woo-guard

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha e749c40f6229 · 23 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisheramelnagdy GitHub userOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderamelnagdy/guard-skills/skills/woo-guardThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdicte749c40f6229A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 110 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Review generated or changed WooCommerce code — extensions, payment and shipping integrations, checkout customizations, and order/product logic — before it ships. Best used reactively after an agent writes, edits, or…

---
name: woo-guard
description: "Review generated or changed WooCommerce code — extensions, payment and shipping integrations, checkout customizations, and order/product logic — before it ships. Best used reactively after an agent writes, edits, or reviews code touching WooCommerce APIs: wc_get_order, wc_get_orders, wc_get_product, WC() cart or session, woocommerce_* hooks, Store API endpoints, payment gateways, order or product meta, HPOS, subscriptions, or bookings. Use on 'review this Woo plugin', 'is this HPOS compatible', or after tasks like 'write a WooCommerce extension', 'add a checkout field', 'hook into the order flow', or 'update stock'. Enforces HPOS-safe order access, CRUD over direct meta, feature-compatibility declarations, server-side checkout validation, money-handling discipline, and hooks over template overrides. DO NOT USE for WordPress code without WooCommerce APIs (use wp-guard), generic code review (use clean-code-guard), test review (use test-guard), or store configuration and admin-screen questions."
---

# Woo Guard

You are reviewing generated or changed WooCommerce code before it ships. Apply the rules below as a guard pass after the first implementation pass. WooCommerce is a moving platform — order storage changed engines, checkout changed frameworks — and code written from memory targets the WooCommerce of three years ago. With money on the line, "works on my demo store" is not a standard.

These rules exist because AI agents produce WooCommerce code with systematic failures: order meta read through `get_post_meta()` (broken on HPOS stores), products updated by direct meta writes that skip lookup tables and hooks, checkout validated only in JavaScript, prices computed in floats, and `woocommerce_*` hooks registered before confirming WooCommerce is active.

## How to use this skill

**Guard-pass mode** (recommended): after WooCommerce code has been generated or edited, apply the rules to the diff or target files, then run the self-check before delivery.

**Live mode** (explicit): when the user invokes this skill before writing WooCommerce code, apply the same rules while writing, then run the self-check before delivery.

**Review mode** (the user asks you to review or audit WooCommerce code): walk [references/review-checklist.md](references/review-checklist.md) and produce a structured findings report. Do not edit code in review mode unless asked.

**Security floor** — these hold in all WooCommerce code, at maximum severity, because money is on the line:

- Escape all output with the context-correct `esc_*` function.
- `wp_unslash()` then sanitize all request data before it touches logic.
- Capability check plus nonce on every state change.
- `$wpdb->prepare()` for every query containing a variable.

If wp-guard is installed, run it alongside for the full WordPress layer.

## Adapt to the project first

1. Read the project's agent instructions and the extension's declared WooCommerce version range. Project conventions win on conflict.
2. Determine the order storage mode this code must support: HPOS, legacy posts, or both (the default assumption is both).
3. Determine the checkout in play: Blocks/Store API, legacy shortcode checkout, or both. Hooks for one do not fire in the other.
4. Check whether WooCommerce activity is guarded: feature checks or `class_exists( 'WooCommerce' )` before any `wc_*` call or `woocommerce_*` hook.

## The Rules

### Order and product data — must fix

1. **Orders are not posts.** Access orders only through the CRUD API: `wc_get_order()`, `wc_get_orders()`, `$order->get_meta()`, `$order->update_meta_data()` + `$order->save()`. Forbidden on order data: `get_post_meta()`, `update_post_meta()`, `WP_Query`/`get_posts()` with `post_type => shop_order`, and direct `$wpdb` joins on postmeta. These work on legacy stores and silently break on HPOS stores. Details: [references/hpos-and-crud.md](references/hpos-and-crud.md).

2. **CRUD objects, getters/setters, then save.** Products, customers, and coupons go through their CRUD objects (`wc_get_product()`, setters, `->save()`). Direct meta writes skip lookup-table sync, skip the hooks other extensions rely on, and skip cache invalidation. Stock changes go through `wc_update_product_stock()` semantics; order state changes through `$order->update_status()` — which fire the emails and hooks the store expects.

3. **Declare feature compatibility.** Any extension touching orders declares HPOS compatibility (`FeaturesUtil::declare_compatibility( 'custom_order_tables', ... )`); any extension touching checkout declares `cart_checkout_blocks` compatibility (or incompatibility, honestly). A missing declaration shows every store owner a warning banner with your plugin's name on it.

### Checkout and money — must fix

4. **Checkout validation is server-side.** Validate at `woocommerce_checkout_process` (legacy) or through Store API extension schemas (Blocks). JavaScript validation is UX, never security. Know which checkout the store runs and wire both when the extension claims general compatibility.

5. **Money is not a float.** Prices and totals go through `wc_format_decimal()` for storage-safe values, `wc_price()` for display, and WooCommerce's own tax/rounding settings for arithmetic. No hand-rolled currency symbols, no `number_format()` on prices, no float equality on totals.

### Runtime discipline — should fix

6. **Guard the runtime context.** `WC()->cart` and `WC()->session` are null in REST, cron, CLI, and admin contexts — check before touching them. Never assume a logged-in customer in webhook or gateway callbacks. Verify every `woocommerce_*` hook and `wc_*` function exists in the supported version range — WooCommerce renames and retires hooks across majors.

7. **Hooks over template overrides.** Prefer, in order: existing WooCommerce hooks/filters → the `woocommerce_locate_template` filter → a theme-level override. A template override shipped inside a plugin freezes a copied file at one WooC

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/amelnagdy/guard-skills
git -C guard-skills checkout e749c40f6229

Works in

1. 2026-10-23
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source e749c40f6229

Questions about woo-guard

• github.com/amelnagdy/guard-skills/tree/master/skills/woo-guard — the audited source at commit e749c40f6229 and every finding aboveObserved · 23 Oct 2026

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