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Local Development Setup

This guide walks you through setting up a fully functional Scottsdale Mint development environment on your local machine.

Prerequisites​

Install the following tools before proceeding:

ToolVersionPurpose
Laravel HerdLatestPHP 8.4, local HTTPS, DNS
PHP8.4+Runtime
Composer2.xPHP dependency management
Node.js18+Theme asset compilation
npm9+JavaScript package manager
GitAnyVersion control
MySQL8.0 / MariaDB 10.11+Local database
Laravel Herd for Windows

Laravel Herd auto-provisions local HTTPS certificates and DNS (*.test domains) — no manual Nginx/Apache configuration needed.

Step 1: Clone the Repository​

git clone [email protected]:rhinogroup/scottsdalemint.git
cd scottsdalemint

Step 2: Install PHP Dependencies​

All WordPress core, plugins, and the theme are managed via Composer.

First, configure Git to prevent line-ending issues on Windows. Run this from the root of the project:

git config core.autocrlf false

Then install dependencies:

composer install

This will:

  • Download WordPress core to web/wp/
  • Download all plugins to web/app/plugins/
  • Apply all patches from the patches/ directory (via cweagans/composer-patches)
  • Set up the Composer autoloader
auth.json Required

Some packages (premium plugins, WP CLI packages) require authentication. The auth.json file contains credentials. Contact your team lead for this file — never commit it to the repository.

Step 3: Configure the Environment​

cp .env.example .env

Then edit .env with your local values:

# WordPress Environment
WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE=local
WP_ENV=local
WP_HOME=https://scottsdalemint.test
WP_SITEURL=https://scottsdalemint.test/wp

# Database (Herd default MySQL)
DB_NAME=wp_scottsdale
DB_USER=root
DB_PASSWORD=
DB_READER_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_WRITER_HOST=127.0.0.1

# Disable cron (handled externally in production)
DISABLE_WP_CRON=1

# Debug
WP_DEBUG=true
WP_DEBUG_LOG=true
WP_CACHE=false

# Algolia (use development keys)
ALGOLIA_APPLICATION_ID=EYDBVK6XRL
ALGOLIA_API_KEY=<your-dev-key>
ALGOLIA_SEARCH_API_KEY=<your-search-key>

# NFusion
NFUSION_API_KEY=<your-key>
NFUSION_PRODUCT_API_KEY=<your-key>
NFUSION_PRODUCT_CATALOG_BASE_URL=https://scottsdalemint2.nfusioncatalog.com

# Order prefix
ORDER_PREFIX_NUMBER=LOCAL-

See the full Environment Variables Reference for all available variables.

Step 4: Create the Database​

Using MySQL CLI, TablePlus, or HeidiSQL:

CREATE DATABASE wp_scottsdale CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;

Step 5: Import the Database​

Use the db-sync tool to pull a sanitized copy of the production/staging database:

cd tools/db-sync
cp db-sync.conf.example db-sync.conf
# Edit db-sync.conf with your SSH/DB credentials
./db-sync.sh

The db-sync script:

  1. SSHs into the source environment (staging or production)
  2. Creates a mysqldump
  3. Imports it locally
  4. Runs search-replace for the local domain (scottsdalemint.test)

See database tools documentation for full usage.

Step 6: Configure Herd Site​

Laravel Herd automatically detects the scottsdalemint directory and creates a site entry. Open the Herd UI, locate the site, and ensure PHP 8.4 is selected for it.

The site should be accessible at: https://scottsdalemint.test

Step 7: Build Theme Assets​

The suma-elementor theme uses Webpack Mix (Laravel Mix) for compiling SCSS and JavaScript:

cd web/app/themes/suma-elementor
npm install
npm run dev       # Development build with source maps (watch mode)
npm run production  # One-time production build (minified)

Build output goes to dist/css/ and dist/js/.

Step 8: (Optional) Build NFusion Price Chart Widget​

cd nfusion/live-price-chart
npm install
npm run dev

Step 9: Verify the Installation​

  1. Visit https://scottsdalemint.test — the site should load.
  2. Visit https://scottsdalemint.test/wp/wp-admin — WordPress admin should load.
  3. Check WooCommerce → Status for any environment issues.
  4. Verify Algolia connectivity: WP Admin → Algolia Search → Status.

Local Email Testing (MailHog)​

In local development, all WordPress emails are routed to MailHog (SMTP on port 2525) instead of Mailgun. The environment configuration automatically sets this up when WP_ENV=local.

If you need MailHog, download the Windows binary from the MailHog releases page and run MailHog.exe. The web UI will be available at http://localhost:8025.

Redis (Local)​

Redis is not required for local development (WP_CACHE=false in .env). If you want to test with Redis locally, install Memurai (a Redis-compatible server for Windows) and then add to .env:

WP_CACHE=true
WP_REDIS_CLIENT=phpredis
WP_REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1
WP_REDIS_PORT=6379
WP_REDIS_COMPRESSION=none

Commonly Used WP-CLI Commands​

# Flush object cache
wp cache flush

# Regenerate Algolia indexes
wp algolia re-index

# Update DB schema after WC update
wp wc update

# Create admin user
wp user create admin [email protected] --role=administrator --user_pass=password

WP-CLI is configured in wp-cli.yml at the repository root.

Troubleshooting​

IssueSolution
White screen of deathEnable WP_DEBUG=true in .env; check web/app/debug.log
404 on all pagesRun wp rewrite flush or re-save Permalinks in Settings
Redis connection errorSet WP_CACHE=false locally, or verify Redis is running
Algolia indexing errorCheck ALGOLIA_APPLICATION_ID and ALGOLIA_API_KEY values
Composer auth errorEnsure auth.json is present in the repository root
Patches fail on composer installEnsure cweagans/composer-patches is installed; run composer update --lock
Payment gateway not showingEnsure the gateway is enabled in WooCommerce → Settings → Payments