WordPress WP-CLI Admin

Operate WordPress installs through WP-CLI for inspection, core maintenance, plugin and theme management, users, options, content, media, cron, database tasks, and multisite-aware administration. Use when shell, SSH, or node-local access exists and the task should be done with wp instead of the REST API or custom WP-CLI package development.

Use this skill when a WordPress task belongs in wp, not /wp-json.

The point of this skill is not to memorize every command. The point is to get to the right command family, attach the right global flags, inspect the target install first, and avoid reckless write operations.

Use This Skill For

• checking whether a target install is healthy and reachable with wp
• plugin and theme management
• users, roles, comments, posts, pages, terms, and media operations
• options, transients, rewrites, cron, and cache-related site work
• core version, update, checksum, and maintenance tasks
• database export, import, and search-replace work
• multisite-aware administration when --url matters

Do Not Use This Skill For

• REST-only integrations where the caller has HTTP access but not shell access
• building custom WP-CLI commands or packages
• blind destructive operations without a read-first pass or backup path

Workflow

1. Inspect The Install First

Start with:

bash

scripts/inspect-install.sh --path /srv/www/site
scripts/inspect-install.sh --path /srv/www/site --url https://example.com

This checks that wp exists, confirms the path looks like a WordPress install, and prints useful status for core, URLs, plugins, and themes.

If you need the live command tree:

bash

scripts/list-commands.sh
scripts/list-commands.sh --group plugin

2. Choose The Right Command Family

Read references/command-families.md.

Default mapping:

• core health or updates: core
• installed code: plugin, theme, language
• content and taxonomy: post, page, comment, term, category, tag
• accounts and permissions: user, role, cap, super-admin
• config and runtime: option, transient, cron, rewrite, cache
• database and migration: db, search-replace
• multisite: site, network, super-admin

3. Attach The Right Global Flags

Read references/global-flags-and-safety.md.

Common flags:

• --path=<path>
• --url=<url>
• --user=<login>
• --ssh=<target>
• --http=<url>
• --skip-plugins
• --skip-themes
• --debug
• --quiet
• --format=json

4. Prefer Read-First Commands

Examples:

bash

wp plugin list --format=table
wp theme list --format=table
wp option get home
wp core version
wp cron event list

Only then move to write operations such as plugin update, search-replace, option update, or db import.

5. Treat High-Risk Operations As Change Windows

Before destructive work:

• export the database
• use search-replace --dry-run when available
• verify the target URL in multisite
• avoid running broad updates without confirming versions and dependencies

Files

• scripts/inspect-install.sh: inspect a target WordPress path with WP-CLI
• scripts/list-commands.sh: print wp help or wp help <group> for live command discovery
• references/command-families.md: command family cheat sheet for common WordPress admin tasks
• references/global-flags-and-safety.md: global arg patterns, remote execution, and destructive-operation rules