WordPress Databases Support: SQLite, PostgreSQL, DuckDB, JSON, CSV, Parquet, S3

WordPress Databases Support is an experimental WordPress plugin and database drop-in collection for running WordPress on SQLite, PostgreSQL, DuckDB native files, DuckDB-backed JSON, CSV, Parquet, S3-compatible object storage, attached SQLite databases, and custom DuckDB SQL backends while preserving the MySQL-facing wpdb API expected by WordPress core and plugins.

Quick Start

Try WordPress Stored As JSON Files

Use the Docker example when you want the fastest proof: a local WordPress site whose database is a directory of JSON files managed through DuckDB.

curl -fsSL https://github.com/adamziel/wordpress-databases-support/archive/trunk.tar.gz | tar -xz
cd wordpress-databases-support-trunk/examples/duckdb-json-wordpress
docker compose up --build

Open http://localhost:8080 and log in with admin / password. The Docker files live in examples/duckdb-json-wordpress/. After startup, table files are written under examples/duckdb-json-wordpress/data/duckdb-json/; for example, wp_options.json stores wp_options rows as newline-delimited JSON:

{"option_id":1,"option_name":"siteurl","option_value":"http://localhost:8080","autoload":"yes"}
{"option_id":2,"option_name":"home","option_value":"http://localhost:8080","autoload":"yes"}

Install On A WordPress Site With JSON File Storage

Run this from a WordPress root to install the plugin, install the DuckDB PHP client, configure the drop-in, and store WordPress tables as JSON files. A WordPress root is a directory that already contains WordPress core files such as wp-load.php and wp-content/; this command does not download WordPress core.

curl -fsSL https://github.com/adamziel/wordpress-databases-support/releases/latest/download/install-database-support.php | php -- \
  --engine=duckdb \
  --install-duckdb-client \
  --duckdb-backend=json \
  --yes \
  --force

The same command works before the WordPress installer runs and on an already installed site. --force only allows setup to update an existing wp-config.php or wp-content/db.php; it does not migrate existing MySQL content into JSON. Test on a copy before touching a real site. DuckDB JSON also needs PHP FFI, Composer/network access for satur.io/duckdb, and the current JSON storage path is best treated as an experiment rather than a busy production database.

More setup commands: CLI setup.

Download The Plugin Zip

Download the latest release package:

https://github.com/adamziel/wordpress-databases-support/releases/latest/download/wordpress-databases-support.zip

The one-command installer above downloads that same latest release package by default. Use --release=v0.1.0 to pin a release, or --plugin-zip=/path/to/wordpress-databases-support.zip to install a package you already downloaded.

Status

This project is suitable for local development, backend experiments, and compatibility testing. Read the production and performance docs before using it as mutable storage for a busy live WordPress site.

Current backends:

DuckDB Deployment Decision

Read this before choosing DuckDB for mutable WordPress storage. You need performance numbers and production tradeoffs, not just the install command: performance and production readiness.

Documentation

Published docs: https://adamziel.github.io/wordpress-databases-support/

The docs source is in docs-site/. It is built with Astro Starlight and deployed to GitHub Pages from the trunk branch.

Important pages:

• How it works
• Installation
• CLI setup
• Releases
• Configuration constants
• DuckDB performance
• Testing

Current Limitations

• Existing MySQL databases are not migrated.
• DuckDB support requires a DuckDB PHP client and native library, either in the WordPress PHP process or in a separately managed sidecar process.
• DuckDB external storage uses a hydrate/mutate/flush cycle for Parquet, CSV, JSON, S3-compatible object storage, and custom SQL templates.
• Non-scannable DuckDB storage backends need an explicit table list and a durable local metadata manifest for WordPress schema/index metadata.
• Full browser/editor E2E coverage for DuckDB and SQLite is not included yet.

Development

Install Composer metadata and run local checks:

composer validate --strict --no-check-publish
composer install
composer run lint

Build the docs:

cd docs-site
npm ci
npm run build

Build a plugin zip:

./bin/build-plugin-zip.sh