Everyone says "use a child theme." Nobody makes it easy.
Every WordPress tutorial says the same thing: before you customize a theme, create a child theme first. Otherwise your changes get wiped on the next update.
The actual process: create a folder via FTP, write a style.css with precise header formatting, get the Template line exactly right, write a functions.php that enqueues parent styles correctly, upload everything, and hope you didn't miss a step.
Most people either skip it entirely or install a one-time-use plugin just to generate the files.
What most people do instead
Every approach adds friction to what should be a 2-second task.
A better way: one command, ready to customize
Open the TrueCommander navigator. Type create child theme. Hit enter.
The command detects your active theme, creates the folder, writes style.css with correct headers, writes functions.php with parent style enqueue, copies the parent's screenshot, and optionally activates it. All in under a second.
Shown in advanced mode, where commands start with tp. In easy mode you type the same command without the tp prefix.
Handles nested child themes. If the active theme is already a child, the command resolves to the root parent. No child-of-a-child mistakes.
How it works
Detects the parent, writes the files, copies the screenshot. Done.
-activate to switch immediately. Without it, the child theme is ready but inactive.| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Command name | create child theme |
| Custom name | -name=My Custom Theme |
| Activate | -activate switches to child theme immediately |
| Files created | style.css, functions.php, screenshot (if parent has one) |
| Edge cases | Nested child themes resolved, duplicate directories blocked |
| Can be used in |
Real example
You're setting up a new client site. You've installed and activated the flavor theme. Before adding any custom CSS or template overrides, you need a child theme.
You open the navigator and type tp create child theme -name=ClientName Theme -activate.
Result: Child theme created & activated. Three files created (style.css, functions.php, screenshot.png). The site now runs on "ClientName Theme" with flavor as the parent. When flavor releases an update next month, the client's customizations stay untouched.
Total time: under 2 seconds. No FTP. No file editing. No one-time-use plugin.
Goes further with TrueCommander
Creating a child theme is step one of site setup. Combine it with other commands for a complete workflow.
Frequently asked questions
style.css header and a functions.php that enqueues the parent styles, then upload it over FTP. tp create child theme generates all of that from your active theme in one command.-name=MyChildTheme to set the child's name, or let it derive one from the parent.-activate to switch to the new child theme immediately after it is created, so you can start customizing right away.