wp-cli

wp-cli

Terminal-first WordPress operations. Safer than wp-admin for bulk work, scriptable, SSH-friendly, and won't time out on 10k-row updates.

Only inspection commands and wp db export (which takes a backup) run without a prompt. Every mutating command — search-replace, db import, db reset, plugin/theme installs, user and post writes — prompts before it runs. That friction is deliberate: this skill routinely points at production.

Reference files live in ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/.

When NOT to use

• One-off edits a content editor would do in 10 seconds in the admin UI. CLI is overkill and error-prone for single-row clicks.
• Data transformations that span millions of rows — WP's ORM will be slow; consider a direct SQL migration with an explicit transaction.
• Anything that needs to run inside a WordPress plugin's hook lifecycle (e.g., REST validation, custom post type registration) — that's PHP code, not CLI.
• Destructive commands without a current backup. wp db reset, wp db clean, bulk deletes — always snapshot first.

Preflight

Always verify before doing anything:

wp --version                  # wp-cli is installed
wp core is-installed          # WordPress is actually set up at this path
wp core version               # which WP version

If not at the WordPress root, pass --path=/path/to/wordpress or cd there first. On remote hosts, use --ssh=user@host/path or a configured alias (see Remote Execution).

Safety patterns

Backup before destructive work

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

# Full site snapshot (db + content)
tar -czf site-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).tar.gz wp-content/ backup-*.sql

Dry-run when available

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

Dangerous commands — confirm explicitly

These are irreversible without a backup. Confirm with the user before running:

• wp db reset — drops every table
• wp db clean — drops every table matching the current $table_prefix
• wp site delete (multisite) — removes a site and its content
• wp user delete without --reassign — orphans the user's posts (they get deleted too). Always pass --reassign=<new_author_id> to reassign their content first. The flag exists because orphaning content is almost never what you want — the user's posts are the institutional record, not the user row.
• wp post delete $(wp post list --format=ids) and similar bulk-delete pipes — quietly turn the whole site into a blank page if the filter is wrong.

Performance flags

--format=json              # machine-readable
--format=csv               # spreadsheet import
--format=ids               # space-separated IDs, for piping
--fields=ID,post_title     # return only what you need
--skip-plugins             # bypass plugin load (fast, may break plugin-dependent commands)
--skip-themes              # bypass theme load
--quiet                    # suppress info output

--skip-plugins is a scalpel: it makes wp db export instant, but breaks commands that rely on a plugin's hooks (e.g., ACF exporters, custom taxonomies registered by a plugin).

Command catalog

Full flag docs and gotchas are in references/commands.md. Categories:

Category	Prefix	Typical use
Database	wp db	export, import, query, optimize, search-replace
Core	wp core	install, update, verify-checksums, version
Plugins	wp plugin	list, install, activate, update, delete
Themes	wp theme	list, install, activate, update, delete, theme mod
Users	wp user	create, list, delete (--reassign), update, roles, generate
Posts / Pages	wp post	list, create, update, delete, generate, post term
Comments	wp comment	list, approve, spam, trash, delete
Options	wp option	get, update, delete, list, pluck/patch for nested values
Cache	wp cache / wp transient	flush, delete, set, list
Cron	wp cron	event list/run/schedule/delete, cron test
Config	wp config	create, get, set, shuffle-salts
Multisite	wp site	list, create, delete, empty, activate/archive

Workflows

Full step-by-step workflows live in references/, split by task — load only the one the user is doing end-to-end:

Workflow	File
Site migration (local → prod) + search-replace	references/examples-migration.md
Plugin updates with rollback, debugging, DB maintenance	references/examples-maintenance.md
User audit, cleanup, safe password rotation	references/examples-users.md
Bulk content import from CSV	references/examples-content.md
Multisite / network operations	references/examples-multisite.md

Remote execution

Ad-hoc SSH

ssh [email protected] "cd /var/www/html && wp plugin list"

Configured aliases (preferred)

Define aliases once in ~/.wp-cli/config.yml:

@prod:
  ssh: [email protected]/var/www/html
@staging:
  ssh: [email protected]/var/www/staging

Then:

wp @prod plugin list
wp @staging db export

Aliases beat ad-hoc SSH because they compose with every wp-cli flag (wp @prod --dry-run search-replace ...) and don't invite shell-quoting bugs.

Common errors

Error	Cause	Fix
The site you have requested is not installed	Not at WordPress root / wp-config.php missing	cd to root or --path=/path/to/wordpress
MySQL connection failed	Bad credentials or MySQL down	Check wp-config.php, confirm MySQL is running
Error: Can't select database	DB doesn't exist	wp db create
PHP Fatal error: Allowed memory size exhausted	Large op or heavy plugins	php -d memory_limit=512M $(which wp) db export
This does not seem to be a WordPress installation	WP files not found	Check directory; confirm WP is actually installed
The \guid` column is often used ... but should not be updated`	Expected warning	--skip-columns=guid suppresses it; GUIDs are permanent IDs, not URLs

Antipatterns — when wp-cli is the wrong tool

• Looping over millions of rows in shell with xargs or for. Each wp invocation bootstraps WordPress; 1M iterations = days. Prefer a single wp db query with a proper SQL statement, or a PHP-side batched job.
• Using wp search-replace without --precise on serialized data larger than a hobby blog. --precise is slower but handles PHP serialized strings correctly; without it, serialized arrays silently corrupt.
• Validation and domain logic. If the logic belongs inside a WP plugin's hook lifecycle, do it there. wp-cli is for operational work, not business rules.
• Credential-bearing commands in your shell history. wp user create with --user_pass=... leaks. Pipe the password in or let wp-cli prompt.

Best practices

1. Staging first, always. Never run an untested command on production.
2. Track wp-config.php changes in version control when feasible (exclude secrets).
3. Read the output. wp-cli warnings often precede data loss.
4. Document non-obvious workflows — migrations, multisite conversions — as they happen; future-you will not remember which flags you used.
5. --format=json whenever piping to jq or another script. The default human format rots.
6. Verify after big changes — load the homepage, check admin, exercise critical paths.
7. Keep wp-cli current: wp cli update (Phar installs only — Homebrew and Composer installs update through their package manager).

References

• references/commands.md — detailed command + flag reference by category
• Workflow guides (load on demand):
  • references/examples-migration.md — migration + search-replace
  • references/examples-maintenance.md — plugin updates, debugging, DB maintenance
  • references/examples-users.md — user audit & cleanup
  • references/examples-content.md — CSV content import
  • references/examples-multisite.md — multisite operations
• Upstream docs: https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/