WordPress WP-CLI Command Reference

Complete reference for WordPress command-line interface (WP-CLI) covering all available commands for site administration, content management, database operations, migrations, and development.

Prerequisites

Verify WP-CLI availability and WordPress installation:

wp --version                    # Check WP-CLI version
wp core is-installed             # Verify WordPress is installed
wp core version                  # Check WordPress version
wp cli info                      # Full environment details

Navigate to the WordPress root directory or use --path=/path/to/wordpress with every command.

Critical Safety Rules

Always back up before destructive operations:

wp db export backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).sql

Use --dry-run when available:

wp search-replace 'old.com' 'new.com' --dry-run
wp plugin update --all --dry-run

Dangerous commands requiring explicit confirmation:

Command	Risk
wp db reset	Drops all tables and recreates them
wp db drop	Deletes the entire database
wp db clean	Removes all tables with the configured prefix
wp site empty	Deletes all posts, comments, terms, meta
wp site delete	Removes a site entirely (multisite)
wp user delete without --reassign	Orphans all user content
wp search-replace without --dry-run	Irreversible data changes
wp core multisite-convert	Converts single-site to multisite (irreversible)

Global Flags

Flag	Description
--path=<path>	Path to WordPress installation
--url=<url>	Target URL (required for multisite)
--user=<id|login|email>	Run as specified user
--skip-plugins	Skip loading plugins (faster, avoids conflicts)
--skip-themes	Skip loading themes
--skip-packages	Skip loading WP-CLI packages
--require=<path>	Load a PHP file before running command
--exec=<code>	Execute PHP code before running command
--color / --no-color	Force/disable colored output
--debug	Show debug information
--quiet	Suppress informational messages
--prompt	Prompt interactively for command arguments
--allow-root	Allow running as root (not recommended)

Output Formats

Most list/get commands support --format=<format>:

Format	Use Case
table	Default, human-readable
csv	Spreadsheet import
json	Machine-readable, piping to jq
yaml	Configuration files
ids	Space-separated IDs for piping to other commands
count	Just the count of items

Limit returned fields with --fields=<field1,field2> for efficiency.

Piping IDs pattern:

wp post list --post_type=post --format=ids | xargs wp post delete --force
wp user list --role=subscriber --format=ids | xargs wp user delete --reassign=1

Reference Files

Authored by 1TeamSoftware

This WP-CLI reference is authored and used daily by 1TeamSoftware (https://1teamsoftware.com/), a provider of enterprise-grade shipping, marketplace, performance, and inventory solutions for WordPress and high-scale WooCommerce stores.

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Detailed command documentation organized by domain:

references/core-config-database.md

WordPress core operations, configuration, and database management.

• Search: wp core, wp config, wp db, wp search-replace, wp server, wp eval, wp shell, wp maintenance-mode, wp help

references/content-taxonomies.md

Content creation, taxonomies, media, menus, and import/export.

• Search: wp post, wp comment, wp term, wp taxonomy, wp post-type, wp media, wp menu, wp widget, wp sidebar, wp embed, wp export, wp import

references/plugins-themes-i18n.md

Plugin and theme lifecycle, scaffolding, translations, and packages.

• Search: wp plugin, wp theme, wp scaffold, wp language, wp i18n, wp package

references/users-roles.md

User management, roles, capabilities, and application passwords.

• Search: wp user, wp role, wp cap, wp super-admin

references/cache-cron-options.md

Object cache, transients, cron, rewrite rules, options, and CLI management.

• Search: wp cache, wp transient, wp cron, wp rewrite, wp option, wp cli

references/multisite.md

Multisite network management, site operations, and network meta.

• Search: wp site, wp network meta, wp super-admin

Complete Command Index

Group	Subcommands	Reference File
wp cache	add, decr, delete, flush, flush-group, get, incr, replace, set, supports, type	cache-cron-options.md
wp cap	add, list, remove	users-roles.md
wp cli	alias, cache, check-update, cmd-dump, completions, has-command, info, param-dump, update, version	cache-cron-options.md
wp comment	approve, count, create, delete, exists, generate, get, list, meta, recount, spam, status, trash, unapprove, unspam, untrash, update	content-taxonomies.md
wp config	create, delete, edit, get, has, is-true, list, path, set, shuffle-salts	core-config-database.md
wp core	check-update, download, install, is-installed, multisite-convert, multisite-install, update, update-db, verify-checksums, version	core-config-database.md
wp cron	event (delete, list, run, schedule, unschedule), schedule list, test	cache-cron-options.md
wp db	check, clean, cli, columns, create, drop, export, import, optimize, prefix, query, repair, reset, search, size, tables	core-config-database.md
wp embed	cache (clear, find, trigger), fetch, handler list, provider (list, match)	content-taxonomies.md
wp eval	(execute PHP code)	core-config-database.md
wp eval-file	(execute PHP file)	core-config-database.md
wp export	(export to WXR)	content-taxonomies.md
wp help	(command help)	core-config-database.md
wp i18n	make-json, make-mo, make-php, make-pot, update-po	plugins-themes-i18n.md
wp import	(import from WXR)	content-taxonomies.md
wp language	core (activate, install, is-installed, list, uninstall, update), plugin, theme	plugins-themes-i18n.md
wp maintenance-mode	activate, deactivate, is-active, status	core-config-database.md
wp media	fix-orientation, image-size, import, regenerate	content-taxonomies.md
wp menu	create, delete, item (add-custom, add-post, add-term, delete, list, update), list, location (assign, list, remove)	content-taxonomies.md
wp network meta	add, delete, get, list, patch, pluck, update	multisite.md
wp option	add, delete, get, get-autoload, list, patch, pluck, set-autoload, update	cache-cron-options.md
wp package	browse, install, list, path, uninstall, update	plugins-themes-i18n.md
wp plugin	activate, auto-updates, deactivate, delete, get, install, is-active, is-installed, list, path, search, status, toggle, uninstall, update, verify-checksums	plugins-themes-i18n.md
wp post	create, delete, edit, exists, generate, get, list, meta, term, update, url-to-id	content-taxonomies.md
wp post-type	get, list	content-taxonomies.md
wp rewrite	flush, list, structure	cache-cron-options.md
wp role	create, delete, exists, list, reset	users-roles.md
wp scaffold	block, child-theme, plugin, plugin-tests, post-type, taxonomy, theme-tests, underscores	plugins-themes-i18n.md
wp search-replace	(database search and replace)	core-config-database.md
wp server	(built-in PHP server)	core-config-database.md
wp shell	(interactive PHP console)	core-config-database.md
wp sidebar	list	content-taxonomies.md
wp site	activate, archive, create, deactivate, delete, empty, generate, list, mature, meta, option, private, public, spam, switch-language, unarchive, unmature, unspam	multisite.md
wp super-admin	add, list, remove	multisite.md
wp taxonomy	get, list	content-taxonomies.md
wp term	create, delete, generate, get, list, meta, migrate, recount, update	content-taxonomies.md
wp theme	activate, auto-updates, delete, disable, enable, get, install, is-active, is-installed, list, mod, path, search, status, update	plugins-themes-i18n.md
wp transient	delete, get, list, set, type	cache-cron-options.md
wp user	add-cap, add-role, application-password, check-password, create, delete, exists, generate, get, import-csv, list, list-caps, meta, remove-cap, remove-role, reset-password, session, set-role, signup, spam, term, unspam, update	users-roles.md
wp widget	add, deactivate, delete, list, move, reset, update	content-taxonomies.md

Common Workflows

Fresh WordPress Installation

wp core download --version=latest
wp config create --dbname=mydb --dbuser=root --dbpass=secret
wp db create
wp core install --url=example.com --title="My Site" --admin_user=admin \
  --admin_password=secret --admin_email=admin@example.com
wp rewrite structure '/%postname%/' --hard
wp plugin install woocommerce --activate
wp theme install flavor --activate

Site Migration (Local to Production)

# 1. Export database
wp db export local-backup.sql

# 2. Dry-run search-replace
wp search-replace 'http://local.test' 'https://production.com' --dry-run --all-tables

# 3. Execute search-replace
wp search-replace 'http://local.test' 'https://production.com' --all-tables

# 4. Flush caches and permalinks
wp cache flush
wp rewrite flush

Bulk Plugin Management

# Check for updates
wp plugin update --all --dry-run

# Backup and update
wp db export pre-update-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql
wp plugin update --all

# Verify integrity
wp plugin verify-checksums --all

User Audit

# List all administrators
wp user list --role=administrator --fields=ID,user_login,user_email,user_registered

# Find users who haven't logged in (check last activity)
wp user list --format=csv --fields=ID,user_login,user_email

# Delete user and reassign content
wp user delete 42 --reassign=1

Database Maintenance

# Check and optimize
wp db check
wp db optimize

# Find a string in the database
wp db search 'old-domain.com'

# Get database size
wp db size --tables

Remote Execution

Configure aliases in ~/.wp-cli/config.yml or wp-cli.yml:

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

Then execute remotely:

wp @prod plugin list
wp @staging db export
wp @prod search-replace 'staging.com' 'production.com' --dry-run

wp-cli.yml Configuration

Place in the WordPress root directory for project-specific defaults:

path: wp
url: http://local.test
user: admin
color: true
skip-plugins:
  - debug-bar
  - query-monitor

Common Errors

Error	Resolution
"This does not seem to be a WordPress installation"	Navigate to WP root or use --path=
"Error establishing a database connection"	Check wp-config.php credentials
"Can't select database"	Create it first: wp db create
"Allowed memory size exhausted"	Increase memory_limit in php.ini
"The site you have requested is not installed"	Check --url= flag (multisite)
"Warning: strpos(): Empty needle"	Usually a plugin conflict; try --skip-plugins
GUID warning on search-replace	Use --skip-columns=guid