Distan turns WordPress into a build environment for static HTML deliverables. You author in WordPress, then export clean, self-contained HTML that runs anywhere. No WordPress, no PHP, and no database are required on the production server.<\/p>\n\n
Most static-export plugins mirror a live<\/em> WordPress site and keep it running behind the scenes. Distan is built for the opposite case: the HTML files themselves are the deliverable, and WordPress stays on the developer's side and is never published. When an update is needed, you edit in WordPress, regenerate, and hand over the difference. (We think of it as \"headloss\": the head \u2014 the static HTML \u2014 goes to production, while the body \u2014 WordPress \u2014 stays in the workshop.)<\/p>\n\n This suits people who deliver files<\/em>, not a CMS \u2014 for example a recruitment site placed under a subdirectory of an existing corporate site, where adding another WordPress install is not an option.<\/p>\n\n How Distan is different<\/strong><\/p>\n\n What it does<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Requirements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n The only hard requirement is loopback HTTP (the site being able to request itself). No direct SQL, no Not for every case<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Distan is not suitable when the client updates the site themselves, when forms, search, comments, or membership are required, or for sites of only a few pages. If you need built-in deployment to many destinations, scheduled or change-based publishing, or managed static hosting, a larger tool such as Simply Static or Staatic will fit better.<\/p>\n\n\n The output is written to No. The output is static HTML. That is the point: there is no application to attack or maintain on the production server.<\/p><\/dd>\n Distan does not deploy for you and never stores server credentials. It fires Yes. Generation sends a normal HTTP request per page, so Anything that needs server-side processing: search forms, comment submission, contact forms, and membership. Values that depend on the current time (a copyright year printed with Distan collects assets by reading the generated HTML and CSS, so a path built inside a script \u2014 Yes. Enable the Markdown export and Distan writes Yes, with a classic theme. Block themes load their JavaScript as ES modules, which browsers refuse to load over Yes. Classic and block themes are both supported, including the block navigation's interactivity, importmap paths, and module files.<\/p><\/dd>\n\n<\/dl>\n\n\n\n
distan_after_generate<\/code>, distan_dispatch<\/code>), so you connect your own rsync, git push, FTP, or CI. Nothing to trust with your server keys.<\/li>\n\n
assets\/<\/code>, uploads move to media\/<\/code>. The wp-content<\/code> directory disappears from the deliverable.<\/li>\nnoindex<\/code>.<\/li>\nsitemap.xml<\/code> and a minimal robots.txt<\/code>, built from the pages actually generated, using the production URL.<\/li>\ncontent.md<\/code>) that combines every page's main content into one file \u2014 handy for feeding a site into AI tools (Gemini Notebook \/ NotebookLM, and similar).<\/li>\ndistan_extra_assets<\/code>) \u2014 for assets referenced only from inside a script, such as a JSON file fetched by JavaScript.<\/li>\nexec()<\/code>, no external binaries, no external APIs. It runs on Local, MAMP, XAMPP, DDEV, Docker, or shared hosting, and works offline.<\/p>\n\n\n
wp-content\/plugins\/<\/code>, or install the ZIP from Plugins \u2192 Add New \u2192 Upload.<\/li>\nwp-content\/uploads\/distan\/dist\/<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Does the production server need WordPress?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
How do I deploy the result?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
distan_after_generate<\/code> when a run finishes, and an optional distan_dispatch<\/code> action when you press the deploy button after reviewing the output. Hook either one to your own rsync, git push, FTP, or CI step. You can also just download the ZIP.<\/p><\/dd>\nDo template functions work?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
get_header()<\/code>, get_template_part()<\/code>, template hierarchy, conditional tags, and custom fields all behave exactly as they do on the live site.<\/p><\/dd>\nWhat does not work?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
date('Y')<\/code>, relative dates) are frozen at generation time.<\/p><\/dd>\nA script fetches a file (e.g. JSON) that is not being copied. Why?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
fetch('..\/assets\/json\/data.json')<\/code> \u2014 is invisible to it and the file is left out. List the file or directory with the distan_extra_assets<\/code> filter to bundle it anyway; its path is flattened the same way as other theme assets, so the relative fetch keeps working.<\/p><\/dd>\nCan I export the content for AI tools?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
content.md<\/code>, combining every page's main content into one file with production URLs \u2014 ready to hand to an AI notebook or a retrieval index. An optional content.local.md<\/code> keeps development URLs.<\/p><\/dd>\nCan I open the generated files directly?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
file:\/\/<\/code>. HTML, CSS, images, and links work either way; use a local server for a complete preview.<\/p><\/dd>\nDoes it work with block (Full Site Editing) themes?<\/h3><\/dt>\n
1.1.6<\/h4>\n\n
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1.1.5<\/h4>\n\n
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1.1.4<\/h4>\n\n
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1.1.3<\/h4>\n\n
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1.1.2<\/h4>\n\n
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1.1.1<\/h4>\n\n
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1.1.0<\/h4>\n\n
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1.0.0<\/h4>\n\n
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0.9.18<\/h4>\n\n
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0.9.17<\/h4>\n\n
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distan_dispatch<\/code> action hook and an optional manual \"\u30c7\u30d7\u30ed\u30a4\" (dispatch) button on the generate screen. After reviewing the generated output, pressing the button fires distan_dispatch<\/code> so a project can promote the reviewed build (git push, rsync, a build webhook). Distan stores no approval state \u2014 only the time of the last dispatch, shown on screen. The button is off by default; enable it in settings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n0.9.16<\/h4>\n\n
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distan_after_generate<\/code> action hook, fired when a generation run completes, for wiring up automatic deployment (git push, rsync, build webhooks, etc.).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n0.9.15<\/h4>\n\n
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0.9.14<\/h4>\n\n
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distan_url_replacements<\/code> filter for custom production URL replacements (applied across the whole output, including JSON-LD).<\/li>\n0.9.13<\/h4>\n\n
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