Description
Pet Freedom helps you research, verify, and publish the legal status of an animal — whether it can be kept, bred, sold, and transported — across countries, states, and territories, as a structured, SEO-ready WordPress resource. It is species-agnostic (you set the species in one config file) and privacy-preserving (your credentials and private notes never leave your machine; published pages render only public-safe fields).
See it before you install anything: the Pet Freedom page has a one-click “Try it live” demo that boots a real WordPress in your browser (via WordPress Playground), preloaded with a worldwide example resource. No account, no server.
This plugin — Pet Freedom Companion — is the small WordPress half of the project. It adds:
- A friendly Get Started admin page that explains what Pet Freedom is, what else you need, and shows whether everything is wired up correctly.
- One optional, admin-only REST helper used by the publishing tool: read/write post meta, so SEO meta for Rank Math or Yoast can be set programmatically.
- A second admin-only route the publishing tool uses to record which skill version last published to your site, shown on the Get Started page as an update/drift signal (so you can tell if the plugin needs updating).
Both routes require the manage_options capability — nothing is exposed to anonymous visitors. The plugin stores no secrets, references no specific domain/owner/species, makes no outbound calls, and does not modify its own files; all configuration lives in your own config.json.
Do I need anything else?
Yes. This plugin is the companion, not the engine. The actual research-and-publish work is done by Claude Code plus the free, open-source Pet Freedom skill:
- Claude Code: https://claude.com/claude-code
- The free Pet Freedom skill (and its
config.json), distributed on GitHub: https://github.com/blonderoofrat/pet-freedom
The skill is distributed via GitHub regardless of this plugin’s listing here.
Honesty & responsibility
This is a research aid, not legal advice. Laws change and are interpreted by local officials. Every published page tells readers to verify with the responsible authority and read the source themselves. If you publish information produced with this tool, you are responsible for its accuracy and for following your local laws.
Open source
- This WordPress plugin is GPLv2 or later (so it is compatible with the WordPress.org directory).
- The wider Pet Freedom project (the Claude Code skill, its Python tooling, and docs) is MIT (code) / CC BY 4.0 (docs). See the GitHub repository.
A gift from the roof-rat community at https://blonderoofrat.com — built to map the law for one unusual companion animal, generalized so it works for any species.
Screenshots
Installation
- Install and activate the plugin (Plugins Add New search “Pet Freedom Companion”, or upload the .zip via Plugins Add New Upload Plugin).
- Open the new Pet Freedom menu item in wp-admin and read the Get Started page.
- Install Claude Code and the free Pet Freedom skill from GitHub: https://github.com/blonderoofrat/pet-freedom
- In the skill’s
config.json, keep theplugin.namespaceandplugin.option_prefixvalues in sync with thePETFREEDOM_NSandPETFREEDOM_OPT_PREFIXconstants shown on the Get Started page. - Create a WordPress Application Password for a user with publish rights, and give it to the skill so it can publish on your behalf.
You do not strictly need this plugin to use the skill — it can also publish through core WP REST plus a bundled SEO fallback. Install this companion when you want the friendly admin page and a uniform SEO post-meta endpoint.
FAQ
-
Can I see it in action before installing?
-
Two ways. (1) The Pet Freedom page has a one-click “Try it live” demo that runs entirely in your browser via WordPress Playground (no account, no server). (2) Browse the real, maintained resource this skill produces, in production: Are Roof Rats Legal? (100+ jurisdictions, search-indexed). The first is the sandbox to try; the second is the finished thing in the wild.
-
How do I set it up?
-
The easy way: paste a short prompt into Claude Code and it walks you through the whole setup —
config.json, your Application Password, whether to use this plugin or the bundled SEO fallback, seeding, and publishing — including step-by-step help with the parts you do by hand, and troubleshooting. The exact prompt is on the plugin’s Get Started admin page (and in the project README on GitHub). Prefer to do it manually? Seedocs/INSTALL.mdin the repository. -
What does this plugin actually do on its own?
-
It adds a Get Started info page to wp-admin and registers two optional, admin-only REST routes: post-meta read/write, and a small skill-version marker the publishing tool sets so the Get Started page can show which skill version last published. It does not publish anything by itself, collect any personal data, modify its own files, or expose anything to anonymous visitors.
-
Do I need anything else?
-
Yes — the free Pet Freedom skill for Claude Code. The skill does the research, verification, and publishing; this plugin is the small WordPress companion it talks to. Get the skill here: https://github.com/blonderoofrat/pet-freedom (Claude Code: https://claude.com/claude-code).
-
Is this legal advice?
-
No. It is a research aid, not legal advice. Always verify with the responsible authority and read the original source. You are responsible for the accuracy of anything you publish and for following your local laws.
-
Does it collect or send any of my data?
-
No. The plugin stores no secrets, references no specific domain/owner/species, and adds no tracking. Your credentials and private notes stay on your own machine; published pages render only public-safe fields.
-
Are the REST routes safe?
-
Yes. Both routes (
/metaand/skill-version) require themanage_optionscapability (a site administrator, e.g. via an Application Password) and are never exposed to anonymous visitors./metasanitizes meta keys and only reads/writes post meta;/skill-versionstores only a sanitized version string for display. The plugin contains no file-writing or self-update code and makes no outbound calls. -
Which SEO plugins are supported?
-
Rank Math and Yoast (via the generic post-meta route), or a no-plugin fallback shipped with the skill. You choose in the skill’s
config.json. -
Where do I report issues or get the source?
-
GitHub: https://github.com/blonderoofrat/pet-freedom — issues, source, and the skill itself live there. Project home: https://blonderoofrat.com
Reviews
There are no reviews for this plugin.
Contributors & Developers
“Pet Freedom Companion” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Pet Freedom Companion” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.4.0
- Added an admin-only
/skill-versionroute and a “Published with skill version” row on the Get Started page. The publishing tool (the Pet Freedom skill) records its version when it builds your site, so you can see at a glance whether the skill is newer than this plugin expects and the plugin needs updating. The plugin still makes no outbound calls and stores no secrets (just a version string for display).
1.3.1
- The admin “Get Started” page and readme now link to the project’s landing page (blonderoofrat.com/pet-freedom/) for the live demo, instead of a GitHub URL. Clearer for non-technical users and keeps the plugin free of remote-file calls.
1.3.0
- WordPress.org review fixes: removed the hard-coded external blueprint URL from the plugin. The “try it live” demo now links to the project’s GitHub, where the one-click WordPress Playground demo lives, so the plugin calls no remote files.
- Renamed the admin page callback and menu slug to use the consistent
petfreedomprefix, avoiding generic names.
1.2.0
- Removed the
/inspectand self-update (/plugin-update) REST routes for WordPress.org directory compliance and to keep the plugin minimal. It now exposes only the admin-only/metaroute the skill needs; updates flow through the directory (or a re-uploaded .zip), and the plugin never modifies its own files. - Added a one-click “see it live in your browser” WordPress Playground demo link to the Get Started page and readme.
- Updated the Get Started page and docs to match.
1.1.0
- Added a user-facing Get Started admin page (top-level “Pet Freedom” menu) explaining the project, what else is needed, live REST-route status, and the config constants.
- Relicensed the plugin to GPLv2 or later for WordPress.org directory compatibility (the wider project remains MIT / CC BY 4.0).
- Added plugin headers (Plugin URI, Author, License URI, Requires at least, Requires PHP) and discovery links to GitHub and blonderoofrat.com.
- No new write routes and no data collection — the new page is read-only/info-only.
1.0.0
- Initial release: admin-only REST helpers — generic post-meta read/write (Rank Math / Yoast SEO meta), install inspect, and an admin-authenticated self-update endpoint.