PHP Constants Manager

Manage PHP define() constants from the WordPress admin or WP-CLI — no more editing wp-config.php.

• Install from WordPress.org: https://wordpress.org/plugins/php-constants-manager/
• Requires: WordPress 5.0+ · PHP 7.4+
• License: GPL-2.0-or-later

What it does

• CRUD for PHP constants through a familiar WP_List_Table UI
• Five typed values: string, integer, float, boolean, null, with strict validation
• Active / inactive toggle — disable a constant without deleting it
• Predefined-conflict detection — tells you when something else (wp-config, another plugin) already owns a name, so your value is saved but won't take effect
• Optional early loading via an auto-generated must-use plugin, so your constants win race conditions with other plugins
• CSV import / export for backup and site-to-site migration
• WP-CLI command suite (wp phpcm ...) that mirrors every admin operation — ideal for CI/CD and multi-site provisioning

Admin UI

WP-CLI

When WP-CLI is installed the plugin registers a full phpcm command family:

Command	What it does
wp phpcm list [--active] [--inactive] [--type=<t>] [--search=<q>] [--format=<f>]	List managed constants
wp phpcm get <name>	Show one constant (--field=<field> for a single column)
wp phpcm add <name> [<value>] [--type=<t>] [--description=<text>] [--inactive]	Create; --porcelain prints just the new id
wp phpcm update <name> [--value=<v>] [--type=<t>] [--description=<text>] [--active|--inactive]	Update fields
wp phpcm delete <name>... [--yes]	Delete one or more (variadic)
wp phpcm activate | deactivate | toggle <name>...	Flip active state
wp phpcm defined <name>	Report whether a constant is defined and by whom (this plugin, early-load, or elsewhere)
wp phpcm all-defines [--user-defined] [--search=<q>]	Inspect every PHP constant in the process
wp phpcm status	Health summary (table, counts, early-loading state)
wp phpcm import <file|-> [--overwrite]	Import CSV (file or stdin)
wp phpcm export [<file>] [--active] [--inactive] [--type=<t>]	Export CSV (file or stdout)
wp phpcm early-loading enable | disable | status	Manage the MU early-loading plugin

- reads from stdin for add, update, and import. Run wp help phpcm <subcommand> for full flag docs.

Quickstart

wp phpcm add MY_API_KEY "sk_live_..." --description="External API key"
wp phpcm add FEATURE_BETA true --type=boolean
wp phpcm defined MY_API_KEY
wp phpcm export backup.csv

Install

Pick whichever is easier:

• From your WordPress admin: Plugins → Add New → search "PHP Constants Manager" → Install → Activate.

• From WordPress.org: download the ZIP at https://wordpress.org/plugins/php-constants-manager/ and upload it under Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.

• From source:

  cd wp-content/plugins
  git clone https://github.com/cartpauj/php-constants-manager.git
  wp plugin activate php-constants-manager

The database table ({prefix}phpcm_constants) is created automatically on activation.

How constants get loaded

Mode	Hook	Available to
Normal (default)	plugins_loaded, priority 1	Themes, most other plugins' later hooks
Early loading (opt-in)	MU plugin, loaded before all regular plugins	Everything — other plugins can rely on your constants during their own boot

Toggle early loading from PHP Constants → Settings, or wp phpcm early-loading enable.

Contributing

Issues and PRs are welcome. The plugin is structured around:

• php-constants-manager.php — main plugin class, admin hooks
• includes/phpcm-helpers.php — shared casting / validation / formatting (single source of truth, used by the admin UI, the CLI, and the generated MU plugin)
• includes/class-phpcm-db.php — DB abstraction
• includes/class-phpcm-import-export.php — CSV service (hand-rolled parser supporting embedded newlines and escaped quotes)
• includes/class-phpcm-cli.php — WP-CLI commands
• views/admin/*.php — admin UI templates

Release process is documented in RELEASE.md.

License

GPL v2 or later — see LICENSE.