Self-hosted WordPress lab

Modular.
Replicable.
Self-hosted.

Turn a fresh VPS into a focused lab for temporary, isolated WordPress development environments. Your server, your data, your rules.

Install SpawnWP Read the docs

$curl -fsSL https://spawnwp.com/install.sh | sudo bash

Disposable by design

Create an environment for a task. Reset it, snapshot it or destroy it when the work is done.

Self-hosted first

Run on your own Debian or Ubuntu VPS without a hosted control plane or SaaS dependency.

Simple operations

Use the web cockpit for routine work and clear logs when you need to inspect the system.

A short path to a clean lab

From fresh VPS to WordPress environments.

1
Point two hostnames
One hostname serves WordPress sites; the other keeps the authenticated cockpit separate.
2
Run one guided installer
SpawnWP configures Docker, Nginx, TLS and the cockpit on supported Debian and Ubuntu systems.
3
Spawn and discard
Create isolated sites from the cockpit, work locally on the VPS, and remove them without keeping fragile shared state.

Built for development work

A small control plane with practical defaults.

Isolated stacks

Each environment gets its own Nginx, PHP-FPM, MariaDB, Mailpit and Adminer containers.

Web cockpit

Create, start, stop, restart, snapshot, restore and destroy environments from one focused interface.

WordPress QA

The development blueprint includes Plugin Check, Theme Check, PHPCS, PHPStan and Query Monitor.

Secure defaults

HTTPS, isolated admin tooling, random secrets, loopback-only service ports and optional port-knocking.

Multiple PHP versions

Select a supported PHP runtime when creating an environment and keep project requirements explicit.

No SaaS lock-in

The runtime lives on your VPS and the project is distributed under the MIT License.

Get started

Bring a fresh VPS and two hostnames.

Supported on Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 and Debian 12/13, on amd64 or arm64. Review requirements and DNS setup before running the installer.