How WordPress installations are implemented and managed with WP-CLI

WordPress is one of the content management systems (CMS) used to create and manage websites.WordPress provides a powerful command line interface (CLI) called WP-CLIThe

The WP-CLI is a set of tools for managing WordPress Installationcommand line tool that can be used in a computer terminal or command prompt. With WP-CLI, various tasks can be performed, such asUpdating WordPress, plugins and themes, managing users and roles, and importing and exporting data, without having to leave the terminal.

In this article, learn how to install and use WP-CLI to manage a WordPress site through the terminal, including basic and advanced WP-CLI commands for different tasks.

WP-CLI Overview

WP-CLI WP-CLI is an open source project, developed and maintained by a community of developers. It is compatible with most UNIX-like operating systems , including Linux, macOS and Windows. WP-CLI requires PHP 5.6.0 or later , and can be installed as a global package or local dependencies through the Composer package manager .

One of the main advantages of using the WP-CLI is itsSpeed and efficiency. It is often faster to use command line tools than to operate through a graphical user interface (GUI), especially when performing repetitive tasks or automating complex operations.The commands of the WP-CLI can be easily scripted and integrated with other command line tools, which makes it very powerful for developers. (difficult for newbies, just understand)

Advantages of using WP-CLI

Here are some of the main advantages of managing WordPress with WP-CLI:

1. Speed and efficiency
   WP-CLI can quickly and efficiently perform a variety of actions on a WordPress website without manual intervention. This is useful for managing large or complex websites and automating routine tasks.
2. Enhance work efficiency
   With WP-CLI, you can perform multiple tasks at the same time, saving time and increasing efficiency. This is a boon for developers who manage multiple websites at the same time.
3. Enhanced control
   WP-CLI provides greater control over your website, enabling more efficient management of files, plugins, themes and other components. Useful for developers who need to debug or troubleshoot website issues.
4. Improved security
   WP-CLI makes it easier to manage user accounts, passwords, and other security-related settings, helping to maintain a more secure and stable WordPress installation.
5. Task automation
   WP-CLI is able to automate many common WordPress tasks, such asbacking up, update and optimize. It saves time and also reduces the risk of human error.

Requirements for WP-CLI

To install WP-CLI, you need to have a supporting SSH Access The hosting (AliCloud,Tencent cloud(Or any random one from Amazon Cloud).

Almost all popular WordPress hosts support SSH access to the server. Before installing WP-CLI, the environment should meet the following minimum requirements:

• PHP: WP-CLI requires PHP 5.6.0 or higher, PHP 7 or higher is recommended.
• WordPress: WP-CLI for WordPress 3.7 or higher. (Of course they are now updated toWordPress 6.7 (I've got it.)
• operating system: WP-CLI is compatible with Linux, macOS and Windows operating systems. However, WP-CLI has limited support in Windows environment.

These are the basic requirements for installing and using WP-CLI. Specific requirements may vary depending on the plugins and themes used on the site.

How to install WP-CLI

Here are the simple steps to install WP-CLI:

Connect to the server root via SSH

To access the server with SSH, ask for the following information:

• Administrator username and password
• Server IP Address
• port number

Then you need to create a Key Pair. Depending on the operating system, refer to the tools and tutorials below:

• Windows (computer): using PuTTY
• Linux: Using Ubuntu's own terminal
• Mac: with Termius

this paper is based on PuTTY as an example, but you can choose other terminal emulators as well.

In PuTTY:

• show (a ticket) Sessions Page.
• importationHost Name or IP Address, and the port number (Port).
• Select the connection type as SSHThe
• Click on the bottom of the Open Button.

After connecting to the server, you will be prompted to enter your username and password, which can be found in theServer DetailsFound in.

How to use WP-CLI

After installing WP-CLI on your computer, you can open a terminal window and type "wp", then enter the command and its parameters to run the different WP-CLI commands.

The following are the common management functions of WP-CLI:

• Managing WordPress Manage your WordPress site with WP-CLI, including updates, settings and actions.
• Managing WordPress Themes Install, activate, update or remove themes with WP-CLI.
• Managing WordPress Plugins Install, enable, disable, or update plug-ins with WP-CLI.
• Managing WordPress Core Use WP-CLI to update WordPress core files, install a specific version, or check version information.
• Managing WordPress Multisite Manage a WordPress multisite network with WP-CLI, including creating new sites or managing existing ones.
• Search or replace strings Search or replace strings in the database with WP-CLI, great for changing URLs or updating content in bulk.
• List all supported commands Use the WP-CLI to view all supported commands, enter the following command for a complete list:

wp help

1. Managing WordPress with WP-CLI

The next step is to download and configure WordPress via the WP-CLI command.

Download WordPress

The following command is to download the latest version of WordPress core files:

wp core download

Create the wp-config file

Generate it with the following command wp-config.php file, which contains the main configuration settings for your WordPress website:

wp config create --dbname=testing --dbuser=wp --dbpass=securepswd --locale=ro_RO

Sample Database Configuration::

• Database Name:testing
• Database username:wp
• Database password:securepswd

Example of Command Options

The previously mentioned command is just a variant of the WP-CLI functionality that generates a standard version of the wp-config.php Documentation.

The following is a variant of the command that will wp-config.php Papersstart using WP_DEBUG respond in singing WP_DEBUG_LOG::

# Enable WP_DEBUG and WP_DEBUG_LOG

wp config create --dbname=testing --dbuser=wp --dbpass=securepswd --extra-php <<PHP

define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );

define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );

WP_DEBUG_LOG

#Success: Generated 'wp-config.php' file.

Success Tip::#Success: Generated 'wp-config.php' file.

Preventing security breaches

Administrator user credentials may be stored in the bash history. which can pose a serious security risk. the WP-CLI provides a command variant that addresses this problem:

# Avoid disclosing password to bash history by reading from password.txt

# Using --prompt=dbpass will prompt for the 'dbpass' argument

$ wp config create --dbname=testing --dbuser=wp --prompt=dbpass < password.txt

#Success: Generated 'wp-config.php' file.

Creating a database

Use the following command to create the database. Note that this line of command creates a database based on the wp-config.php The name of the database used in the fileCreate a new database::

wp db create

Installing WordPress

Installing WordPress on your server from the command line via WP-CLI is very simple. The command requires the following parameters:

• URL: Website address
• Title: Website Title
• Admin Username: Administrator username
• Password: Administrator password
• Admin Email: Administrator's mailbox

The following is a sample installation command:

wp core install --url=your_domain --title=Your_Blog_Title --admin_user=username --admin_password=password --admin_email=your_email.com

Success Tip: Congratulations! Your WordPress site has been successfully set up.

2. Managing WordPress Themes with WP-CLI

With WP-CLI, you can connect your server directly to the WordPress Theme Library and import themes quickly. Installation and activation of WordPress themes with WP-CLI is very simple, as well as updating and deleting themes with WP-CLI.

WP-CLI wp theme command combines options and parameters that can be used to handle all topic management tasks.

Install Theme

Install the theme with the following command. For example, install the Twenty Twenty Two theme:

wp theme install twentytwentytwo

take note of: Ensure that the theme name is used in the same way as the name in the page URL. For example, the parameter used here is twentytwentytwoThe

Activate the theme

After the installation is complete, run the following command to activate the theme:

wp theme activate twentytwentytwo

Once run, the WordPress website theme will change to Twenty Twenty Two.

3. Managing WordPress Plugins with WP-CLI

Installing WordPress plugins via WP-CLI is almost instantaneous as there is no need to click a button or login to the WordPress admin panel to install the plugin.

Installation of plug-ins

Run the following command to install the WordPress plugin:

wp plugin install [plugin name]

take note of: Will [plugin name] Replace with the plugin name, which should match the name in the page URL. For example, to install the Contact Form 7 plug-in that uses the contact-form-7 as a command parameter.

Installing WooCommerce

Here is the installation WooCommerce Example of a plugin which is an e-commerce plugin:

wp plugin install woocommerce

Within seconds the plugin is installed. After installation, run the following command to activate the plugin:

wp plugin activate woocommerce

4. Managing WordPress core with WP-CLI

Check WordPress core version

Run the following command to check the current version of WordPress core:

wp core version

command returns the current WordPress kernel version number.

Update WordPress core files

Run the following command to update the WordPress core files to the latest version:

wp core update

Once executed, the WordPress core will be updated to the latest available version on WordPress.org.

5. Manage WordPress Multisite with WP-CLI

For web agencies with many clients, WP-CLI is the fastest way to update all sites in a WordPress multisite.

Running WP-CLI Commands in WordPress Multisite

When running the WP-CLI command in WordPress Multisite, you must pass the --url parameter specifies a specific website URL on the network. for example:

wp theme status twentytwentytwo --url=yourwebsite.com

The above command checks the yourwebsite.com posted on Twenty Twenty Two State of the Subject.

6. Search or replace strings with WP-CLI

When migrating a website to a new server, many people will run into the problem of old URLs needing to be replaced. This can be solved by using WP-CLI's search and replace command.

Search and replace command

Run the following command for search and replace:

wp search-replace https://oldsite.com https://newsite.com

7. List all commands supported by WP-CLI.

To get started with WP-CLI, simply type wp Then press enter and the system will list all the supported commands for managing WordPress via WP-CLI.

View details of the command and its options

Run the following commands for more detailed information about a command and its options:

wp help

For example, to get detailed information about plug-in commands, you can run the following command:

wp help plugin

WP-CLI Command List

The following are some common WP-CLI commands and their functions:

WP-CLI provides more commands to operate your WordPress site according to your needs. A complete list of commands and instructions for using them can be found in the official document Found in.

summarize

WP-CLI provides a rich set of commands that allow users to easily install, activate, deactivate, update and manage WordPress plugins, themes and core files. It can also be used to manage posts, users and WordPress databases, making it a powerful WordPress administration tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I run WP-CLI commands on WordPress?

Follow these steps to run the WP-CLI command:

1. Connect to the server's root directory via SSH;
2. Download WP-CLI on the server;
3. Install WordPress and start using WP-CLI.

Q: In which directory can I install WordPress?

It is recommended to install WordPress in the root directory. In Cloudways, we install it in the public_html folder.

Q: How can I view users via WP-CLI?

Use the following ah command to view the list of users:

wp user list --field=ID

Q: How can I activate or deactivate a plugin directly through WP-CLI?

Installation of plug-ins: Install the plugin with the following command:

wp plugin install woocommerce

Activation Plugin: Activate the plugin with the following command:

wp plugin activate woocommerce

Deactivating plug-ins: Deactivate the plugin with the following command:

wp plugin deactivate woocommerce