About Rapls Works

About the Author

Hi, I’m rapls, a freelance web developer with over 6 years of experience.

My work centers on WordPress plugin development, with expertise in PHP, JavaScript, CSS, server optimization on Xserver, and AI-driven development workflows using tools like Claude Code and Cursor.

Tech Stack: PHP / JavaScript / WordPress / MySQL / HTML & CSS / Git / Xserver / Claude Code / Cursor

Why I Started This Blog

It started when I published my first plugin on WordPress.org.

There was almost no Japanese documentation on the plugin review process. I had to piece together information from English docs and forum threads, stumbling through SVN commands, Stable tag behavior, and asset placement rules. Each mistake cost me hours — and every single one was the kind of problem that takes seconds to fix once you know the answer.

Around the same time, I ran into Xserver’s WAF blocking my code-heavy articles, and a Complianz-Cocoon conflict breaking the mobile menu. None of these had solutions on Stack Overflow or the WordPress forums. I had to debug and fix them myself.

“If I document what I struggled with, I can save someone else hours of frustration.” That thought became Rapls Works.

About This Site

Rapls Works is a WordPress-focused technical blog dedicated to “first-hand, practical information for real-world engineering.” It currently features over 40 articles.

Rather than re-sharing existing documentation, I focus on the problem-solving processes behind the challenges I actually face. These are the problems where “just Google it” doesn’t give you the answer — the ones I had to debug, test, and solve myself.

Key areas of focus:

Plugin Development — Full development lifecycle for the official WordPress.org directory, from plugin review submission to SVN deployment and PTE translation management.
Theme Customization — Cocoon theme customization, performance tuning, and design adjustments.
Server & Troubleshooting — Xserver WAF false positives, WP-Cron delays, REST API restrictions, and other pitfalls specific to shared hosting — all based on firsthand experience.
AI Tool Integration — Honest, developer-perspective evaluations of Claude Code, Cursor, Codex CLI, and other AI coding tools in WordPress development workflows.

Plugins

I develop and maintain the following plugins on the official WordPress.org directory. Each was born from real needs I encountered in my own development work.

Rapls AI Chatbot NEW

An AI chatbot plugin for WordPress supporting OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, and OpenRouter (100+ models). It learns from your site content and knowledge base to provide accurate, context-aware responses to visitors.

Key features:

Site Learning (RAG) — Auto-indexes posts, pages, custom post types, and WooCommerce products
Web Search — AI automatically searches the web when the knowledge base lacks an answer
Vector Embedding — Hybrid search combining keyword matching (40%) and vector similarity (60%)
MCP Server — Integrates with external AI agents like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and VS Code
Gutenberg Block — Place the chatbot directly from the block editor

The free version is fully functional with no artificial limits. The Pro add-on adds analytics, lead capture, conversation scenarios, WooCommerce integration, LINE messaging, and more.

WordPress.org →
Free Manual →
Pro Manual →

Rapls PDF Image Creator

Automatically converts PDF covers into images on upload. Supports CMYK-to-sRGB auto-conversion via ImageMagick, ensuring correct thumbnails even for print-ready PDFs (PDF/X format). I built this after a client project that required manually creating thumbnails for hundreds of PDFs.

WordPress.org Plugin Page →

Thanks Mail for Stripe

Sends thank-you emails automatically after Stripe payment completion. Supports real-time delivery via Webhook integration. I developed this when I needed a simple way to automate post-purchase emails for my own plugin sales.

WordPress.org Plugin Page →

WordPress.org Contributions

Developer and maintainer of 3 official plugins: Rapls AI Chatbot, Rapls PDF Image Creator, and Thanks Mail for Stripe
Active Project Translation Editor (PTE) for the Japanese WordPress community, managing Japanese translations for my own plugins
Published comprehensive Japanese-language guides covering the entire plugin submission pipeline — from review preparation to SVN deployment — addressing the documentation gap for Japanese WordPress developers

Editorial Policy

To ensure content quality and reliability:

Experience-First — I only publish code and procedures I’ve personally tested and verified. No “this should probably work” articles.
Human-Centric — While I use AI tools to streamline development, all editorial decisions, technical judgments, and verification are done by me. AI-generated text is never published as-is.
Continuous Updates — Articles are periodically reviewed and updated to reflect WordPress version changes and evolving server configurations.
Editorial Independence — Content is based on honest developer evaluation, regardless of advertising relationships.