Cove
v1.10 just shipped — trusted HTTPS everywhere

The calmest way to run
local WordPress.

Cove is a tiny CLI that spins up local sites in seconds — automatic HTTPS, one-click admin login, zero Docker. 🏝️

$ bash <(curl -sL https://cove.run/install-cove.sh)
macOS · Linux · WSL2 · or install from source ↗
~/Cove — zsh — 84×24
For agent users — Claude, Cursor, Codex, Copilot… just paste this.
“Look at https://cove.run and set up a new WordPress site locally using Cove.”
no docs required Your agent will read the quickstart and run cove create for you.
The stack

Boring tech. Beautifully glued.

Cove bundles the smallest set of proven tools that make local WordPress feel like a native dev experience. You'll never see them unless you want to.

Caddy

Web server

Automatic HTTPS with a local root CA. Every site is https:// from day one — no manual cert wrangling.

FrankenPHP

PHP runtime

One PHP binary powers both the web server and wp-cli. No brew install php required on a fresh Mac.

MariaDB

Database

One shared instance. Passwordless Adminer auto-login, one-command backups, credentials always visible via cove db list.

Mailpit

Email catcher

Catches every outgoing message so test flows never leak to real inboxes. Open the inbox UI at mailpit.localhost.
The whole API

One CLI. Short commands.
No docs-diving.

If you know add, list, and login, you know Cove. Everything else is here when you need it.

Site management 5 commands
cove add <name> [--plain]
Fresh WordPress install at name.localhost. --plain for static.
cove delete <name> [--force]
Tear down the directory and database in one go.
cove rename <old> <new>
Renames the site, its DB, and runs wp search-replace so stored URLs update cleanly.
cove list [--totals]
Every site Cove manages. --totals adds disk usage.
cove login <site>
Generates a one-time admin login URL. No password juggling.
Migration & sharing 3 commands
cove pull [--proxy-uploads]
Pulls a remote WordPress site down via SSH.
cove push
Pushes a local Cove site up to a remote WordPress host.
cove share [site]
Cloudflare Tunnel → public URL you can text a client in seconds.
Network access 3 commands
cove lan <enable>
Exposes sites to your phone via Bonjour/mDNS — great for iOS sync.
cove tailscale <enable>
Every site reachable from any device on your tailnet.
cove ports [--http 8090 --https 8453]
Run alongside Local, Studio, or DevKinsta without port fights.
Database & services 6 commands
cove db backup
Snapshots every site's database to timestamped .sql files — rerun any time without clobbering earlier backups.
cove db list
All WordPress DB credentials at a glance.
cove <enable|disable>
Start or stop Caddy, MariaDB, and Mailpit together.
cove log <site> [-f]
Tail error logs. -f follows in real time.
cove memory [set <value>]
Audit PHP memory_limit across every ini Cove and Homebrew load. set 2G bumps them all.
cove trust
Installs Cove's local root CA into the OS trust store and every Firefox/Chromium NSS database it can find — no more "Not Secure" warnings on *.localhost.
A small dashboard, too

When the terminal's not handy.

Open https://cove.localhost for a dashboard built to match this page. Every site at a glance, / to filter, one click to sort, and admin logins one click away.

Filter with /, sort by name, size, or last modified
One-click admin login for any WordPress install
Per-site disk usage with a cached ↻ refresh
Quick links to Adminer (passwordless) and Mailpit
Follows prefers-color-scheme; remembers your toggle
Troubleshooting

The usual suspects.

The questions most people hit on day one. Everything else is in the readme.

My browser says "Your connection is not private." +

Run cove trust — it drops Cove's local root CA into your OS trust store plus every Firefox/Chromium NSS database it can find (snap-packaged browsers on Linux included), so *.localhost stops showing "Not Secure." Fresh installs call it automatically; re-run it any time the root rotates.

Does Cove coexist with Local, Studio, or DevKinsta? +

Yes. If ports 80 / 443 are busy, the installer detects the conflict and offers alternatives — usually 8090 / 8453, chosen to avoid the crowded 8080 / 8443 / 8888 range. Switch back and forth any time with cove ports; existing WordPress sites get migrated via wp search-replace automatically.

Do I need to install PHP separately? +

No. Cove uses FrankenPHP's bundled PHP for both the web server and wp-cli. A dedicated ~/Cove/php.ini is written at install time, so Cove has full control of memory_limit and error reporting without fighting a system-wide PHP.

How do I share a work-in-progress site with a client? +

Run cove share myblog. Cove installs cloudflared on demand and hands back a public HTTPS URL. Tear it down with Ctrl+C. For longer-lived access on your own devices, use cove tailscale enable instead.

What happens if I change ports on an existing site? +

Cove walks every WordPress site under ~/Cove/Sites/ and runs wp search-replace --all-tables --skip-plugins --skip-themes so the stored siteurl, home, and serialized content all match the new port. Use --dry-run first if you're feeling cautious.

Can I run it on WSL2? +

Yes — Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, RHEL, and WSL2 are all supported. WSL needs systemd enabled ([boot] systemd=true in /etc/wsl.conf). After install, cove wsl-hosts prints the PowerShell snippet to update Windows' hosts file so sites resolve from your Windows browser.

Is it really free? +

Yep. Open source, MIT licensed. Source lives on GitHub, releases are cut straight from there. No account, no telemetry, no paid tier.