[peterwilsoncc]

Limits the dedicated test uploads directory introduced in r65177 / 2700c1f and r65190 / 9dfdf85 to runs of the WordPress core test suite.

Defining UPLOADS as wp-content/test-suite-uploads for every run broke plugins and themes that use the test suite and assert against upload paths or URLs.

• UPLOADS is now only defined, and the test uploads directory only cleaned, when WP_RUN_CORE_TESTS is set. The core phpunit.xml.dist and tests/phpunit/multisite.xml configurations already set it.
• The _upload_get_url() test helper falls back to wp-content/uploads when UPLOADS is not defined, rather than causing a fatal error.

Testing:

• Run vendor/bin/phpunit --group upload,media and confirm the tests pass.
• Copy phpunit.xml.dist to a new file and remove the WP_RUN_CORE_TESTS constant. Using this configuration, run a test asserting UPLOADS is not defined and wp_upload_dir()['basedir'] ends in wp-content/uploads.

Trac ticket: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/63532#comment:39

Use of AI Tools

AI assistance: Yes
Tool(s): Claude Code
Model(s): Claude Opus 5.5
Used for: Drafting the code change and this description, and running the tests. I reviewed the change and the test results.

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[Copilot]

🟢 Approval recommended

No active review issues block the change limiting upload-directory isolation to WordPress core test runs.

No open issues 🎉

What changed in this PR

This PR limits upload-directory isolation to WordPress core test runs, preserving default upload paths for plugins and themes that use the test suite.

Changes:

• Requires WP_RUN_CORE_TESTS to be enabled before defining and cleaning the dedicated test uploads directory.
• Adds a wp-content/uploads fallback to _upload_get_url() when UPLOADS is undefined.

File	Description
tests/​phpunit/​includes/​functions.php	Adds the default uploads path fallback to the URL helper.
tests/​phpunit/​includes/​bootstrap.php	Restricts dedicated uploads setup and cleanup to core test runs.

_{Review effort: Balanced}

[lancewillett]

Verified 332a7e1. Two existing WooCommerce cases reproduced the upload-path regression against the base and passed with this patch: MaxMind database paths and download-handler files. The comparison used the original test assertions from before WooCommerce’s workaround with a newer local plugin copy, held constant between runs.

Focused Core upload and media checks passed before and after on single-site and multisite. The bootstrap diagnostic also confirmed that non-Core suites retain their default path and avoid the Core-only cleanup. Full local suites were not run; CI is green, and Copilot reported no issues.

_{AI review · gpt-6}

[lancewillett]

PR #15914 landed in https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/65409