# Packaging and integrity (/js/wp-release/latest/packaging)

### Build a directory [#build-a-directory]

`build` and `zip` use the same internal helper to load file rules, exclude their outputs, select release files and reject an empty selection. `build` copies the selected files directly into `--output <dir>`, without a slug wrapper or ZIP. Checksums and manifest signatures are optional. It supports the shared file selection flags above and `--package <name>` with `--config <path>` for configured package rules. A configured package cannot be combined with a source directory or file selection flags.

```sh
wp-release build --output dist/code-prettify
wp-release build --package plugins/alpha --output dist/alpha
```

The destination is required and automatically excluded when it is inside the source. It cannot be the source directory or an ancestor, including through symlinked parents. Existing destinations require `--force`, which replaces the directory and removes stale files; existing files and symbolic links are rejected. Files are copied to a temporary directory before the existing build is replaced. Selected symbolic links are rejected as with ZIP packaging. `--json` returns `outputDir`, `files` and, for configured builds, `package`; it also returns `checksumsPath` when a manifest is generated, and `signatures` and `publicKey` when signing is requested. `--github-output` exposes these results too.

`--checksums` writes `<output-dir>.checksums.json` beside the directory and hashes the copied build files. `--sign-checksums` generates and signs that manifest, implying `--checksums`. Use `--slug` and `--version` to override its metadata. The manifest and its signatures are excluded from the source selection, so rebuilding with `--force` does not package previous sidecars. Existing manifests and requested signature files also require `--force`; signing keys, formats and signature destinations are validated before creating or replacing the build. `--sign` is unsupported because a directory has no single file to sign.

```sh
wp-release build --output dist/code-prettify --sign-checksums
```

In the Deploy workflow, a directory build can be deployed with `wp-release deploy-svn dist/code-prettify --slug code-prettify --trunk --svn-tag "$GITHUB_REF_NAME" --no-distignore`. Keep `--from-zip` when the SVN deployment must match the attached ZIP exactly. Run dependency installation and compilation before `build`; it only selects and copies files.

### ZIP [#zip]

The [`wp-release-zip`](https://github.com/wpelevator/wp-release-zip) GitHub Action runs this command.

`zip` writes `{slug}.{version}.zip` to the current directory, or to `--output <file>`, with the selected files in a `{slug}/` root folder:

```bash
wp-release zip dist --slug my-plugin --checksums
```

- `--root-folder <name>` changes the root folder and `--no-root-folder` puts the files at the root of the ZIP.
- `--filename-format` changes the name, like `--filename-format {slug}` for `my-plugin.zip`.
- Entries are sorted and use a fixed file mode and a fixed timestamp (1980-01-01), or the `SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH` Unix time when that environment variable is set, so the same files give the same ZIP. Built-in metadata is deterministic except for embedded minisign signatures, which include their signing timestamp; custom codec callbacks control their own encoded bytes.
- `--checksums` also writes the [checksums manifest](#checksums) of the archived files next to the ZIP, with `.checksums.json` instead of `.zip`.
- `--sign` signs only the ZIP with `WP_RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY`. `--sign-checksums` generates and signs only the checksums manifest, implying `--checksums`. Use both flags to sign both files. External signatures are written alongside their files; embedded manifest signatures are written inside the package. The default format is WordPress `.sig`, unless integrity configuration selects another format.
- `--sign-format` selects formats for requested signatures, such as `--sign-format wordpress,minisign,ssh`. It requires `--sign` or `--sign-checksums` and never enables signing by itself. Signing keys, formats and existing signature destinations are validated before writing the ZIP or manifest. `--force` also overwrites requested signatures. Job summaries include signatures and public keys; JSON results include `signatures` and `publicKey`.
- An existing ZIP or manifest isn't overwritten without `--force`. A ZIP or manifest written inside the source directory is never archived.
- `--package <name>` zips a package of the [configured packages](deployment.md#deploy-configured-packages), by identifier or path under the configured root like `plugins/alpha`, instead of a source directory: its directory with the `files` config of its package group, the same files that its deploys select. The slug defaults to the directory name and the version to the `Version` header, and `--slug` and `--version` still set them. Any package of the config works, with or without a version or deploy targets. To zip what a deploy just released, pass the `package` and `version` of the `deploy-git --release-ref` result, in the same job and from the same build, so the ZIP has exactly the files of the release tag in the release repository. It can't be combined with `<source-dir>` or the file selection options. The `--json` result has the `package`, `slug` and `version`. `zipPackage()` builds the same ZIP from a script, with `getPackageFiles()` for the directory and the files of a package.

To embed a signed manifest with a stable filename, use:

```bash
wp-release zip dist --checksums-file checksums.json --embed-checksums --sign-checksums
```

See [Checksums](#checksums) for filenames, placement, formats and configuration.

### Signing targets for builds and ZIPs [#signing-targets-for-builds-and-zips]

| Flag | `zip` | `build` |
|---|---|---|
| `--checksums` | Generate an unsigned manifest beside the ZIP. | Generate an unsigned manifest beside the directory. |
| `--sign` | Sign only the ZIP. | Unsupported. |
| `--sign-checksums` | Generate and sign the manifest. | Generate and sign the manifest. |
| `--sign-format` | Choose formats for explicitly requested signatures. | Same; requires `--sign-checksums`. |

```sh
wp-release zip --slug code-prettify --sign --sign-checksums
wp-release build --output dist/code-prettify --sign-checksums --sign-format minisign
```

These flags deliberately replace the former implicit signing behavior: `zip --checksums --sign` now leaves the manifest unsigned, and `--sign-format` alone is rejected. Add `--sign-checksums` to sign a manifest and `--sign` to sign a ZIP. The standalone `checksums` and `sign` commands remain available for workflows that write and sign a manifest inside the source before packaging it.

### Checksums [#checksums]

The [`wp-release-checksums`](https://github.com/wpelevator/wp-release-checksums) GitHub Action runs this command.

`checksums` writes a manifest with the MD5 and SHA-256 hash of every selected file, in the format of the WordPress.org plugin checksums API (`https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin-checksums/{slug}/{version}.json`). Paths are relative to the plugin or theme folder, sorted, and use forward slashes:

```json
{
	"plugin": "my-plugin",
	"version": "1.2.0",
	"files": {
		"my-plugin.php": {
			"md5": "…",
			"sha256": "…"
		}
	}
}
```

Themes use a `theme` key instead of `plugin`, and the version is left out when it's unknown. The manifest is named `{slug}.{version}.checksums.json` after `--filename-format`, the same name as the ZIP with `.checksums.json` instead of `.zip`, so the two are published side by side; `--output <file>` writes it elsewhere. A manifest written inside `<source-dir>` is never listed in itself.

```bash
# Hash the build that is zipped and deployed
wp-release checksums dist --version 1.2.0
```

Because the manifest lists the files and not the ZIP, it stays valid for any copy of the same files: the GitHub release ZIP, the ZIP that WordPress.org builds from SVN, or an installed plugin on a site.

#### Filenames, embedding and signing [#filenames-embedding-and-signing]

`--checksums-file <file>` enables checksums and sets a relative filename independently of the ZIP name. Without `--embed-checksums`, it resolves against the ZIP output directory; with embedding, it resolves against the package root inside the ZIP (the archive root with `--no-root-folder`). Nested paths are supported, but absolute paths, backslashes, drive letters, control characters and dot segments are rejected. Embedding emits no external manifest and never modifies the source directory. Embedded minisign signatures contain a signing timestamp, so ZIP bytes can differ across signing times; unsigned metadata and WordPress/SSH signatures remain deterministic. Selected source files must not collide with generated manifest or signature entries.

```bash
# External manifest beside releases/my-plugin.1.5.1.zip.
wp-release zip dist --output releases/my-plugin.1.5.1.zip --checksums-file checksums.json --sign-checksums

# Signed manifest inside the package, with a stable filename.
wp-release zip dist --output releases/my-plugin.1.5.1.zip --checksums-file checksums.json --embed-checksums --sign-checksums

# Sign the completed downloadable archive separately.
wp-release sign releases/my-plugin.1.5.1.zip

# Verify installed files or an archive using its embedded manifest.
wp-release verify installed-plugin --public-key "$PUBLIC_KEY"
wp-release verify --zip releases/my-plugin.1.5.1.zip --public-key "$PUBLIC_KEY"
```

`--sign-checksums` enables checksums and signs only the manifest, before embedding when requested. It reads `WP_RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY` and uses `--sign-format wordpress,minisign,ssh` to select formats; each signature travels with the manifest. `--sign-format` selects formats for explicitly requested signing targets and never enables signing. `--sign` signs only the final ZIP; `--sign-checksums` controls the manifest in either placement mode. Use both flags to sign both targets. `--force` permits replacing external output files and signatures. `--json` reports external manifests in `checksumsPath`, embedded package-relative paths in `checksumsEmbedded`, and manifest signatures in `checksumsSignatures`.

The default WordPress filename remains the ZIP basename with `.checksums.json` instead of `.zip`, in either placement mode. Choose `--checksums-file checksums.json` for a stable name. The version remains in the JSON content.

#### Formats [#formats]

`--checksums-format` chooses the manifest format. `wordpress-json` (default) uses the WordPress-compatible structure shown above. `sha256sum` uses GNU-compatible SHA-256 lines and escaping, with `SHA256SUMS` as its default filename. It carries no package identity or version, and standard `sha256sum --check` checks listed files without rejecting additional files; `wp-release verify` also checks for extra files.

```bash
wp-release zip dist --embed-checksums --checksums-format sha256sum --sign-checksums --sign-format minisign
wp-release verify --zip my-plugin.1.5.1.zip --checksums-format sha256sum --public-key "$MINISIGN_PUBLIC_KEY" --signature-format minisign
# From the extracted package directory:
minisign -Vm SHA256SUMS -P "$MINISIGN_PUBLIC_KEY"
sha256sum --check SHA256SUMS
```

`--checksums-algorithms md5,sha256` selects JSON digest fields; lists replace configured lists. Supported algorithms are MD5 (for compatibility) and SHA-256. The `sha256sum` codec requires SHA-256. The standalone `checksums` command also accepts `--checksums-format`, keeping `--output` relative to the working directory.

#### Configuration and custom codecs [#configuration-and-custom-codecs]

The optional top-level `integrity` configuration maps to these flags. Explicit CLI values override configuration; `--no-embed-checksums` and `--no-sign-checksums` disable their configured behaviors. Existing release configurations retain their `packages` array; use `packages: []` for a configuration containing only integrity settings.

```js
export default {
  packages: [],
  integrity: {
    codec: 'wordpress-json', // --checksums-format
    algorithms: ['md5', 'sha256'], // --checksums-algorithms
    file: 'checksums.json', // --checksums-file
    embed: true, // --embed-checksums
    sign: { formats: ['wordpress'] }, // --sign-checksums and --sign-format
  },
};
```

Use `codec: 'sha256sum'`, `algorithms: ['sha256']`, `file: 'SHA256SUMS'` and `sign: { formats: ['minisign'] }` for the GNU setup. Custom codecs provide `id`, a default `filename`, and `encode`/`decode` callbacks, which may be asynchronous. Generation validates the round trip before writing artifacts: codecs must preserve all selected file paths, represented digests and any represented package identity. They receive and return the existing WordPress-compatible `ChecksumsManifest` model (`plugin` or `theme`, optional `version`, and a `files` map of relative paths to digest fields), keeping format customization separate from selection, hashing and signing.

```js
export default {
  packages: [],
  integrity: {
    file: 'metadata/integrity.json',
    embed: true,
    sign: { formats: ['wordpress'] },
    codec: {
      id: 'custom-v1',
      filename: 'integrity.json',
      encode(manifest) {
        return Buffer.from(JSON.stringify({ schema: 'custom-v1', payload: manifest }) + '\n');
      },
      decode(bytes) {
        const document = JSON.parse(Buffer.from(bytes).toString('utf8'));
        if (document.schema !== 'custom-v1') {
          throw new Error('Unknown integrity schema.');
        }
        return document.payload;
      },
    },
  },
};
```

`zip` and `checksums` read the caller's release configuration. For verification of custom codecs or configured filenames, pass `--config wp-release.config.mjs` explicitly. See [Verify](#verify).

#### Manifest inside the plugin [#manifest-inside-the-plugin]

For a manifest that is also published as a separate release asset or deployed directly from a source directory, write and sign it in that directory before packaging. Use `zip --embed-checksums` as described [above](#filenames-embedding-and-signing) when only the archive should contain the generated metadata. The source-directory workflow uses the same manifest for installed copies and release assets:

```bash
wp-release checksums build --slug my-plugin --output build/checksums.json
wp-release sign build/checksums.json
wp-release zip build --slug my-plugin
wp-release deploy-svn build --trunk --svn-tag 1.2.0
```

- Write the manifest into the directory that is zipped and deployed. The `checksums` command leaves its output manifest and its signatures (`<name>.sig`, `<name>.minisig` and `<name>.sshsig`) out of the hashes, so running it again with the same output path and `--force` gives the same manifest. `verify` checks matching copies as described below. Sign it last, since the signature covers the exact bytes of the manifest.
- `zip` and `deploy-svn` carry the pair like any other file. Don't use `zip --checksums` here, since it would write a second manifest that lists the first one. Attach `build/checksums.json` and `build/checksums.json.sig` to the GitHub release as they are.
- The signature covers file hashes and not a ZIP, so it stays valid for the ZIP that WordPress.org builds from SVN. Check what WordPress.org serves after a deploy, with the manifest and public key from your build:

  ```bash
  wp-release verify --zip https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/my-plugin.1.2.0.zip \
    --checksums build/checksums.json --public-key "$PUBLIC_KEY"
  ```

- The manifest can have any name and location, for example `--output build/includes/signatures/checksums.json`, and missing folders are created. Tell `verify` where the shipped copy is with `--embedded <path>`, like `--embedded includes/signatures/checksums.json`. Both the `--checksums` file and its signature must then exist, both copies must be shipped, and they're skipped when comparing files and must be identical to the originals. The manifest can't list the embedded path. Without `--embedded`, `verify` looks for the manifest name at the root, and skips a file only when it exists, the matching original exists and the manifest doesn't list it. Otherwise it's checked like any other file, so a listed file that has the name of the manifest can't be deleted unnoticed, and a shipped `.sig` without an original is reported as not in the checksums.

The public key has to come from somewhere other than the plugin that it checks, because someone who can overwrite the plugin files can also replace a key and a signature inside them. A copy of the manifest also doesn't prevent a downgrade to an older release that was signed too, so the installing side has to enforce a minimum version.

### Verify [#verify]

`verify` checks a directory against a manifest from `checksums` or from the WordPress.org checksums API, and reports every changed, missing and extra file. It exits with `2` unless all files match:

```bash
wp-release verify wp-content/plugins/my-plugin --checksums my-plugin.1.2.0.checksums.json
```

- A file matches when its SHA-256 equals the manifest. Manifests without SHA-256 fall back to MD5, and a hash can also be a list of accepted values.
- `verify` doesn't read `.distignore`, so that an ignore file inside the checked directory can't hide added files. `--exclude <patterns>` skips paths in both the directory and the manifest, for files that aren't part of the release, such as caches.
- Manifest paths outside the package folder (absolute or with `..`) are rejected.
- `--zip <file|url>` checks the files of a ZIP instead of a directory. The ZIP can be a URL, such as the one that WordPress.org builds for a release, and its single root folder is found automatically (or set `--root-folder`). The ZIP is extracted to a temporary directory after the same safety checks as `deploy-svn --from-zip`.
- The version in the manifest must match the `Version` header of the checked files, so that an older release with its own valid manifest can't pass as a newer one.
- A manifest can't list itself. A copy of the manifest and of its signature inside the checked files, at the root with the same names as the `--checksums` file or at the path of `--embedded`, is skipped when comparing files, but it must be identical to the `--checksums` file and its signature. The signature is the `.sig` file, or the file of `--signature-format`. A path that the manifest lists is never skipped, and a file that isn't a matching copy is reported as not in the checksums. See [Manifest inside the plugin](#manifest-inside-the-plugin).

A checksums manifest proves only that the files match the manifest. With `--public-key <key>`, `verify` first checks `<checksums>.sig` against the Ed25519 public key and fails with exit code `2` before comparing any file when the signature is missing or invalid, so that the manifest itself can be trusted. `--signature-format minisign` or `ssh` checks `<checksums>.minisig` or `<checksums>.sshsig` instead. The key can be the base64 key, the minisign public key or the `ssh-ed25519` public key, since they're forms of the same key. See [Sign](#sign).

Verification never executes configuration from inside a downloaded package. Without `--checksums`, `verify` reads the embedded filename selected by `--checksums-file`, explicit configuration, or the codec default. For a versioned embedded filename, pass that filename explicitly. With a public key, signatures are checked before decoding; the selected signature format must exist (WordPress `.sig` by default; pass `--signature-format minisign` or `ssh` for those formats), and all other present supported signature formats are also authenticated when verifying the embedded manifest. Without a public key, checksums detect changes but do not authenticate the publisher. Trusted public keys must come from outside the package.

### Sign [#sign]

The [`wp-release-sign`](https://github.com/wpelevator/wp-release-sign) GitHub Action runs this command.

`sign` writes a detached signature next to each file, `<file>.sig`, so that downloads and installed copies can be trusted. Sign both the ZIP and the checksums manifest: the ZIP signature covers installs and updates, and the manifest signature covers the contents after unpacking and copies that weren't built by you.

```bash
WP_RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY=… wp-release sign my-plugin.1.2.0.zip my-plugin.1.2.0.checksums.json
```

- The signature is the one WordPress core's `verify_file_signature()` checks: a base64 Ed25519 signature of the raw SHA-384 digest of the file. The tests check it against `sodium_crypto_sign_verify_detached()` in PHP. A `.sig` file can hold several signatures, one per line, and a file is valid when any of them match, which allows a key rotation window.
- The key is read from the `WP_RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY` environment variable only, as a base64 32-byte Ed25519 seed or a 64-byte libsodium secret key, the formats that `sodium_crypto_sign_seed_keypair()` and the update-pilot-server package signing key take. There's no flag for it, since it would show in the process list, and it's never logged.
- `--verbose` prints the public key of the signing key in the form of each written format. `--json` returns it as `publicKey`, and in every form as `publicKeys`. Pass it to `verify --public-key` and to the plugin that checks the signatures.
- An existing signature file isn't overwritten without `--force`.
- `zip --sign` signs only the ZIP; add `--sign-checksums` to sign its manifest too. `signFiles()` signs files from a script.

#### Signature formats [#signature-formats]

The same key can also sign in formats that tools outside WordPress check, for people who download a release by hand or verify it in other pipelines. Pick them with `--format`, comma-separated or repeated; the default is `wordpress`:

```bash
wp-release sign my-plugin.1.2.0.zip --format wordpress,minisign,ssh
```

| Format | File | Checked by |
|---|---|---|
| `wordpress` | `<file>.sig` | WordPress core's `verify_file_signature()`, update-client and `wp-release verify` |
| `minisign` | `<file>.minisig` | [minisign](https://jedisct1.github.io/minisign/) and compatible tools: `minisign -Vm <file> -P <minisign public key>` |
| `ssh` | `<file>.sshsig` | OpenSSH 8.1 or later: `ssh-keygen -Y verify -f allowed_signers -I <identity> -n file -s <file>.sshsig < <file>` |

- `minisign` signs the BLAKE2b-512 digest of the file, like `minisign -S` does by default, and adds a trusted comment with the signing time and file name that a second signature covers. minisign generates a random key ID for its keys, but the key here is a plain Ed25519 seed, so wp-release derives the key ID from the public key. `wp-release verify` doesn't compare key IDs, so signatures of keys that minisign generated verify too.
- `ssh` is the armored `SSHSIG` format that `ssh-keygen -Y sign` writes, with a SHA-512 digest and the `file` namespace, so that the signature can't pass as one for commits or another namespace. It's written to `.sshsig` instead of the `.sig` of `ssh-keygen`, which the `wordpress` format uses. Put the SSH public key in an `allowed_signers` file as `<identity> ssh-ed25519 AAAA…`.
- All formats are Ed25519 signatures by the same key, so one key and one secret cover all of them. The tests check each format with `minisign`, `ssh-keygen` and libsodium, and check the signatures that `minisign` and `ssh-keygen` write with `wp-release verify`.

Generate a key pair with `wp-release keygen`. It prints the private seed once as `WP_RELEASE_SIGNING_KEY=…` and the matching public key, also as a minisign public key and an `ssh-ed25519` public key. Generate keys locally and store the private seed in your secret manager or CI secrets. Distribute the public key to verifiers. `keygen --github-output` is rejected to keep the private seed out of workflow outputs; regular and `--json` output both include the seed.

### Version check [#version-check]

`version-check` compares the versions that have to agree before a release, and reports every mismatch with exit code `2`:

```bash
wp-release version-check --constant MY_PLUGIN_VERSION --git-tag v1.2.0
```

- The expected version is `--version`, or the `Version` header.
- The readme `Stable tag` must match for plugins; `--no-stable-tag` skips it, and themes have no Stable tag.
- `--constant NAME` (repeatable) checks `define( 'NAME', '1.2.0' )` or `const NAME = '1.2.0'` in every PHP file outside `vendor/`, `node_modules/` and dot directories. A constant that isn't defined is a mismatch.
- `--git-tag` defaults to `GITHUB_REF` when it's a tag. `--git-tag-format` (default `{version}`) can have a prefix or the slug, like `v{version}` or `{slug}-{version}`; a leading `v` in the version is ignored, like for SVN tags.