{"id":251354,"date":"2026-09-18T12:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T12:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muhamedahmed.com\/wp-cli-commands\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T04:15:18","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T04:15:18","slug":"wp-cli-commands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muhamedahmed.com\/en\/wp-cli-commands\/","title":{"rendered":"WP-CLI Commands I Use Every Week (With Real Examples)"},"content":{"rendered":"

WP-CLI commands<\/strong> let you manage WordPress from the terminal: export and import the database, update core, plugins and themes, run search-replace, manage users, regenerate images, flush caches, run cron events and manage WooCommerce data. The commands below are the ones I use most, with the exact syntax and the safety habits around them.<\/p>\n

This is part of my automation series<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What is WP-CLI and why use it?<\/h2>\n

WP-CLI is the official command-line tool for WordPress. It is faster than clicking through the admin, works when the admin is broken, and makes tasks repeatable in scripts. On slow servers it also avoids web timeouts for long jobs, such as regenerating thousands of thumbnails.<\/p>\n

Check it is available:<\/p>\n

wp --info\nwp core version\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Run commands from the WordPress root, or add --path=\/path\/to\/site<\/code>.<\/p>\n
Backups and the database<\/h2>\n
# Export before anything risky\nwp db export ~\/backups\/site-$(date +%F).sql\n\n# Import (overwrites the database!)\nwp db import ~\/backups\/site-2026-10-01.sql\n\n# Database size and tables\nwp db size --tables\n\n# Optimise tables\nwp db optimize\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Rule I never break: export first, then change.<\/p>\n
Updates<\/h2>\n
wp core check-update\nwp plugin list --update=available\nwp plugin update --all --dry-run\nwp plugin update woocommerce\nwp theme update --all\nwp core update && wp core update-db\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
For stores, I update major plugins one at a time on staging first. Combined with a plugin audit<\/a>, this keeps sites stable.<\/p>\n
Search and replace<\/h2>\n
The classic use: moving a site to a new domain or from HTTP to HTTPS. WP-CLI handles serialised data correctly, unlike a raw SQL replace.<\/p>\n
wp search-replace 'http:\/\/old.example.com' 'https:\/\/example.com' --all-tables --dry-run\nwp search-replace 'http:\/\/old.example.com' 'https:\/\/example.com' --all-tables --precise\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Read the dry-run output before running it for real. Useful for migrations<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Users<\/h2>\n
wp user list --role=administrator --fields=ID,user_login,user_registered\nwp user create jane jane@example.org --role=editor\nwp user update 12 --role=subscriber\nwp user application-password list 1\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Reviewing administrators regularly is part of my security checklist<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Content and options<\/h2>\n
wp post list --post_type=page --fields=ID,post_title,post_status\nwp post create --post_type=post --post_title='Draft title' --post_status=draft\nwp post meta get 123 _thumbnail_id\nwp option get permalink_structure\nwp option update blog_public 1   # make sure search engines are not discouraged\nwp rewrite flush\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Media<\/h2>\n
wp media regenerate --only-missing --yes\nwp media import ~\/images\/*.jpg --post_id=123\nwp media image-size\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
--only-missing<\/code> is gentle on slow servers. See image optimisation<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Cache and transients<\/h2>\n
wp cache flush                   # object cache\nwp transient delete --expired\nwp transient delete --all\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Page cache plugins usually register their own commands; check wp help<\/code> to see what is installed.<\/p>\n
Cron<\/h2>\n
wp cron event list\nwp cron event run --due-now\nwp cron test\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Details in the WP-Cron guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n
WooCommerce<\/h2>\n
WooCommerce adds commands under wp wc<\/code>, mapping to its REST API. Most need a user:<\/p>\n
wp wc product list --user=1 --fields=id,name,sku,stock_quantity\nwp wc order list --user=1 --status=processing\nwp wc webhook list --user=1\nwp wc tool run clear_transients --user=1\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Related: WooCommerce webhooks<\/a> and CSV product imports<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Running PHP<\/h2>\n
wp eval 'echo get_bloginfo("name");'\nwp eval-file scripts\/fix-meta.php\nwp shell\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
eval-file<\/code> is my preferred way to run one-off data fixes: the script is reviewed, versioned and repeatable.<\/p>\n
Writing a custom command<\/h2>\n
When I repeat the same steps, I make a command. In a plugin:<\/p>\n
if ( defined( 'WP_CLI' ) && WP_CLI ) {\n    WP_CLI::add_command( 'mx stale-drafts', function ( $args, $assoc ) {\n        $days  = isset( $assoc['days'] ) ? absint( $assoc['days'] ) : 90;\n        $posts = get_posts( array(\n            'post_status' => 'draft',\n            'numberposts' => -1,\n            'date_query'  => array( array( 'before' => "$days days ago" ) ),\n        ) );\n        foreach ( $posts as $p ) {\n            WP_CLI::log( sprintf( '%d  %s', $p->ID, $p->post_title ) );\n        }\n        WP_CLI::success( count( $posts ) . ' stale drafts.' );\n    } );\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Run with wp mx stale-drafts --days=60<\/code>. Custom commands are also safer for AI-assisted work: one reviewed command is easier to trust than many ad-hoc changes.<\/p>\n
Running remotely<\/h2>\n
WP-CLI supports SSH aliases in wp-cli.yml<\/code>:<\/p>\n
@prod:\n  ssh: user@example.com:22\/home\/user\/public_html\n<\/code><\/pre>\n
Then wp @prod plugin list<\/code> runs on the server from your machine.<\/p>\n
Safety habits<\/h2>\n