# WP-CLI — Manage WordPress from the Command Line > Practical guide to WP-CLI — manage WordPress plugins, themes, core, users and the database from the command line, without a browser. Source: https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/cheatsheets/build-languages/wp-cli/ WP-CLI is the official command-line tool for WordPress, driven by the `wp` binary. It lets you manage plugins, themes, core, the database and users without ever opening a browser – ideal for automation, maintenance and bulk operations, whether on a single site or an entire Multisite network. This guide collects the commands you reach for most, from installing WordPress to search-replacing a domain across the whole database. ## Core & Info `wp --info` — Show information about the WP-CLI environment (PHP version, paths, OS). ```bash wp --info ``` `wp --version` — Show the installed WP-CLI version. ```bash wp --version ``` `wp cli update` — Update WP-CLI to the latest stable version. ```bash wp cli update ``` `wp cli check-update` — Check if a newer version of WP-CLI is available. ```bash wp cli check-update ``` `wp core version` — Show the installed WordPress version. ```bash wp core version ``` `wp core check-update` — Check if WordPress core updates are available. ```bash wp core check-update ``` ## Core Installation & Update `wp core download` — Download the latest WordPress core files. ```bash wp core download --locale=en_US ``` `wp core download --version=` — Download a specific WordPress version. ```bash wp core download --version=6.5 ``` `wp core config --dbname= --dbuser= --dbpass=` — Generate a wp-config.php file with database credentials. ```bash wp core config --dbname=wordpress --dbuser=root --dbpass=secret --dbhost=localhost ``` `wp core install --url= --title= --admin_user=<user> --admin_password=<pass> --admin_email=<email>` — Run the WordPress installation (create tables, set up admin account). ```bash wp core install --url=example.com --title='My Site' --admin_user=admin --admin_password=secret --admin_email=admin@example.com ``` `wp core update` — Update WordPress core to the latest version. ```bash wp core update ``` `wp core update --version=<version>` — Update to a specific WordPress version. ```bash wp core update --version=6.5.2 ``` `wp core update-db` — Run the database upgrade routine after a core update. ```bash wp core update-db ``` `wp core verify-checksums` — Verify WordPress core files against their checksums. Detects modified or infected files. ```bash wp core verify-checksums ``` ## Plugins `wp plugin list` — List all installed plugins with name, status, update availability, and version. ```bash wp plugin list ``` `wp plugin install <plugin>` — Install a plugin from the WordPress.org repository. ```bash wp plugin install woocommerce ``` `wp plugin install <plugin> --activate` — Install and immediately activate a plugin. ```bash wp plugin install wordfence --activate ``` `wp plugin install <url>` — Install a plugin from a ZIP URL. ```bash wp plugin install https://example.com/my-plugin.zip --activate ``` `wp plugin activate <plugin>` — Activate an installed plugin. ```bash wp plugin activate woocommerce ``` `wp plugin deactivate <plugin>` — Deactivate a plugin without removing it. ```bash wp plugin deactivate woocommerce ``` `wp plugin deactivate --all` — Deactivate all plugins at once. Useful for debugging. ```bash wp plugin deactivate --all ``` `wp plugin delete <plugin>` — Delete a plugin (deactivates if needed and removes files). ```bash wp plugin delete hello-dolly ``` `wp plugin update <plugin>` — Update a specific plugin to the latest version. ```bash wp plugin update woocommerce ``` `wp plugin update --all` — Update all installed plugins. ```bash wp plugin update --all ``` `wp plugin search <keyword>` — Search the WordPress.org plugin repository. ```bash wp plugin search 'security firewall' ``` `wp plugin verify-checksums --all` — Verify plugin files against WordPress.org checksums to detect tampering. ```bash wp plugin verify-checksums --all ``` `wp plugin status <plugin>` — Show detailed status information about a plugin. ```bash wp plugin status woocommerce ``` ## Themes `wp theme list` — List all installed themes with status, update availability, and version. ```bash wp theme list ``` `wp theme install <theme>` — Install a theme from the WordPress.org repository. ```bash wp theme install twentytwentyfour ``` `wp theme install <theme> --activate` — Install and immediately activate a theme. ```bash wp theme install astra --activate ``` `wp theme activate <theme>` — Activate an installed theme. ```bash wp theme activate twentytwentyfour ``` `wp theme delete <theme>` — Delete an inactive theme. ```bash wp theme delete twentytwentythree ``` `wp theme update <theme>` — Update a specific theme. ```bash wp theme update astra ``` `wp theme update --all` — Update all installed themes. ```bash wp theme update --all ``` `wp theme status <theme>` — Show detailed information about a theme. ```bash wp theme status twentytwentyfour ``` ## Users `wp user list` — List all users with ID, login, email, and role. ```bash wp user list ``` `wp user create <login> <email> --role=<role>` — Create a new user with a specific role. ```bash wp user create editor editor@example.com --role=editor ``` `wp user create <login> <email> --role=administrator --user_pass=<pass>` — Create a new admin user with a specific password. ```bash wp user create newadmin admin@example.com --role=administrator --user_pass=StrongPass123 ``` `wp user update <user_id> --user_pass=<pass>` — Reset a user's password. ```bash wp user update 1 --user_pass=NewPassword123 ``` `wp user update <user_id> --role=<role>` — Change a user's role. ```bash wp user update 5 --role=administrator ``` `wp user delete <user_id>` — Delete a user. Prompts for content reassignment. ```bash wp user delete 5 --reassign=1 ``` `wp user get <user_id>` — Show detailed information about a specific user. ```bash wp user get 1 ``` `wp user list --role=administrator` — List all users with a specific role. ```bash wp user list --role=administrator ``` `wp user generate --count=<n> --role=<role>` — Generate dummy users for testing. ```bash wp user generate --count=10 --role=subscriber ``` ## Posts & Content `wp post list` — List all posts with ID, title, status, and date. ```bash wp post list ``` `wp post list --post_type=<type> --post_status=<status>` — List posts filtered by type and status. ```bash wp post list --post_type=page --post_status=draft ``` `wp post create --post_title='<title>' --post_status=publish` — Create a new post and publish it immediately. ```bash wp post create --post_title='Hello World' --post_content='My first post.' --post_status=publish ``` `wp post update <post_id> --post_status=<status>` — Update a post's status or other fields. ```bash wp post update 42 --post_status=draft ``` `wp post delete <post_id>` — Move a post to the trash. ```bash wp post delete 42 ``` `wp post delete <post_id> --force` — Permanently delete a post (bypass trash). ```bash wp post delete 42 --force ``` `wp post get <post_id>` — Show detailed information about a specific post. ```bash wp post get 42 ``` `wp post generate --count=<n>` — Generate dummy posts for testing. ```bash wp post generate --count=50 --post_type=post --post_status=publish ``` `wp post meta list <post_id>` — List all meta fields for a specific post. ```bash wp post meta list 42 ``` `wp post meta update <post_id> <key> <value>` — Update or add a post meta field. ```bash wp post meta update 42 _thumbnail_id 99 ``` ## Options (wp_options) `wp option get <key>` — Get the value of a specific WordPress option. ```bash wp option get siteurl ``` `wp option update <key> <value>` — Update a WordPress option. ```bash wp option update blogname 'My New Site Name' ``` `wp option list` — List all options in the wp_options table. ```bash wp option list ``` `wp option list --search='<pattern>'` — Search for options matching a pattern. ```bash wp option list --search='siteurl' ``` `wp option delete <key>` — Delete a specific option from the database. ```bash wp option delete deprecated_setting ``` `wp option add <key> <value>` — Add a new option to the database. ```bash wp option add my_custom_option 'value123' ``` `wp option get <key> --format=json` — Get a serialized option value formatted as JSON. ```bash wp option get active_plugins --format=json ``` ## Database `wp db export <file>` — Export the database to a SQL file. ```bash wp db export backup.sql ``` `wp db export - | gzip > <file>` — Export the database and compress it with gzip. ```bash wp db export - | gzip > backup.sql.gz ``` `wp db import <file>` — Import a SQL file into the database. ```bash wp db import backup.sql ``` `wp db optimize` — Optimize all database tables. ```bash wp db optimize ``` `wp db repair` — Repair all database tables. ```bash wp db repair ``` `wp db size` — Show the total database size. ```bash wp db size ``` `wp db size --tables` — Show the size of each individual table. ```bash wp db size --tables ``` `wp db query '<sql>'` — Execute a raw SQL query on the database. ```bash wp db query 'SELECT COUNT(*) FROM wp_posts WHERE post_status="publish"' ``` `wp db cli` — Open an interactive MySQL/MariaDB shell for the WordPress database. ```bash wp db cli ``` `wp db check` — Check all database tables for errors. ```bash wp db check ``` `wp db tables` — List all tables in the WordPress database. ```bash wp db tables ``` `wp db reset --yes` — Drop all tables and recreate them from the schema. Destroys all data. ```bash wp db reset --yes ``` ## Search & Replace `wp search-replace '<old>' '<new>'` — Search and replace across all database tables. Handles serialized data correctly. ```bash wp search-replace 'http://old-domain.com' 'https://new-domain.com' ``` `wp search-replace '<old>' '<new>' --dry-run` — Preview how many replacements would be made without changing anything. ```bash wp search-replace 'http://old-domain.com' 'https://new-domain.com' --dry-run ``` `wp search-replace '<old>' '<new>' <table>` — Limit the search-replace to specific tables. ```bash wp search-replace 'http://old.com' 'https://new.com' wp_posts wp_postmeta ``` `wp search-replace '<old>' '<new>' --precise` — Use precise mode for more accurate serialized data handling. ```bash wp search-replace 'old-domain.com' 'new-domain.com' --precise ``` `wp search-replace '<old>' '<new>' --all-tables` — Search-replace across all tables including non-WordPress tables. ```bash wp search-replace 'staging.example.com' 'www.example.com' --all-tables ``` `wp search-replace '<old>' '<new>' --export=<file>` — Export the result as a SQL file instead of modifying the database directly. ```bash wp search-replace 'http://dev.local' 'https://www.example.com' --export=migrated.sql ``` ## Cache & Transients `wp cache flush` — Flush the WordPress object cache. ```bash wp cache flush ``` `wp transient delete --all` — Delete all transients from the database. ```bash wp transient delete --all ``` `wp transient delete --expired` — Delete only expired transients. ```bash wp transient delete --expired ``` `wp transient get <key>` — Get the value of a specific transient. ```bash wp transient get my_cached_data ``` `wp rewrite flush` — Flush and regenerate rewrite rules (fixes permalink issues). ```bash wp rewrite flush ``` `wp rewrite structure '<structure>'` — Set the permalink structure. ```bash wp rewrite structure '/%postname%/' ``` ## Media & Uploads `wp media regenerate` — Regenerate all image thumbnails. Useful after changing theme or image sizes. ```bash wp media regenerate --yes ``` `wp media regenerate --only-missing` — Only regenerate missing image sizes (faster than full regeneration). ```bash wp media regenerate --only-missing ``` `wp media import <file_or_url>` — Import a file or URL as an attachment into the media library. ```bash wp media import ./photo.jpg --title='My Photo' ``` `wp media image-size` — List all registered image sizes. ```bash wp media image-size ``` ## Maintenance & Multisite `wp cron event list` — List all scheduled cron events with their next run time. ```bash wp cron event list ``` `wp cron event run --all` — Run all pending cron events immediately. ```bash wp cron event run --all ``` `wp cron event run <hook>` — Run a specific cron event by its hook name. ```bash wp cron event run wp_scheduled_auto_draft_delete ``` `wp cron test` — Test if the WP-Cron spawning system is working correctly. ```bash wp cron test ``` `wp maintenance-mode activate` — Enable maintenance mode (shows maintenance page to visitors). ```bash wp maintenance-mode activate ``` `wp maintenance-mode deactivate` — Disable maintenance mode. ```bash wp maintenance-mode deactivate ``` `wp site list` — List all sites in a WordPress Multisite network. ```bash wp site list ``` `wp --url=<site_url> <command>` — Run a WP-CLI command against a specific site in a Multisite network. ```bash wp --url=subsite.example.com plugin list ``` ## Scaffolding & Export `wp scaffold plugin <slug>` — Generate boilerplate files for a new plugin. ```bash wp scaffold plugin my-custom-plugin ``` `wp scaffold child-theme <slug> --parent_theme=<parent>` — Generate a child theme. ```bash wp scaffold child-theme my-child --parent_theme=twentytwentyfour ``` `wp scaffold post-type <slug> --plugin=<plugin>` — Generate code for a custom post type. ```bash wp scaffold post-type product --plugin=my-custom-plugin --label=Product ``` `wp scaffold taxonomy <slug> --post_types=<types>` — Generate code for a custom taxonomy. ```bash wp scaffold taxonomy genre --post_types=book --plugin=my-custom-plugin ``` `wp export` — Export content to a WordPress eXtended RSS (WXR) XML file. ```bash wp export --dir=./exports/ ``` `wp import <file> --authors=create` — Import content from a WXR XML file. ```bash wp import export.xml --authors=create ``` ## Output Formats & Global Flags `wp <command> --format=table` — Output as an ASCII table (default format). ```bash wp plugin list --format=table ``` `wp <command> --format=json` — Output as a JSON array. ```bash wp plugin list --format=json ``` `wp <command> --format=csv` — Output as comma-separated values. ```bash wp user list --format=csv ``` `wp <command> --format=ids` — Output only the IDs, space-separated. Useful for piping. ```bash wp post list --post_type=revision --format=ids | xargs wp post delete ``` `wp <command> --fields=<field1>,<field2>` — Limit output to specific columns. ```bash wp plugin list --fields=name,status,version ``` `wp <command> --path=<path>` — Run WP-CLI against a WordPress installation at a specific path. ```bash wp core version --path=/var/www/html ``` `wp <command> --ssh=<host>` — Run WP-CLI on a remote server via SSH. ```bash wp plugin list --ssh=deploy@server.example.com:/var/www/html ``` `wp <command> --skip-plugins` — Run without loading plugins. Useful when a plugin causes fatal errors. ```bash wp option get siteurl --skip-plugins ``` `wp <command> --skip-themes` — Run without loading the active theme. ```bash wp core version --skip-themes ``` <!-- PROSE:outro --> ## Conclusion WP-CLI turns repetitive WordPress chores into single, scriptable commands – updates, backups, migrations and user management all run straight from the shell. Treat the destructive commands with care: `wp db reset`, `wp db drop` and `wp site empty` wipe content and tables irreversibly, and `--yes` skips the safety prompt. Always run `wp search-replace` with `--dry-run` first, and double-check `wp user delete` before you confirm. Avoid running `wp` as root – reach for `--allow-root` only deliberately, and only where you fully understand the consequences. ## Further Reading - [WP-CLI Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/) – official documentation, guides and command reference - [developer.wordpress.org/cli](https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/) – full command reference on the WordPress Developer site - [wp-cli.org](https://wp-cli.org/) – the project home page <!-- PROSE:outro:end --> ## Related Commands - [artisan](https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/cheatsheets/build-languages/artisan/) – command-line interface for the Laravel PHP framework - [cargo](https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/cheatsheets/build-languages/cargo/) – build tool and package manager for Rust - [composer](https://www.jpkc.com/db/en/cheatsheets/build-languages/composer/) – dependency manager for PHP projects