SVN Cheatsheet for the WordPress Plugin Repo

Using SVN to submit and update plugins in the WordPress.org repository.

I’ve created this guide for my own personal reference — hopefully it can be helpful to others, too. Are you submitting your first plugin to the WordPress Plugin Repository, or it’s been a while and you need an SVN refresher course?

Last Update 08/28/2026:

• Commands in this guide are what works on Mac and YMMV on other machines.
• This is not an exhaustive tutorial. It is a brain-dump space for operations I find helpful to access in the future. I’ll try to include as many helpful references as possible, but you may still need to fill in gaps that fit your specific situation and requirements.

WordPress Repository

Quick links for helpful WordPress plugin repository information:

• Plugin Guidelines (rules and expectations)
• Developer FAQs
• Add Your Plugin (submission form)
• Using Subversion
  • Example: Starting a New Plugin
  • Example: Editing Existing Files
  • Example: Tagging New Versions

SVN Commands

Lookout world, we’re using terminal so it feels like we’re real programmers now!

Install / Update SVN

Let’s check what version of SVN is installed.

svn --version

If SVN isn’t installed, install it. ¹

brew install svn

If it’s outdated, update it.

Add Files

We need to actually add things after they’ve been committed.

svn add FILENAME

Sometimes it doesn’t want to be added so we can try forcing it too…

svn add --force FILENAME

SVN Cheatsheet

Master list of commands for time-saving reference.

svn add

Adds a new file to the repository; but only after you’ve done an svn commit.

svn admincreate

Creates a new, empty repository.

svn checkout
svn co

Checks out a working copy from the repository.

svn commit

Sends your changes back to the SVN server.

svn deleteCode language: JavaScript (javascript)

Deletes a file from your working copy of the repository.

svn diff

Reveals the differences between your working copy and the copy in the master SVN repository.

svn help

Provides a summary of available commands.

svn importCode language: JavaScript (javascript)

Commits an unversioned tree of files into a repository and creates intermediate directories, if needed.

svn info

Displays information about a local or remote item.

svn listCode language: PHP (php)

See a list of files in a repository without creating a working copy.

svn log

Shows log messages from the repository.

svn merge

Combines two different versions into your working copy.

svn move

Moves a file from one directory to another (or renames it).

svn revert

Reverts changes in your working copy, as well as property changes.
For example: you can use svn revert to undo svn add.

svn shelve

Stores your changes without submitting them.

svn status

Prints the status of working copy files and directories.

svn update

Updates your working copy with changes from the repository.

CRITICAL

Don’t forget that submitting a plugin to the WordPress repository is not actually as terrifying as your brain wants to convince you it is.

If you’re still doubting whether you are ready to submit a plugin, practice using git and GitHub first through terminal commands alone.

Footnotes:

1. We’re assuming homebrew is already installed. Depending on your machine, you may need to do extra things.[↩]