codex run commands?

By default Codex works inside a sandbox with restricted file and network access and asks for approval before risky steps. You decide how much autonomy to grant through approval modes and configuration. In the course you learn to choose these settings deliberately and to limit risks such as prompt injection or running unfamiliar dependencies.

Do AI assistants know the WordPress APIs well enough?

Core hooks, functions and patterns are well covered. For newer developments such as block bindings, the Interactivity API or editor changes, models sometimes suggest outdated approaches. Current documentation as context, project rules and automated checks with PHPCS and the WordPress coding standards fix this. You practise exactly this workflow in the course.

Can we use AI-generated code in commercial plugins?

In principle yes, but check the terms of your AI service and remember that WordPress plugins are generally licensed under the GPL. Generated code can resemble fragments of well-known projects, so review and, where appropriate, licence scanning belong in your process. In the course we discuss practical rules for agencies and product vendors.

How much does “OpenAI Codex for WordPress Developers” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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