
VersionPress goes open source - borekb
https://blog.versionpress.net/2016/04/going-open-source/
======
j_s
Helpful info for me:

 _VersionPress is a free and open source version control plugin for WordPress
built on Git._

 _We increase major version numbers quite rapidly, e.g., VersionPress is at
3.0 at the time of writing this, but that does not mean it is production-
ready._

~~~
borekb
We try to be very clear about the project status. We would love it to be
magically stable soon but unfortunately, there are no shortcuts. Relational
databases and (sometimes) crazily coded WordPress plugins do not fit well into
the version control workflows, but we're already quite far in terms of the
core technology and I'm confident WordPress will be a fully versioned platform
one day.

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awinter-py
The 'merge databases' feature sounds like either a sweet victory of immutable
data that makes life easier all around OR something truly horrible that never
should have been born.

If these guys have solved the WP devops problem, they will be millionaires and
candidates for canonization.

~~~
borekb
We're still in the process of solving it but I would be against the rest of
the sentence :)

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godzillabrennus
What is your business model now that you're not charging for the software?

~~~
borekb
Charging for a GPL'd software (all WordPress plugins have to be GPL, at least
in practice) is tricky and most companies in the WordPress space focus on
services. Which is what we'll do as well. The technology itself, however, will
be free and stay free.

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mountaineer22
Check out the [https://roots.io](https://roots.io) project, not the same
thing, but relevant to "modern" Wordpress dev practices.

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rossng
This is a problem that's bugged me for a long time - it's good to see people
working on it. Deploying and managing most traditional CMSes is a nightmare,
IMO.

MODX has had something similar for a while with Gitify[1] for the site
structure and VersionX[2] for content, but I haven't had much of a chance to
use them.

[1] [https://github.com/modmore/Gitify](https://github.com/modmore/Gitify) [2]
[https://modx.com/extras/package/versionx](https://modx.com/extras/package/versionx)

~~~
sopooneo
It's bugged me too, almost to the point of me thinking I was crazy. For the
life of me, I couldn't figure out how people were handling these problems with
WordPress. And frankly I'm still baffled. I'd get these looooongggg schpeles
about workflows tangential to the actual problem and then finally the
admission that you just write down or remember the changes you made on
staging, and make them on prod as well.

~~~
borekb
Exactly. VersionPress tries to automate that :)

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kixpanganiban
I put a client's site in a git repo once, but I never figured out how to
safely and effectively git the database too. Kudos to VersionPress! I've only
learned about them today but they seem to be doing a really solid job.

~~~
deepnet
sql's _mysqldump_ CLI command locally or _phpmyadmin > export_ produce a text
based db backup in SQL and version that file in git.

If it is a huge site split the tables into separate files but 1 file is pretty
good for most medium sized clients.

Git merging db's can be gnarly if changed significantly, (rollbacks are
trivial).

This looks very useful and GPL just like Wordpress - excellent!

~~~
sumoboy
basically do the same with drupal also.

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markorbida
I manage hundreds on WP sites and this tool is exactly what our company needs.
Im looking forward into trying it out and contributing the project.

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colinramsay
I've used revisr for this in the past:

[https://github.com/ExpandedFronts/revisr](https://github.com/ExpandedFronts/revisr)

~~~
borekb
There are some important differences between VP and revisr:
[https://blog.versionpress.net/2015/01/versionpress-vs-
revisr...](https://blog.versionpress.net/2015/01/versionpress-vs-revisr/)

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markorbida
Im not sure if versionpress is having load issues. But Im not able to load any
docs.versionpress.net links.

~~~
borekb
Sorry, docs.versionpress.net had HTTPS issues, should be fine now.

