For WordPress developers, GitHub is more than just a code hosting platform—it’s a hub of collaboration, inspiration, and innovation. Whether you’re building custom themes, creating plugins, or contributing to the WordPress core, GitHub repositories can save you time and improve your workflow.

In this guide, we’ll highlight the best GitHub repositories for WordPress developers in 2025. These resources cover everything from boilerplates to dev tools and learning material.

Why WordPress Developers Should Use GitHub Repositories

• Code Reuse: Save development time with pre-built codebases.
• Collaboration: Contribute and learn from a global community.
• Best Practices: Access clean, well-documented, and tested code.
• Learning Resource: Perfect for beginners to see how pros structure their projects.

WordPress/WordPress

The official WordPress core repository. If you want to explore, contribute, or study the engine that powers over 40% of the web, this is where it starts.

Highlights:

• The full WordPress source code.
• Active community contributions.
• Perfect for bug reporting and core contributions.

👉 WordPress/WordPress

Roots/Sage (Theme Development Starter Theme)

Sage is one of the most popular WordPress starter themes for modern developers. It leverages Blade templating, Bootstrap, and modern workflow tools.

Highlights:

• Developer-focused starter theme.
• Built with modern front-end workflows.
• Well-documented and community-supported.

👉 Roots/Sage

Automattic/_s (Underscores Starter Theme)

Nicknamed “_s” (underscores), this is Automattic’s official WordPress starter theme.

Highlights:

• Lightweight and minimalistic.
• Perfect for learning theme structure.
• Highly customizable foundation.

👉 Automattic/_s

WP-CLI/WP-CLI

WP-CLI is the official command-line interface for WordPress. It allows developers to manage installations, plugins, themes, and updates directly from the terminal.

Highlights:

• Speeds up development workflows.
• Automates site management tasks.
• Supported by WordPress.org.

👉 WP-CLI/WP-CLI

WordPress/gutenberg

The Gutenberg project powers the WordPress block editor. Developers can study its source code, follow new features, and contribute to the future of WordPress editing.

Highlights:

• Official Gutenberg block editor repository.
• Active development and frequent updates.
• Great for learning React in WordPress context.

👉 WordPress/gutenberg

Roots/Trellis

Trellis provides a modern WordPress development environment with automated deployment and server management.

Highlights:

• Automates WordPress site deployments.
• Includes security and performance optimizations.
• Great for agencies and advanced developers.

👉 Roots/Trellis

Roots/Bedrock

Bedrock is a WordPress boilerplate that organizes projects with modern development tools.

Highlights:

• Better folder structure than default WordPress.
• Dependency management via Composer.
• Environment-based configuration.

👉 Roots/Bedrock

Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) GitHub

Although ACF is widely available as a plugin, its GitHub repo provides insights, beta versions, and developer discussions.

Highlights:

• Extend WordPress custom fields functionality.
• Regular updates and fixes.
• Community-driven development.

👉 Advanced Custom Fields

WooCommerce/WooCommerce

WooCommerce is the backbone of e-commerce in WordPress. Its GitHub repository allows developers to study its code and even contribute to its features.

Highlights:

• Full WooCommerce source code.
• Active development team and contributors.
• Great for plugin and extension developers.

👉 WooCommerce/WooCommerce

DeliciousBrains/WordPress-Plugin-Boilerplate

This boilerplate helps developers create structured, maintainable, and professional WordPress plugins.

Highlights:

• Standardized plugin architecture.
• Saves development time.
• Recommended for both beginners and pros.

👉 WordPress Plugin Boilerplate

Bonus Mentions

• 10up/wp-local-docker – Local development tool for WordPress.
• wpackio – Asset building tool for modern WordPress development.
• humanmade/altis – Enterprise framework for scaling WordPress.

Final Thoughts

These best GitHub repositories for WordPress developers offer powerful resources to speed up your workflow, learn new techniques, and stay aligned with WordPress best practices. Whether you’re creating a theme, plugin, or optimizing workflows, GitHub is an invaluable part of the WordPress ecosystem.

Start with the official repositories like WordPress/WordPress and gutenberg, then explore advanced setups like Bedrock and Trellis for modern development.

Explore these best GitHub repositories for WordPress developers and supercharge your next WordPress project with proven code and tools!