One-click WordPress plugin branch switching: test features on a living site

One-click plugin branch switching lets you point a WordPress plugin at a different git branch and immediately test that version against a live, running site. Instead of stashing changes, reinstalling zips, or juggling copies, you flip the branch and the running WordPress picks it up. ReDock is a free native macOS app that builds this in: sites have site-level git, and plugins under version control can switch branches from the UI.

The old way to test a plugin branch

If you develop or evaluate WordPress plugins, you know the dance. To try a feature branch you pull the branch, build the plugin, zip it, deactivate the old version, upload the new one, activate, and test. To go back you reverse all of it. Every switch is a handful of steps, and each one is a chance to leave the site in a half-updated state.

That friction discourages the thing you actually want to do: compare branches quickly on a site that has real content, real settings, and real other plugins installed. Testing in isolation misses interactions; testing by hand is slow.

Branch switching against a living site

ReDock gives each site site-level git and lets you switch a plugin’s branch in place. The plugin lives in the running WordPress install, under version control, so changing branches swaps the working tree the live site is executing.

That means you can:

• flip a plugin between main and a feature branch with one click
• see the change against the site’s actual content and other active plugins
• switch back just as fast if the branch misbehaves
• keep the site’s database and settings untouched across the switch

Because the site is local, on its own https://name.test domain with a trusted certificate, you’re testing in a realistic environment that’s still safe to break. Nothing is exposed until you deliberately share or deploy it.

Why “living site” matters

A plugin rarely fails in isolation. It fails when it meets a specific theme, a particular set of other plugins, or real content at real volume. Branch switching on a living site puts the feature branch into exactly that context without you rebuilding the context each time.

You keep one site with your representative setup, and you move the plugin’s branch underneath it. The variables you care about — everything except the plugin version — stay constant. That’s what makes the comparison honest.

What driving it looks like

You’re reviewing a plugin PR. You open the site in ReDock, switch the plugin to the PR’s branch, and reload the front end over HTTPS. The new behavior is there, running against your real content. You click through the affected pages, find a layout regression, switch back to main to confirm it’s branch-specific, and report it. No zip files, no reinstall, no terminal — just the branch flip.

An agent can drive the surrounding work too. Over ReDock’s MCP surface, an assistant can install plugins, activate and deactivate them, and author test content to exercise the branch. See WordPress MCP: let Claude build, edit, and manage WordPress for you for how the agent side works, and the MCP docs for the tool list.

Where this fits

Branch switching pairs naturally with a solid local setup — see Local WordPress environment on your Mac for how ReDock provisions PHP and MySQL per site. If you’re testing content-authoring changes, AI edits your WordPress site: patterns-first authoring explained covers the block side. For provisioning your first site, the first-site guide walks through it.

FAQ

Does switching branches wipe my site’s data?

No. The switch changes the plugin’s working tree; the WordPress database, settings, and other plugins stay in place. You’re swapping code against the same site state.

Do I need to use the terminal for git?

No. Site-level git and plugin branch switching are in ReDock’s UI. You can flip branches without a terminal, though the underlying repo is a normal git repo if you want to use git elsewhere.

Is it safe to test unfinished branches this way?

Yes — the site is local, on a trusted .test domain, and not exposed until you choose to share or deploy. Breaking a local site costs you a branch switch back, nothing more.

If you want to test plugin branches against real sites without the reinstall dance, download ReDock — one download and a five-minute install.