Hebrew Dates Plugin Development Skill

Purpose

This skill guides the development of a WordPress Admin dashboard widget that displays the current Hebrew date. It ensures:

• Plugin meets all technical requirements
• Development process is documented for the required README
• Security best practices are followed
• Challenges and learnings are tracked

Project Requirements Summary

Plugin Must:

1. Activate without errors
2. Display Hebrew date in a dashboard widget
3. Include basic security hygiene

Repository Must Include:

1. Plugin files (functional code)
2. README.md with:
   • Why Hebrew dates were chosen
   • AI tools/models used
   • Development process description
   • Struggles encountered and solutions

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill (/hebrew-dates-dev) when:

• Starting or resuming plugin development
• Needing guidance on next development steps
• Documenting a challenge or learning
• Preparing to write/update the README
• Reviewing code for security or best practices
• Verifying the plugin meets requirements

Procedure

Phase 1: Project Setup

1. Create plugin file structure:

   hebrew-dates-wp-admin/
   ├── hebrew-dates-admin.php     # Main plugin file
   ├── includes/
   │   └── class-hebrew-date.php  # Hebrew date calculation
   ├── README.md                  # Required documentation
   └── .claude/
       └── process-journal.md     # Development log (private)
   

2. Initialize process journal:

   • Create .claude/process-journal.md to track development
   • Log each significant step, challenge, and decision

Phase 2: Core Implementation

1. Main plugin file (hebrew-dates-admin.php):

   • Plugin header with proper metadata
   • Security: Direct access prevention
   • Hook into wp_dashboard_setup action
   • Register the dashboard widget

2. Hebrew date calculation (includes/class-hebrew-date.php):

   • Convert current Gregorian date to Hebrew date
   • Format Hebrew date with Hebrew month names
   • Handle edge cases (sunset transitions if desired)

3. Dashboard widget display:

   • Clean, readable output
   • Proper escaping of all output
   • Minimal styling (optional inline CSS)

Phase 3: Security Hygiene

Before considering complete, verify:

• Direct file access is blocked (defined('ABSPATH') check)
• All output is properly escaped (esc_html(), esc_attr())
• No user input is processed (reduces attack surface)
• Plugin follows WordPress coding standards

See: references/security-checklist.md

Phase 4: Testing

1. Activation test:

   # In wp-env or local WordPress
   wp plugin activate hebrew-dates-admin
   wp plugin list | grep hebrew
   

2. Visual verification:

   • Log into WordPress Admin
   • Navigate to Dashboard
   • Confirm widget displays with correct Hebrew date

3. Error check:

   wp eval "error_reporting(E_ALL); require_once('wp-content/plugins/hebrew-dates-admin/hebrew-dates-admin.php');"
   

Phase 5: Documentation

1. Update README.md using the template in references/readme-template.md
2. Review process journal for key struggles and learnings
3. Document AI usage (Claude Code with Opus 4.5)

Verification Checklist

Before submission:

• Plugin activates without PHP errors/warnings
• Dashboard widget appears on Admin Dashboard
• Hebrew date displays correctly
• All PHP files have ABSPATH check
• All output uses WordPress escaping functions
• README.md contains all required sections
• Process/challenges are documented

Process Journal Management

Track development in .claude/process-journal.md:

## YYYY-MM-DD: [Topic]

### What I did
[Description of work]

### What worked
[Successful approaches]

### What didn't work
[Failed approaches and why]

### What I learned
[Key insights]

### AI assistance
[How Claude Code helped]

Common Issues

Widget not appearing

• Check hook is wp_dashboard_setup, not admin_init
• Verify callback function exists and is callable
• Confirm plugin is activated

Incorrect Hebrew date

• Verify timezone handling
• Check date calculation logic
• Consider sunset transitions (Orthodox calendars switch at sunset)

Activation errors

• Check for syntax errors: php -l hebrew-dates-admin.php
• Verify all included files exist
• Check for PHP version incompatibilities

References

• references/development-workflow.md - Step-by-step implementation guide
• references/process-journal.md - Journal template and examples
• references/security-checklist.md - Security verification checklist
• references/readme-template.md - README.md template for submission

Escalation

For Hebrew calendar calculations, reference:

• PHP cal_from_jd() with CAL_JEWISH constant
• The jewish calendar functions in PHP's calendar extension

For WordPress dashboard widgets, reference:

• wp_add_dashboard_widget() function
• WordPress Dashboard Widgets API documentation