Configure WordPress Locally Using Docker

I have been using Docker for a while already. I keep putting it to the side and playing with other stuff. But, a client contacted me wanting to configure WordPress locally for testing a new theme release. I said to myself, I need to write this down and also brew a cup of Catimor coffee at home before I start working on this one.

The more fine way to configure WordPress locally using Docker is to use Docker compose. I like it because it allows me to configure most settings using on .yml file. Create your .yml file using your favorite text editor (I use vim) and name it docker-compose.yml.

services:
  db:
    image: mariadb:10.6.4-focal
    command: '--default-authentication-plugin=mysql_native_password'
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql
    restart: always
    environment:
    - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=wordpress
    - MYSQL_DATABASE=wordpress
    - MYSQL_USER=wordpress
    - MYSQL_PASSWORD=wordpress
    expose:
    - 3306
    - 33060
  wordpress:
    image: wordpress:latest
    volumes:
      - wp_data:/var/www/html
    ports:
      - 80:80
    restart: always
    environment:
      - WORDPRESS_DB_HOST=db
      - WORDPRESS_DB_USER=wordpress
      - WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD=wordpress
      - WORDPRESS_DB_NAME=wordpress
volumes:
  db_data:
  wp_data:

Next, open your Terminal and run:

docker compose -up -d

-d option will run in detach mode.

You will see a bunch of text passing by your Terminal

Creating network "my_wordpress_default" with the default driver
Pulling db (mariadb:10.6.4-focal)...
5.7: Pulling from library/mariadb
efd26ecc9548: Pull complete
a3ed95caeb02: Pull complete
<...>
Digest: sha256:34a0aca88e85f2efa5edff1cea77cf5d3147ad93545dbec99cfe705b03c520de
Status: Downloaded newer image for mariadb:10.6
Pulling wordpress (wordpress:latest)...
latest: Pulling from library/word

Open your browser to bring up WordPress installer

Go by the entire setup process same as you normally do. Play around when done you can run on your Terminal:

docker compose down

It will remove the container and default network. It will preserve WordPress database.

Another command to remove the above plus the database is:

docker compose down --volumes

There are more settings you can pass to the WordPress install in your docker-compose.yml file. I will look for them later. I hope you like this brief tutorial. Contact me if you have any questions. Also, check out some of my cool coffee mugs and T-Shirt designs in my IT Handyman shop.