WP-CLI is a command line interface for WordPress that allows users to manage WordPress sites and perform administrative tasks faster through commands. The document discusses how to install and configure WP-CLI, commonly used commands that mirror the WordPress graphical user interface, commands for working behind the scenes of WordPress, using WP-CLI for configuration, scaffolding plugins and themes, working with databases, and writing custom commands.

1. Take Command ofWordPressWith
WP-CLI
Diana Thompson
WordCamp Long Beach
October 5, 2019

2. Speaker
Diana Thompson
Pronouns: she/her
Like the Goddess
likethegoddess.com
@likethegoddess
hi@diana.fyi

3. Agenda
1. WP-CLI: What and Why
2. Getting Started
3. Commands
a. Mirroring the GUI
b. Behind the Scenes
4. Configuration
5. Packages
6. Writing Commands

4. What isWP-CLI?
WP-CLI is the official command line
interface for WordPress.
What is a command line interface?
A command-line interface…is a means of
program where the user issues commands to the
of successive lines of text. (Wikipedia)

5. WhyWP-CLI?
1. Execute tasks faster
2. Get more capabilities with the CLI

6. WhyWP-CLI? Do more in less time.

7. GETTING
STARTED
Let’s Go!

8. Requirements
UNIX-like server environment
PHP 5.4 or later
WordPress 3.7 or later
Terminal app: native apps, PuTTY
SSH access

9. Web HostsWithWP-CLI Installed
Bluehost
Dreamhost
HostGator
SiteGround
WPEngine
among others
https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/hosting-companies/

10. WP-CLI Installation
1) Download wp-cli.phar
$ curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/
gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar
2) Confirm it works
$ php wp-cli.phar --info
3) Enable use of wp instead of php wp-cli.phar
$ chmod +x wp-cli.phar
$ sudo mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp
4) Confirm successful installation
$ wp --info
https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/installing/

11. Navigation
pwd print working directory
ls list segments
(non-OS contents)
cd change directory
../ parent directory
/ system root
- last directory
~ home directory
Up and down arrow keys to review and
execute previous commands
Tab to autocomplete options (installation
required)
https://wp-cli.org/#tab-completions

12. WP-CLI Syntax
$ wp command subcommand [value] [--argument]
Examples:
$ wp core download
$ wp plugin update --all
$ wp theme install twentynineteen --activate

13. Global Parameters
Perform operation against a remote server over SSH
--ssh=[<scheme>:][<user>@]<host|container>[:<port>][<path>]
Path to the WordPress files
--path=<path>
Suppress informational messages
--quiet
Prompt the user to enter values for all arguments
--prompt
https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/config/#global-parameters

14. COMMANDS Mirroring
the GUI

15. Core
Check for available core update
$ wp core check-update
Update WordPress
$ wp core update
Convert to Multisite
$ wp core multisite-convert
Install Multisite
$ wp core multisite-install
--title="Welcome to the
WordPress"
> --admin_user="username"
--admin_password="password"
> --admin_email="user@email.com"
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/core/

16. Plugins
List plugins
$ wp plugin list
Install and activate a plugin from wp plugin repository
$ wp plugin install akismet –-activate
Update plugins
$ wp plugin update akismet
$ wp plugin update akismet wp-super-cache woocommerce
$ wp plugin update --all
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/plugin/

17. Themes
List themes
$ wp theme list
Install and activate a theme from wp theme repository
$ wp theme install twentynineteen --activate
Update themes
$ wp theme update twentynineteen
$ wp theme update twentynineteen twentyseventeen twentysixteen
$ wp theme update --all
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/theme/

18. Combine Commands with Pipes
Update core, all plugins, and all themes
$ wp core update | wp plugin update --all | wp theme
update --all

19. Users
List users
$ wp user list
Create user
$ wp user create ann ann@example.com --porcelain --send-email
Delete user
$ wp user delete john --reassign=lynn
$ wp user delete john --yes
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/user/

20. Options
List site options
$ wp option list
Change site URL
$ wp option update siteurl http://new.siteurl.com
Change admin email
$ wp option update admin_email admin@siteurl.com
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/option/

21. Options
Change image thumbnail size
$ wp option update thumbnail_size_w 200 | wp option update
thumbnail_size_h 200 | $ wp media regenerate --yes
Change permalink structure, change time zone, block search engines, and close commenting
$ wp option update permalink_structure /%postname%/ | wp
option update gmt_offset -7 | $ wp option update blog_public 0
| $ wp option update default_comment_status closed
https://codex.wordpress.org/Option_Reference/

22. Comments
Delete all spam comments
$ wp comment delete $(wp comment list --status=spam
--format=ids)
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/comment/

23. Multisite

24. Site for Multisite Installations
List sites
$ wp site list
Create a site
$ wp site create --slug=example
Deactivate a site
$ wp site deactivate 123
Archive a site
$ wp site archive 123
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/site/

25. SuperAdmin
List super admins
$ wp super-admin list
Add a super admin
$ wp super-admin add username
Remove a super admin
$ wp super-admin remove username
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/super-admin/

26. COMMANDS Behind the Scenes

27. WordPress Installation
1. wp db create –-dbuser=db-username --dbpass=db-password
2. wp core download
3. wp config create --dbname=database-name
--dbuser=dbuser --dbpass=db-password
--dbhost=hostname --dbprefix=prfx_
4. wp core install --url=example.com
--title="Site Title" --admin_user=username
--admin_email=admin@example.com
--prompt=admin_password < admin_password.txt

28. User Capabilities
List a user’s capabilities
$ wp user list-caps 21
Add a capability to user
$ wp user add-cap johnsmith edit_product
Remove a capability to user
$ wp user remove-cap john@smith.com publish_newsletters
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/user/

29. Role Capabilities
List the capabilities of a role, sorted alphabetically
$ wp cap list 'author' | sort
Add a capability to a role
$ wp cap add author spectate
Remove a capability from a role
$ wp cap remove author spectate
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/cap/

30. Roles
Create a role
$ wp role create productadmin "Product Administrator"
Delete a role
$ wp role delete productadmin
Reset roles
$ wp role reset administrator
$ wp role reset administrator author contributor
$ wp role reset --all
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/role/

31. Posts and Pages
Generate posts
$ wp post generate --count=10
Generate pages with lorem ipsum
$ curl http://loripsum.net/api/5 | wp post generate
--post_type=page --count=10
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/post/

32. Comments
Generate comments
$ wp comment generate --format=ids --count=3 --post_id=123
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/comment/

33. Scaffold

34. Scaffold ChildTheme
Create child theme
$ wp scaffold child-theme my-child-theme-slug
--parent_theme=parent-theme-slug --theme_name="My Child Theme
Name" --author="My Name" --author_uri=myurl.com
--theme_uri=mythemeurl.com --activate
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/scaffold/child-theme/

35. Scaffold UnderscoresTheme
Create theme based on Underscores
$ wp scaffold _s my-theme-slug --theme_name="My Theme Name"
--author="My Name" --author_uri=myurl.com --sassify
--woocommerce --activate
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/scaffold/underscores/

36. Scaffold Plugins
Generate starter code of a plugin
$ wp scaffold plugin my-plugin-slug --dir=path/to/plugins
--plugin_name="My Plugin Name" --plugin_description="My
Plugin Description" --plugin_author="My Name"
--plugin_author_uri=myurl.com --plugin_uri=mypluginurl.com
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/scaffold/plugin/

37. Scaffolded Plugin Contents
 bin
 tests
.distignore
.editorconfig
.gitignore
.phpcs.xml.dist
.travis.yml
Gruntfile.js
my-plugin-slug.php
package.json
phpunit.xml.dist
readme.txt
 bin
install-wp-tests.sh
 tests
bootstrap.php
test-sample.php

38. Scaffold Blocks
Generate a block for a theme
$ wp scaffold block my-block-slug --title="My Block Title"
--theme=theme-slug
Generate a block for a plugin
$ wp scaffold block my-block-slug --title="My Block Title"
--plugin=plugin-slug
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/scaffold/block/

39. Scaffolded Block Contents
 my-block-slug
my-block-slug.php
 my-block-slug
editor.css
index.js
style.css

40. Scaffold PostTypes
Generate custom post type
$ wp scaffold post-type my-post-type-slug --label="My Post
Type" --textdomain="my-post-type"
Generate custom post type for a theme
$ wp scaffold post-type my-post-type-slug --label="My Post
Type" --theme=my-theme
Generate custom post type for a plugin
$ wp scaffold post-type my-post-type-slug --label="My Post
Type" --plugin=my-plugin
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/scaffold/post-type/

45. ScaffoldTaxonomies
Generate taxonomy
$ wp scaffold taxonomy taxonomy-slug --textdomain="taxonomy-
slug"
Generate taxonomy for a theme
$ wp scaffold taxonomy taxonomy-slug --post_types=my-post-
type-slug > taxonomy.php --theme="twentynineteen"
Generate taxonomy for a plugin
$ wp scaffold taxonomy taxonomy-slug --post_types=my-post-
type-slug > taxonomy.php --plugin="custom-plugin"
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/scaffold/taxonomy

49. Database
Config, Search/Replace, and More

50. Database
Create database
$ wp db create
Import database
$ wp db import wpdb.sql
Export database
$ wp db export
Reset current database
$ wp db reset --yes
Delete existing database
$ wp db drop --yes
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/db/

51. Site
Remove pages, posts, and custom post types
$ wp site empty --yes
Remove pages, posts, custom post types, and uploads
$ wp site empty --uploads --yes
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/site/

52. DatabaseWith mysqlcheck
Check database
$ wp db check
Optimize database
$ wp db optimize
Repair database
$ wp db repair
https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.0/en/mysqlcheck.html

53. Config
Create wp-config.php
$ wp config create --dbname=database-name --dbuser=db-user
--dbpass=db-password --dbhost=hostname --dbprefix=prfx_
Set constants and variables
$ wp config set WP_DEBUG true --raw
Change salt keys
$ wp config shuffle-salts
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/config/

54. Search and Replace
Search for staging URL and replace with production URL
$ wp search-replace 'http://example.dev' 'http://example.com'
--dry-run
Search/replace to a SQL file without transforming the database
$ wp search-replace 'http://example.dev' 'http://example.com'
--export=database.sql
Run case-insensitive regex search/replace operation
$ wp search-replace '[foo id="([0-9]+)"' '[bar id="1"' --
regex --regex-flags='i'
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/search-replace/

55. Rewrite
List rewrite rules
$ wp rewrite list --format=csv
Update permalink structure
$ wp rewrite structure '/%postname%'
Flush rewrite rules
$ wp rewrite flush
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/rewrite/

56. Object Cache
Set cache
$ wp cache set my_key my_value my_group 300
Increase cache value
$ wp cache incr my_key 2 my_group
Decrease cache value
$ wp cache decr my_key 2 my_group
Flush cache
$ wp cache flush
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/cache/

57. Transient Cache
Set transient
$ wp transient set my_key "test data" 3600
Delete transients
$ wp transient delete my_key
$ wp transient delete --expired
$ wp transient delete --all
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/transient/

58. WP-Cron
List scheduled cron events
$ wp cron event list
Schedule a new cron event
$ wp cron event schedule cron_test
Test that cron runs successfully
$ wp cron test
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/cron/

59. More
Commands within plugins
Wrappers
Editor plugins
Vagrant boxes
https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/tools/

60. CONFIGURATION For Efficiency and
Specificity

61. CLI Aliases
Add alias
$ wp cli alias add @staging --set-ssh=login@host --set-
path=/path/to/wp/install/ --set-user=wpcli
$ wp cli alias add @production --set-ssh=login@host --set-
path=/path/to/wp/install/ --set-user=wpcli
Create an alias group
$ wp cli alias add @ourservers --grouping=staging,production
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/cli/alias/

62. Executing CommandsWith Aliases
Update staging and production
$ wp core update @staging
$ wp core update @production
$ wp core update @ourservers
$ wp core update @all
Update all sites
$ wp core update @all | wp theme update --all @all | wp plugin
update --all @all

63. Creating Aliases in Config Files
@staging:
ssh: username@hostname
user: username
path: /path/to/staging/install/
@production:
ssh: username@hostname
user: username
path: /path/to/production/install/
@ourservers:
- @staging
- @production
https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/config/

64. Configuration Files
Arguments are interpreted in the following order:
1. Command-line arguments
2. wp-cli.local.yml
3. wp-cli.yml
4. ~/.wp-cli/config.yml
5. WP-CLI defaults
https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/config/

65. Shortening Commands with Bash
Update all sites
$ wp core update @all | wp theme update --all @all | wp plugin
update --all @all
Create bash alias
$ alias update-all='wp core update @all && wp plugin update --
all @all && wp theme update --all @all'
Update core, themes, and plugins on all aliases
$ update-all
https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/shell-friends/

66. PACKAGES Extend WP-CLI

67. Packages
List installed packages
$ wp package list
Install a package
$ wp package install package-slug
Update a package
$ wp package update package-slug
Uninstall a package
$ wp package uninstall package-slug
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/package/

68. Doctor
Install
$ wp package install git@github.com:wp-cli/doctor-command.git
Get list of checks wp doctor can perform
$ wp doctor list
Perform checks
$ wp doctor check core-verify-checksums
$ wp doctor check core-verify-checksums file-eval
php-in-uploads
$ wp doctor check --all
https://github.com/wp-cli/doctor-command

70. Profile
Install
$ wp package install git@github.com:wp-cli/profile-command.git
Run command
$ wp profile stage
$ wp profile hook
$ wp profile eval
$ wp profile eval-file
https://github.com/wp-cli/profile-command/

71. Profile Hook
Profile all hooks
$ wp profile hook
Profile the wp_head hook
$ wp profile hook wp_head
Profile all hooks with zero-ish values eliminated
$ wp profile hook --spotlight
https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/profile/hook/

73. WRITING
COMMANDS
Make Your Own
Packages

74. Scaffold Package
1) Install Scaffold Package Command
$ wp package install git@github.com:wp-cli/scaffold-package-
command.git
2) Generate files for a basic WP-CLI command
$ wp scaffold package author/packagename
--description="My Description" --homepage=package-homepage.com
--dir=package-dir
3) Find your package
/home/usr/.wp-cli/packages/local/author/packagename
https://github.com/wp-cli/scaffold-package-command/

75. Scaffolded Package Content
 .github
 bin
 features
 utils
.distignore
.editorconfig
.gitignore
.travis.yml
command.php
composer.json
CONTRIBUTING.md
README.md
wp-cli.yml

77. HELP Is Available

78. Resources
Within WP-CLI
$ wp help
$ wp help <command>
$ wp help <command> <subcommand>
On the Web
https://wp-cli.org/

79. THANKS!
Diana Thompson
hi@diana.fyi
@likethegoddess
Slides: diana.fyi/wp-cli