WP-CLI (WordPress Command Line Interface)

Master the powerful command-line tool for managing WordPress installations, automating tasks, and increasing productivity.

What is WP-CLI?

WP-CLI is the official command-line interface for WordPress. It provides a set of commands for managing WordPress sites without using a web browser, making it essential for developers, system administrators, and power users.

Benefits of WP-CLI

• Speed - Much faster than GUI operations
• Automation - Script repetitive tasks
• Bulk Operations - Perform actions on multiple items
• Server Management - Manage sites via SSH
• CI/CD Integration - Use in deployment pipelines
• No Browser Required - Work via terminal only

Installation

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install wp-cli

Linux/Unix

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar
chmod +x wp-cli.phar
sudo mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp

Verify Installation

wp --info

Update WP-CLI

wp cli update

Basic Commands

Getting Help

# General help
wp help

# Command-specific help
wp plugin help
wp plugin install --help

# List all commands
wp cli cmd-dump

Core Commands

Download WordPress

# Download latest WordPress
wp core download

# Download specific version
wp core download --version=6.3

# Download in specific language
wp core download --locale=es_ES

# Force download (overwrite existing)
wp core download --force

Install WordPress

# Create wp-config.php
wp config create --dbname=wordpress --dbuser=root --dbpass=password --dbhost=localhost

# Install WordPress
wp core install \
  --url=example.test \
  --title="My WordPress Site" \
  --admin_user=admin \
  --admin_password=password \
  --admin_email=admin@example.com

# Complete installation in one command
wp core download && \
wp config create --dbname=wordpress --dbuser=root --dbpass=password && \
wp core install --url=example.test --title="My Site" --admin_user=admin --admin_password=password --admin_email=admin@example.com

Update WordPress

# Check for core updates
wp core check-update

# Update to latest version
wp core update

# Update to specific version
wp core update --version=6.3

# Update database
wp core update-db

WordPress Information

# Check WordPress version
wp core version

# Check if WordPress is installed
wp core is-installed

# Verify core files
wp core verify-checksums

Plugin Management

List Plugins

# List all plugins
wp plugin list

# List active plugins
wp plugin list --status=active

# List inactive plugins
wp plugin list --status=inactive

# Output as JSON
wp plugin list --format=json

Install Plugins

# Install plugin
wp plugin install query-monitor

# Install and activate
wp plugin install query-monitor --activate

# Install specific version
wp plugin install query-monitor --version=3.12.0 --activate

# Install from ZIP
wp plugin install https://example.com/plugin.zip --activate

# Install multiple plugins
wp plugin install query-monitor user-switching debug-bar --activate

Activate/Deactivate Plugins

# Activate plugin
wp plugin activate query-monitor

# Activate all plugins
wp plugin activate --all

# Deactivate plugin
wp plugin deactivate query-monitor

# Deactivate all plugins
wp plugin deactivate --all

# Toggle plugin status
wp plugin toggle query-monitor

Update Plugins

# List plugin updates
wp plugin list --update=available

# Update specific plugin
wp plugin update query-monitor

# Update all plugins
wp plugin update --all

# Update all except specific plugins
wp plugin update --all --exclude=woocommerce,jetpack

Uninstall Plugins

# Delete plugin (deactivate first)
wp plugin deactivate plugin-name
wp plugin delete plugin-name

# Uninstall plugin (runs uninstall.php)
wp plugin uninstall plugin-name --deactivate

Plugin Information

# Get plugin status
wp plugin status query-monitor

# Get plugin path
wp plugin path query-monitor

# Search for plugins
wp plugin search query monitor

Theme Management

List Themes

# List all themes
wp theme list

# List active theme
wp theme list --status=active

# Get current theme
wp theme list --status=active --field=name

Install Themes

# Install theme
wp theme install twentytwentyfour

# Install and activate
wp theme install twentytwentyfour --activate

# Install from ZIP
wp theme install https://example.com/theme.zip --activate

Activate Themes

# Activate theme
wp theme activate twentytwentyfour

# Get current theme
wp theme list --status=active

Update Themes

# Update specific theme
wp theme update twentytwentyfour

# Update all themes
wp theme update --all

Delete Themes

# Delete theme
wp theme delete twentytwentythree

# Delete all themes except active
wp theme delete --all

User Management

List Users

# List all users
wp user list

# List with specific fields
wp user list --fields=ID,user_login,user_email,role

# Filter by role
wp user list --role=administrator

# Output as table
wp user list --format=table

Create Users

# Create user
wp user create johndoe john@example.com --role=editor

# Create with password
wp user create johndoe john@example.com --role=author --user_pass=password123

# Create with first and last name
wp user create johndoe john@example.com \
  --role=editor \
  --first_name=John \
  --last_name=Doe \
  --display_name="John Doe"

Update Users

# Update user role
wp user update 123 --role=administrator

# Update user email
wp user update johndoe --user_email=newemail@example.com

# Reset user password
wp user update johndoe --user_pass=newpassword123

Delete Users

# Delete user (reassign posts to another user)
wp user delete 123 --reassign=456

# Delete multiple users
wp user delete 123 456 789 --reassign=1

User Meta

# Get user meta
wp user meta get 123 first_name

# Add user meta
wp user meta add 123 custom_field "value"

# Update user meta
wp user meta update 123 custom_field "new value"

# Delete user meta
wp user meta delete 123 custom_field

# List all user meta
wp user meta list 123

Post Management

List Posts

# List all posts
wp post list

# List with specific fields
wp post list --fields=ID,post_title,post_status,post_date

# Filter by post type
wp post list --post_type=page

# Filter by status
wp post list --post_status=publish

# Filter by author
wp post list --author=1

# Order by date
wp post list --orderby=date --order=DESC

Create Posts

# Create post
wp post create --post_title="My New Post" --post_status=publish

# Create with content
wp post create \
  --post_title="Hello World" \
  --post_content="This is the post content." \
  --post_status=publish \
  --post_type=post \
  --post_author=1

# Create from file
wp post create ./content.txt --post_title="From File"

# Generate dummy posts
wp post generate --count=50

# Generate posts with specific type
wp post generate --count=20 --post_type=page

Update Posts

# Update post title
wp post update 123 --post_title="Updated Title"

# Update post status
wp post update 123 --post_status=draft

# Update multiple posts
wp post update 123 456 789 --post_status=publish

Delete Posts

# Move post to trash
wp post delete 123

# Force delete (permanent)
wp post delete 123 --force

# Delete all posts of specific type
wp post delete $(wp post list --post_type=post --format=ids)

# Empty trash
wp post delete $(wp post list --post_status=trash --format=ids) --force

Post Meta

# Get post meta
wp post meta get 123 _thumbnail_id

# Add post meta
wp post meta add 123 custom_field "value"

# Update post meta
wp post meta update 123 custom_field "new value"

# Delete post meta
wp post meta delete 123 custom_field

# List all post meta
wp post meta list 123

Database Management

Database Information

# Show database tables
wp db tables

# Show table size
wp db size --tables

# Check database
wp db check

# Optimize database
wp db optimize

# Repair database
wp db repair

Database Export/Import

# Export database
wp db export

# Export to specific file
wp db export backup.sql

# Export with compression
wp db export backup.sql.gz

# Import database
wp db import backup.sql

# Import from URL
wp db import https://example.com/backup.sql

Database Queries

# Run SQL query
wp db query "SELECT * FROM wp_posts WHERE post_status = 'publish' LIMIT 5"

# Get specific data
wp db query "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type = 'post'"

# Run SQL file
wp db query < queries.sql

Search and Replace

# Basic search-replace
wp search-replace 'old-url.com' 'new-url.com'

# Dry run (preview changes)
wp search-replace 'old-url.com' 'new-url.com' --dry-run

# Search-replace in specific table
wp search-replace 'old-url.com' 'new-url.com' wp_posts

# Case-insensitive search
wp search-replace 'old-url.com' 'new-url.com' --all-tables-with-prefix --precise

# Report changes
wp search-replace 'old-url.com' 'new-url.com' --report

# Skip specific columns
wp search-replace 'old' 'new' --skip-columns=guid

Cache Management

# Flush cache
wp cache flush

# Clear transients
wp transient delete --all

# Clear expired transients
wp transient delete --expired

Cron Management

List Scheduled Events

# List all cron events
wp cron event list

# List specific event
wp cron event list --fields=hook,next_run,recurrence

Run Cron

# Run all due cron events
wp cron event run --due-now

# Run specific event
wp cron event run wp_version_check

Schedule Events

# Schedule single event
wp cron event schedule my_custom_event '+1 hour'

# Schedule recurring event
wp cron event schedule my_custom_event now hourly

Delete Events

# Delete specific event
wp cron event delete my_custom_event

# Delete all events for a hook
wp cron event delete my_custom_event --all

Media Management

# Import media file
wp media import image.jpg --title="My Image" --alt="Image description"

# Import from URL
wp media import https://example.com/image.jpg

# Import multiple files
wp media import *.jpg

# Regenerate thumbnails
wp media regenerate --yes

# Regenerate specific image
wp media regenerate 123

Site Options

# Get option
wp option get blogname

# List all options
wp option list

# Add option
wp option add my_option "value"

# Update option
wp option update blogname "New Site Name"

# Delete option
wp option delete my_option

# Get option JSON format
wp option get my_option --format=json

Rewrite Rules

# Flush rewrite rules
wp rewrite flush

# List rewrite rules
wp rewrite list

# View permalink structure
wp rewrite structure

Multisite Commands

# List sites
wp site list

# Create site
wp site create --slug=newsite --title="New Site"

# Delete site
wp site delete 2

# Empty site
wp site empty 2 --yes

# Activate plugin network-wide
wp plugin activate akismet --network

Package Management

# List installed packages
wp package list

# Install package
wp package install wp-cli/doctor-command

# Update packages
wp package update

# Uninstall package
wp package uninstall wp-cli/doctor-command

Scaffolding

Generate Plugin

# Create plugin structure
wp scaffold plugin my-plugin

# Create plugin with specific features
wp scaffold plugin my-plugin \
  --plugin_name="My Plugin" \
  --plugin_description="Plugin description" \
  --plugin_author="Your Name" \
  --plugin_uri="https://example.com"

Generate Post Type

# Generate custom post type
wp scaffold post-type book --plugin=my-plugin

# Generate with taxonomies
wp scaffold post-type book --plugin=my-plugin --taxonomy=genre

Generate Taxonomy

# Generate custom taxonomy
wp scaffold taxonomy genre --plugin=my-plugin --post_types=book

Generate Theme

# Create theme structure
wp scaffold theme my-theme

# Create child theme
wp scaffold child-theme my-child-theme --parent_theme=twentytwentyfour

Configuration File (wp-cli.yml)

Create wp-cli.yml in your project root:

# wp-cli.yml
path: public_html

# Set default user
user: admin

# Skip plugins
skip-plugins:
  - plugin1
  - plugin2

# Skip themes
skip-themes:
  - theme1

# Disable colors
color: false

# Require specific WP-CLI version
require:
  - wp-cli/wp-cli: ^2.8

Aliases

Create aliases in ~/.wp-cli/config.yml:

# ~/.wp-cli/config.yml
@dev:
  ssh: user@dev.example.com
  path: /var/www/html

@prod:
  ssh: user@prod.example.com
  path: /var/www/html

Use aliases:

# Run command on remote server
wp @dev plugin list
wp @prod core update

Shell Scripts with WP-CLI

Backup Script

#!/bin/bash
# backup.sh

DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
BACKUP_DIR="backups"

mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR

# Export database
wp db export "$BACKUP_DIR/db_$DATE.sql"

# Create tar archive
tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR/files_$DATE.tar.gz" wp-content/

echo "Backup completed: $DATE"

Deployment Script

#!/bin/bash
# deploy.sh

# Update WordPress
wp core update

# Update plugins
wp plugin update --all

# Update themes
wp theme update --all

# Clear cache
wp cache flush

# Flush rewrite rules
wp rewrite flush

echo "Deployment completed"

Practical Exercises

Exercise 1: Complete WordPress Setup

Write a script to set up a new WordPress installation with: - Database creation - WordPress download and installation - Essential plugins installation - Theme activation - User creation

Exercise 2: Content Migration

Create a script to: - Export posts from one site - Import posts to another site - Update URLs - Regenerate thumbnails

Exercise 3: Maintenance Script

Build a maintenance script that: - Backs up database - Updates core, plugins, and themes - Checks for broken links - Optimizes database - Clears cache

Exercise 4: Bulk Operations

Create a script to: - Generate 100 sample posts - Assign random categories - Set featured images - Publish posts

Key Takeaways

1. WP-CLI is essential for WordPress developers
2. Automate repetitive tasks with scripts
3. Use search-replace carefully with --dry-run
4. Backup before major changes
5. Leverage scaffolding for faster development
6. Master database commands for migrations
7. Use aliases for multi-server management
8. Integrate into CI/CD pipelines
9. Generate dummy content for testing
10. Document custom scripts

Next Steps

Continue exploring WordPress development with the other guides in this section.

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Resources:

• WP-CLI Documentation
• WP-CLI Command Reference
• WP-CLI Handbook
• WP-CLI GitHub