WordPress Command Line Interface (or, wp-cli ) is installed on all servers at DreamHost. This feature allows you to run WordPress commands from your Shell terminal. For example you can import a database, create a new user, update themes and plugins all using wp-cli.
This article is a quick overview of this service.
Listing available commands
Log in to your server via SSH. Once logged in, make sure you’re in your WordPress site’s directory. In that directory run the following command to print a list of available options:
[server]$ wp
The following available commands display:
SUBCOMMANDS
cache Manage the object cache.
cap Manage user capabilities.
cli Get information about WP-CLI itself.
comment Manage comments.
core Download, install, update and otherwise manage WordPress proper.
db Perform basic database operations.
eval Execute arbitrary PHP code after loading WordPress.
eval-file Load and execute a PHP file after loading WordPress.
export Export content to a WXR file.
help Get help on a certain command.
import Import content from a WXR file.
jetpack Control your local Jetpack installation.
media Manage attachments.
network
option Manage options.
plugin Manage plugins.
post Manage posts.
rewrite Manage rewrite rules.
role Manage user roles.
scaffold Generate code for post types, taxonomies, etc.
search-replace Search/replace strings in the database.
shell Interactive PHP console.
site Perform site-wide operations.
super-admin List, add, and remove super admins from a network.
term Manage terms.
theme Manage themes.
transient Manage transients.
user Manage users.
GLOBAL PARAMETERS
--path=<path>
Path to the WordPress files
--url=<url>
Pretend request came from given URL
--user=<id|login>
Set the WordPress user
--skip-plugins[=<plugin>]
Skip loading all or some plugins
--require=<path>
Load PHP file before running the command (may be used more than once)
--[no-]color
Whether to colorize the output
--debug
Show all PHP errors
--prompt
Prompt the user to enter values for all command arguments
--quiet
Finding more information on a command
To get more information on a specific command, run the --help option. For example:
[server]$ wp plugin --help
This prints a list of available subcommands. For example:
SUBCOMMANDS activate Activate a plugin. deactivate Deactivate a plugin. delete Delete plugin files. get Get a plugin. install Install a plugin. is-installed Check if the plugin is installed. list Get a list of plugins. path Get the path to a plugin or to the plugin directory. search Search the wordpress.org plugin repository. status See the status of one or all plugins. toggle Toggle a plugin's activation state. uninstall Uninstall a plugin. update Update one or more plugins.
You can then combine these with the main command to perform an action. Here is how you’d install a plugin named hello-dolly:
[server]$ wp plugin install hello-dolly Installing Hello Dolly (1.6) Downloading install package from https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/hello-dolly.1.6.zip... Unpacking the package... Installing the plugin... Plugin installed successfully.
If you now run ‘wp plugin list’, all of your plugins appear:
[server]$ wp plugin list +--------------------+----------+--------+---------+ | name | status | update | version | +--------------------+----------+--------+---------+ | akismet | inactive | none | 3.1.1 | | dreamobjects | inactive | none | 3.5.2 | | hello-dolly | inactive | none | 1.6 | | hello | inactive | none | 1.6 | | jetpack | active | none | 3.5.3 | | varnish-http-purge | active | none | 3.7.2 | +--------------------+----------+--------+---------+
Common commands
These popular commands are used most often when debugging:
Deactivating a plugin
[server]$ wp plugin deactivate PLUGIN_NAME
- -or-
[server]$ wp plugin toggle NAME
Deactivating installed plugins on multisite network
[server]$ wp plugin toggle NAME --network
Deactivating a theme
[server]$ wp theme deactivate THEME_NAME
You must then activate a different theme:
[server]$ wp theme activate THEME_NAME
Changing a password
List all users to view their user ID#:
[server]$ wp user list
Use that user ID# to update their password:
[server]$ wp user update 3 --user_pass=123456
Flushing your cache
Depending on which plugin you’re using, run one of these to flush your cache:
[server]$ wp cache flush
- -or-
[server]$ wp super-cache flush
Re-updating core files
[server]$ wp core update
Forcing the DB upgrade to run
[server]$ wp core update-db
See also
- http://wp-cli.org/ – Official WP CLI website
- WordPress overview
