WordPress Studio gets faster with a dependency-free CLI and Claude Sonnet 5 support

Automattic has released WordPress Studio 1.12.0, introducing major improvements for local WordPress development. The update features a new default native PHP runtime, enabling 30% to 50% faster page loads and lowering memory use to less than a third of prior versions. This boost is most noticeable when working on sites with multiple plugins, where performance issues were most common.

Alongside these core enhancements, Studio CLI is now simpler to install thanks to a single, dependency-free command. Developers no longer need to install Node.js or npm to start using it, just run the correct command for your operating system. Existing Studio CLI installations via npm remain supported and will continue to receive updates.

Once set up, the updated Studio CLI lets developers manage and create local sites, push and pull environments, execute WP-CLI commands, deploy to production or staging, and leverage Studio Code, the tool’s specialized AI coding agent.

Building on these improvements, Studio Code now runs Anthropic Claude Sonnet 5 as its default AI model. This upgrade enhances Studio Code’s ability to analyze code across multiple files, interpret logs, reason through themes and plugin code, and complete multistep debugging or automated code repairs.