WP-CLI (WordPress Command Line Interface) is the official command-line tool for managing WordPress installations without a web browser, allowing developers and DevOps engineers to perform administrative tasks via shell scripts and SSH. Core capabilities include: updating WordPress core, plugins, and themes in bulk (wp core update, wp plugin update --all), running database exports and imports (wp db export, wp db import), flushing caches (wp cache flush), managing users, generating dummy content for testing, running custom code in the WordPress context (wp eval and wp eval-file), and scaffolding plugin and theme boilerplate. WP-CLI is essential for CI/CD pipelines, batch content operations, and maintenance tasks that would require dozens of admin screen clicks when performed manually. All major managed WordPress hosts (WP Engine, Kinsta, Cloudflare) support WP-CLI access over SSH.
Glossary entry