- \n
- What is WP-CLI<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Download WordPress with WP-CLI<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Install WordPress with WP-CLI<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Manage Themes and Plugins with the CLI<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Theme update commands in WordPress CLI<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- WordPress CLI plugin commands<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Create users using the WordPress CLI<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Get experimenting with WP-CLI<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
What is WP-CLI?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"WP-CLI](\"https:\/\/www.20i.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/wp-cli-logo.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWordPress CLI is the command line interface for WordPress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will allow you to manage certain aspects of your WordPress website without having to log in to the wp-admin area. You\u2019ll be able to install and update plugins and themes, update WordPress core version and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WP-CLI is readily available with your 20i hosting and can be accessed through SSH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Essentially, whatever task you need to do in wp-admin, there is usually an equivalent with WP-CLI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you\u2019ll be able to complete the task with much less navigation and not wait for a page in wp-admin to load, using WP-CLI for those tasks will be much quicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re already familiar with SSH and the command line, WP-CLI won\u2019t be daunting to use and will be a great addition to your developer tools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re a beginner or not familiar with command line, this article will be a good starting point for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Download WordPress with WP-CLI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Downloading WordPress using WP-CLI will mainly apply to your website if it is hosted on our Shared Linux Hosting platform. Websites hosted on our optimised WordPress hosting platform<\/a> will already provision with WordPress files pre-installed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If this is your first-time using command line and WP-CLI and you\u2019re just looking to play around and experiment, I recommend to create a new non-live hosting package or a directory which will not affect your live website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, you will need to access your website via SSH. We have a support guide on how to connect your website using SSH<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’ve successfully configured SSH and connected to your website, you will be placed in the root of the website. You can check the current directory by running this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
pwd<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThis will output the path to your current directory in the following format:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\/Path\/to\/your\/current\/directory<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nIf you want to create a directory to download WordPress in to, you can use the \u2018mkdir\u2019 command to create the directory. The following example will create \u2018wordpress\u2019 directory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
mkdir wordpress<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nYou can then navigate to the directory using the \u2018cd\u2019 command. Here is an example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
cd wordpress<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nYou can check the directory by running pwd as before this will output the path to the directory, i.e:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Path\/to\/directory\/wordpress<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nNow that you\u2019re in the directory you want to install WordPress in to, you can now download WordPress using WP-CLI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every WP-CLI command will start with \u2018wp\u2019 and then a following command. The following command will download WordPress in your current directory:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp core download<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/www.20i.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/screenshot-of-wordpress-being-downloaded-via-cli.png\")
WordPress core download<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Install WordPress with WP-CLI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once WordPress has downloaded, you’ll be able to continue with the installation process using WP-CLI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Please note, if you haven\u2019t created a database<\/strong>, you will need to do so. Then, you\u2019ll need to create or update your wp-config.php file to connect to the database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can create a database via My20i hosting control panel<\/a> > \u2018MySQL Databases\u2019. You can find detailed instructions here: Create a MySQL database<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"MySQL](\"https:\/\/www.20i.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Database-creation.png\")
My20i databases<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve created the database, you can create a wp-config.php file with your database credentials by using the following WP-CLI command:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp config create --dbname='dbname-example' --dbuser='db-user-example' --dbhost='db-host.mysql.example' --dbpass='strongpassword'<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nYou will just need replace the data between the quote marks with your real database credentials. I\u2019ve broken down what each part of the command is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018--dbname=\u2019 This is where you\u2019d input your database name \n\u2018--dbuser=\u2019 Where you\u2019d input your database username \n\u2018--dbhost=\u2019 Your database hostname \n\u2018--dbpass=\u2019 Database password<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nYour WordPress installation will now be connected to the database you\u2019ve created, and you can complete your WordPress install.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following command will set the website URL, website title, create the admin user, password and email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp core install --url='yourdomain.com' --title='yourwebsitename' --admin_user='admin' --admin_password='strongpassword' --admin_email='user@example.com'<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nAs before, you\u2019ll just need to replace the data between the quote marks with the real details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once that’s done, your WordPress website should be up and ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/www.20i.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/rsz_2wpexample.png\")
WordPress theme<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Manage Themes and Plugins with WP-CLI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Now your WordPress installation has completed, you can now start installing your plugins and themes. Here are some simple commands which should help you get started with plugin and theme management. We\u2019ll start with theme related commands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You’ll be able to install a theme directly from wordpress.org using WordPress CLI, which will be the latest version,<\/ins> or you can install from a local or remote zip file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme install <theme|zip|url><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nHere are some examples of each option:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will install the latest version from wordpress.org and activate the theme:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme install twentytwentytwo --activate<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/www.20i.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/wordpress-theme-installing-via-cli.png\")
WordPress theme installed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n You can search for a theme that\u2019s available within wordpress.org by using the following command in WP-CLI:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme search <keyword><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n![\"Searching](\"https:\/\/www.20i.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/wpthemesearch.png\")
WordPress theme search<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n You can then install a theme by using the \u2018slug\u2019 name in your command<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will install from a local zip file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme install path\/to\/zip-file.zip<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThis will install from a zip file that is located remotely<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme install http:\/\/domain.com\/wp-theme.zip<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n![\"Installing](\"https:\/\/www.20i.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/rsz_wpthemeinstalllocalzip.png\")
Install theme<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n If this was successful, you’ll see the same \u2018success\u2019 message as above in the screenshot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Theme update commands in WP-CLI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The following commands will update the themes that you\u2019ve installed to your WordPress installation. The usual practice would be to do this in the wp-admin area but by using WP-CLI the process will be much quicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Update a theme:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme update <theme name><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nUpdate multiple themes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme update twentytwentytwo twentytwentyone<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nUpdate all themes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme update --all<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nExclude a theme when bulk updating themes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme update --all --exclude=twentytwentyone<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nActivate a theme:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme activate <theme><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nDeactivate a theme:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme deactivate <theme><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nPlugin commands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the same way as above, you can install a plugin from wordpress.org, a local zip file or a remote zip file via a URL<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Install the latest plugin from wordpress.org and activate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp plugin install <plugin name> --activate<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nInstall from a local zip file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp plugin install path\/to\/plugin.zip<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nTo install from a remote zip file via a URL:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp plugin install https:\/\/domain.com\/wp-plugin.zip<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nUpdate a plugin or multiple plugins:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp plugin update <plugin name><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nActivate plugin or multiple plugins:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp plugin activate <plugin><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nDeactivate plugin or multiple plugins:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp plugin deactivate <plugin><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nNow that you have your desired themes and plugins installed, you\u2019ll be able to view a list of what you have installed, status, if an update is available and the version of plugin or theme:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp theme list<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThis will display something like the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
+—————–+———-+——–+———+<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| name | status | update | version |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
+—————–+———-+——–+———+<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| phox-child | inactive | none | 1.0.0 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| phox | active | none | 2.1.4 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| twentytwenty | inactive | none | 1.9 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| twentytwentyone | inactive | none | 1.5 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| twentytwentytwo | inactive | none | 1.1 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
+—————–+———-+——–+———+<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp plugin list<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n+———————–+———-+———–+———+<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| name | status | update | version |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
+———————–+———-+———–+———+<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| akismet | active | available | 4.2.2 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| contact-form-7 | active | available | 5.5.6 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| elementor | active | none | 3.6.5 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| envato-market | active | none | 2.0.7 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| hello | active | none | 1.7.2 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| one-click-demo-import | active | none | 3.1.1 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| phox-host | active | none | 1.7.6 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| really-simple-ssl | active | available | 5.3.1 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| revslider | active | none | 6.5.19 |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| wp-stack-cache | must-use | none | |<\/p>\n\n\n\n
+———————–+———-+———–+———+<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Create WP Users using the WordPress CLI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
So that\u2019s your WordPress website mostly set up. If you want to add additional WordPress admin users to your website, you can do so using WP-CLI. Here’s an example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp user create \u2018user\u2019 \u2018user@example.com\u2019 --role=\u2018\u2019<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nYou will just need to fill the data between the quote marks. For the role of the user, possible values are \u2018administrator\u2019, \u2018editor\u2019, \u2018author\u2019, \u2018contributor\u2019, \u2018subscriber\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are additional options you can add to the above command, here are a few examples<\/p>\n\n\n\n
--user_pass<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThis will create the password for the user<\/p>\n\n\n\n
--send-email<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nSends the user an email with their new account credentials<\/p>\n\n\n\n
--porcelain<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nThis will output just the user ID after running the command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, your command will look something like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wp user create 'user' 'user@example.com' --role='administrator' --user_pass='superstrongpassword' --send-email<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\nYou’ll just need to replace the data between the quote marks (\u2018\u2019) with the real data. After the command is run, you’ll have successfully set up the user using WP-CLI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Get experimenting with WP-CLI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Hopefully this guide has been helpful and given you a feel for WP-CLI and the benefits of speed and efficiency it offers. <\/ins><\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can create a WordPress install, install and manage themes and create users very quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This guide is just a starting point and you can build on your knowledge by exploring the commands on the WordPress official website<\/a> and having a play around with them in your 20i WordPress Hosting<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s a great way to impress clients with your \u2018leet codr\u2019 skills! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are there WP-CLI commands you make of use regularly? Let us know below.<\/p>\n\n\n
- Download WordPress with WP-CLI<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
![\"Managed](\"https:\/\/www.20i.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Blog-Ad-WordPress-1200x625-1.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n