[wp-hackers] readme.txt spec

[Mark Jaquith]

The readme.txt spec for plugins hosted on wp-plugins.org is getting  
some fresh air blown into its lungs and will soon be given purpose.   
Everyone and their dog will want their plugin to have a readme.txt

So now seems like a good time to discuss the format and any  
improvements or clarifications that could be made.  Remember that the  
goal of this format is to be both human- and machine-readable.

Some of the new additions to the format:

* Minimum version (minimum version of WP that the plugin will work on)
* Tested with (maximum version of WP that the plugin has been tested on)
* Stable tag (for people who don't want /trunk/ to be regarded as  
stable, they can list a /tag/ that should take that role)

Here is a sample readme.txt

> === Plugin Name ===
> Tags: tag1, tag2, tag3
> Contributors: username, username2, username3
> Minimum version: 2.0.3
> Tested with: 2.1
> Stable tag: 4.3
>
> Short description (250 words or fewer)  Regarding the above:
>
> * Minimum version is the lowest WordPress version that the plugin  
> will run on.
> * Tested with is the highest WordPress version the plugin has been  
> tested on.
> * Stable tag is OPTIONAL.  The default is to treat /trunk/ as  
> stable.  But if you list a tag name here, that tag will be used as  
> the latest stable version.
>
> == Installation ==
>
> 1. First installation step
> 2. Second installation step
> 3. Third installation step
>
> == Frequently Asked Questions ==
>
> = First FAQ question? =
>
> Answer to FAQ question
>
> * Bullets look like this
> * Bullets look like this
>
> 1. Numbered lists look like this
> 1. Numbered lists look like this
>
> `<?php // code goes in backticks ?>`
>
> = Another FAQ question? =
>
> Another FAQ question answer.
>
> == Screenshots ==
>
> 1. the filename is /trunk/screenshot-#.(png|jpg|jpeg|gif)  This  
> text should be a description of the screenshot.

The idea is to use Markdown syntax for the individual sections, so  
consult http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/syntax for that.

What else would be of use?  Do you see any ambiguities about the  
format that need to be resolved?

--
Mark Jaquith
http://txfx.net/