Problem

WordPress apps on DigitalOcean App Platform are failing because they don't have wp-config.php files in their GitHub repositories.

Solution

Add a script that auto-generates wp-config.php from environment variables during deployment.

Step 1: Add Files to Each GitHub Repo

For each WordPress site (e.g., Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-performwritecom):

Add the script file: create-wp-config-from-env.php
- Location: Root of the repository
- Content: See /home/cw/Documents/IBG_HUB/rmm-psa-devops/wordpress-templates/create-wp-config-from-env.php
Add/Modify .gitignore to exclude generated wp-config.php:
wp-config.php
Create a .do/deploy.sh file (DigitalOcean App Platform pre-deploy script):
#!/bin/bash

set -e

echo "Generating wp-config.php from environment variables..."

php create-wp-config-from-env.php

if [ ! -f wp-config.php ]; then

echo "ERROR: wp-config.php was not created!"

exit 1

fi

echo "wp-config.php generated successfully"

ls -la wp-config.php
Make the script executable:
chmod +x .do/deploy.sh

Step 2: Update App Spec (Optional)

If .do/deploy.sh doesn't run automatically, update the app spec to include a pre-deploy command:

doctl apps update YOUR_APP_ID --spec - <<EOF
# ... existing spec ...
services:
- name: web
  # ... existing config ...
  run_command: |
    php create-wp-config-from-env.php && vendor/bin/heroku-php-apache2
EOF

Step 3: Fix Database URLs

Each database still has production URLs that need to be updated to match the App Platform URLs:

# For each site, update the URLs in the database:
mysql -h wordpress-mysql-cluster-do-user-28531160-0.i.db.ondigitalocean.com \
  -P 25060 -u doadmin -p'AVNS_fgu8gFvgx0amcAQ4VBt' --ssl \
  YOUR_DATABASE_NAME -e "
    UPDATE TABLE_PREFIX_options 
    SET option_value = 'https://YOUR-APP-URL.ondigitalocean.app' 
    WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl', 'home');
  "

Example for performwritecom:

mysql -h wordpress-mysql-cluster-do-user-28531160-0.i.db.ondigitalocean.com \
  -P 25060 -u doadmin -p'AVNS_fgu8gFvgx0amcAQ4VBt' --ssl \
  performwritecom_wp -e "
    UPDATE xfwlw_options 
    SET option_value = 'https://wordpress-performwritecom-7alzt.ondigitalocean.app' 
    WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl', 'home');
    SELECT option_name, option_value FROM xfwlw_options WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl', 'home');
  "

Step 4: Deploy and Test

Push changes to GitHub:
git add create-wp-config-from-env.php .do/deploy.sh .gitignore

git commit -m "Add auto-generated wp-config from environment variables"

git push origin main
Monitor deployment:
doctl apps get YOUR_APP_ID

doctl apps logs YOUR_APP_ID --tail 100
Test the site:
curl -I https://YOUR-APP-URL.ondigitalocean.app

All Sites Requiring This Fix

Site	GitHub Repo	App ID	Database	Table Prefix	App URL
performwrite.com.au	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-performwritecom	5c0a7a18-4ff0-4027-b47c-c45e89d7a989	performwritecom_wp	xfwlw_	wordpress-performwritecom-7alzt.ondigitalocean.app
supportfornewmums.info	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-sfnm	cdc99dbc-1d15-4ff6-b65d-f26bfe8e8e18	sfnm_wp	wp_	wordpress-sfnm-j9jlc.ondigitalocean.app
redhealer.com.au	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-redheale	5ba2f911-9729-40eb-bc37-56c971d72bca	redheale_wp	wp_	wordpress-redheale-ydxti.ondigitalocean.app
path2u.com.au	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-path2ucom	ac5f79fe-ab05-4e18-9dea-9d6ab82186b2	path2ucom_wp	wp_	wordpress-path2ucom-4efh5.ondigitalocean.app
outdoorism.com.au	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-outdoor1	e1392cdf-d13b-4ef9-90ca-5f54830b74ba	outdoor1_wp	wp_	wordpress-outdoor1-gm7v3.ondigitalocean.app
murwillumbahchamber.com.au	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-murwillu	(ID needed)	murwillu_wp	wp_	wordpress-murwillu-vaqze.ondigitalocean.app
murwillumbahmowers.com.au	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-murbahmowers	(ID needed)	murbahmowers_wp	wp_	wordpress-murbahmowers-aayja.ondigitalocean.app
laser-x-perts.com.au	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-laserxperts	(ID needed)	laserxperts_wp	wp_	wordpress-laserxperts-8bflc.ondigitalocean.app
kandudeliveries.com.au	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-kandudeliveriesc	(ID needed)	kandudeliveriesc_wp	wp_	wordpress-kandudeliveriesc-m7w54.ondigitalocean.app
handsofdestiny.com.au	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-handsofd	(ID needed)	handsofd_wp	wp_	wordpress-handsofd-jk58l.ondigitalocean.app
cornerstone-constructions.com.au	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-corne582	(ID needed)	corne582_wp	wp_	wordpress-corne582-xnahs.ondigitalocean.app
comsmta.org	Independent-Business-Group/wordpress-collegeo	94cddf95-e84f-4200-be9a-eff69628279f	collegeo_wp	ESM9jSdEi_	(No URL - needs ingress fix)

Alternative: Manual wp-config Upload

If you don't want to modify the GitHub repos, you can manually create wp-config.php in each app:

Connect to app console:
doctl apps console YOUR_APP_ID
Create wp-config.php:
php create-wp-config-from-env.php

Note: This is temporary - the file will be overwritten on next deployment.

Verification Checklist

After deployment, verify each site:

App builds successfully

wp-config.php is created (check logs)

Site loads without redirect to install.php or setup-config.php

Can access wp-admin

Database connection works

Media/images load correctly

Frontend displays properly

Troubleshooting

Site still redirects to install.php

Check database URLs are correct (siteurl and home options)
Verify wp-config.php was created (check deployment logs)

Database connection errors

Verify environment variables are set correctly in App Platform
Check database user exists and has permissions
Ensure SSL connection is enabled

504/503 errors

Check app logs: doctl apps logs APP_ID --tail 100
Verify PHP-FPM is starting correctly
Check for PHP errors in logs

wp-config.php not generated

Ensure create-wp-config-from-env.php is in repository root
Check pre-deploy script permissions
Review build logs for errors

Next Steps After Sites Are Working

Security: Create isolated database users (see WORDPRESS_MIGRATION_TODO.md section 2)
Security: Create separate DO Spaces buckets (see WORDPRESS_MIGRATION_TODO.md section 3)
Deploy missing 4 apps (coomerawatersrea, pits, soilife, vastcons)
Fix collegeo app (no ingress configured)
Migrate DNS to production domains
Set up monitoring and automated backups

Created: 2026-02-17
Last Updated: 2026-02-17
Status: Ready to implement