Conditionally exclude .wp-env.json from Plugin Check to prevent false positive hidden_files error

[Copilot]

The action creates .wp-env.json in the repository root during setup, but when build-dir defaults to ./, Plugin Check's hidden_files check flags it as an error—a false positive since this file only exists during CI and isn't distributed with the plugin.

Changes

• Modified the "Set PLUGIN_DIR" step in action.yml to check if .wp-env.json already exists in the plugin directory and store the result in the WP_ENV_JSON_EXISTS environment variable
• Modified the "Run Plugin Check" step in action.yml to conditionally append .wp-env.json to the --exclude-files parameter only if it was created by the action
• Handles both cases: when users provide their own exclude-files list (appends to it) and when they don't (creates new list)

# Only exclude .wp-env.json if it was created by this action (didn't exist before)
if [ "$WP_ENV_JSON_EXISTS" = "false" ]; then
  if [ -n "$EXCLUDE_FILES" ]; then
    EXCLUDE_FILES="--exclude-files=${EXCLUDE_FILES#--exclude-files=},.wp-env.json"
  else
    EXCLUDE_FILES="--exclude-files=.wp-env.json"
  fi
fi

This ensures that:

• If a plugin legitimately has a .wp-env.json file as part of its codebase, it will be checked by Plugin Check
• If .wp-env.json doesn't exist and is created by the action, it will be excluded from checks to avoid false positives

Original prompt

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This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>The hidden_files check errors on .wp-env.json which is created by the action</issue_title>
<issue_description>Here's the red error that I'm getting:

hidden_files: .wp-env.json#L0
Hidden files are not permitted.

I might be able to suppress the error myself, but it seems like this means that everyone running the default configuration is getting this error? Thank you for checking! ❤️ </issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

@swissspidy How are you using the GitHub Action in your repo? I assume you don't use the `build-dir` option?

• Fixes The hidden_files check errors on .wp-env.json which is created by the action #475

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[swissspidy]

@copilot There could already be a .wp-env.json file in the plugin under test, in which case it shouldn't be excluded. So perhaps first check if it exists (before the "Setup wp-env" step)

[Copilot]

@copilot There could already be a .wp-env.json file in the plugin under test, in which case it shouldn't be excluded. So perhaps first check if it exists (before the "Setup wp-env" step)

Good catch! I've updated the logic to check if .wp-env.json exists in the plugin directory before the action creates one. Now it only excludes the file if it was created by the action (commit a0ed182). If a plugin already has .wp-env.json, it will be properly checked by Plugin Check.

[github-actions]

🔍 WordPress Plugin Check Report

❌ Status: Failed

📊 Report

🎯 Total Issues	❌ Errors	⚠️ Warnings
9	8	1

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❌ Errors (8)

📁 hello.php (7 errors)

📍 Line	🔖 Check	💬 Message
0	plugin_header_no_license	Missing "License" in Plugin Header. Please update your Plugin Header with a valid GPLv2 (or later) compatible license.
0	missing_direct_file_access_protection	PHP file should prevent direct access. Add a check like: if ( ! defined( 'ABSPATH' ) ) exit;
49	WordPress.WP.AlternativeFunctions.rand_mt_rand	mt_rand() is discouraged. Use the far less predictable wp_rand() instead.
62	WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput.OutputNotEscaped	All output should be run through an escaping function (see the Security sections in the WordPress Developer Handbooks), found '__'.
62	WordPress.WP.I18n.TextDomainMismatch	Mismatched text domain. Expected 'hello-dolly-copy' but got 'hello-dolly'.
63	WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput.OutputNotEscaped	All output should be run through an escaping function (see the Security sections in the WordPress Developer Handbooks), found '$lang'.
64	WordPress.Security.EscapeOutput.OutputNotEscaped	All output should be run through an escaping function (see the Security sections in the WordPress Developer Handbooks), found '$chosen'.

📁 readme.txt (1 error)

📍 Line	🔖 Check	💬 Message
0	no_plugin_readme	The plugin readme.txt does not exist.

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⚠️ Warnings (1)

📁 hello.php (1 warning)

📍 Line	🔖 Check	💬 Message
72	WordPress.NamingConventions.PrefixAllGlobals.NonPrefixedFunctionFound	Functions declared in the global namespace by a theme/plugin should start with the theme/plugin prefix. Found: "dolly_css".

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🤖 Generated by WordPress Plugin Check Action • Learn more about Plugin Check