Title: Shell Friends Author: Pascal Birchler Published: June 12, 2025 Last modified: July 1, 2025 --- # Shell Friends ## In this article * [You Should Know](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#you-should-know) - [Search through your bash history](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#search-through-your-bash-history) - [Combine WP-CLI commands](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#combine-wp-cli-commands) - [Define aliases, short macros to common commands](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#define-aliases-short-macros-to-common-commands) - [Save command output](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#save-command-output) * [Snippets](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#snippets) - [Take a look at the plugin changelog](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#take-a-look-at-the-plugin-changelog) - [Start wp-cli with ABSPATH in the current dir and under the current dir’s owner](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#start-wp-cli-with-abspath-in-the-current-dir-and-under-the-current-dirs-owner) - [Install and Configure WordPress with WP-CLI](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#install-and-configure-wordpress-with-wp-cli) - [List all image URL-s in posts](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#list-all-image-url-s-in-posts) - [Create a page from a file and flag it with the file name](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#create-a-page-from-a-file-and-flag-it-with-the-file-name) - [Change to a certain WordPress installation’s directory from a menu](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#change-to-a-certain-wordpress-installations-directory-from-a-menu) - [Discard header row from a CSV](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#discard-header-row-from-a-csv) - [Sort plugins or themes by certain column(s)](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#sort-plugins-or-themes-by-certain-columns) [↑ Back to top](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#wp--skip-link--target) As you advance upon your use of WP-CLIWP-CLI WP-CLI is the Command Line Interface for WordPress, used to do administrative and development tasks in a programmatic way. The project page is [http://wp-cli.org/](http://wp-cli.org/) [https://make.wordpress.org/cli/](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/), you’ll find that a little bit of command line knowledge can have a huge impact on your workflow. Here are some of our favorite shell helper utilities. ## 󠀁[You Should Know](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#you-should-know)󠁿 ### 󠀁[Search through your bash history](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#search-through-your-bash-history)󠁿 Did you know that every command you run on your shell is saved to history? Search through your history with `CTRL + R`: ```bash $ wp core download --version=nightly --force bck-i-search: wp ``` When ‘bck-i-search’ appears, your keystrokes will search against commands saved in your bash history. Hit `return` to run the current selection. Or another way to search history is grepping the output from the `history` command like: ```bash $ history | grep wp ``` Any of the commands found in that list can be re-executed by bang-number, so for example if the output says your desired command is #218, you just do `!218` ### 󠀁[Combine WP-CLI commands](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#combine-wp-cli-commands)󠁿 In many cases, it can be extremely powerful to be able to pass the results of one command to another. Composability is a [key philosophy](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/philosophy/) of WP-CLI, and there are two common approaches for composing commands. _Command substitution_ passes the output of one command to another command, without any transformation to the output. `wp post list` only lists posts; it doesn’t perform any operation on them. In this example, the command lists page ids as space-separated values. ```bash $ wp post list --post_type='page' --format=ids 1164 1186 ``` Combining `wp post list` with `wp post delete` lets you easily delete all posts. In this example, `$()` lets us pass the space-separated page ids to `wp post delete`. ```bash $ wp post delete $(wp post list --post_type='page' --format=ids) Success: Trashed post 1164. Success: Trashed post 1186. ``` If you need a bit more flexibility, _xargs_ lets you pass the output of one command to another command, while performing minor transformation on the output. You may want to assign all editor capabilities to the author role. However, `wp cap list` lists capabilities separated by newlines, and `wp cap add` only accepts space-separated capabilities. Enter, `xargs`, whose default behavior is to split newline output into a space-separated list. Note the `|` shell operator, which passes the results of `wp cap list` to `xargs`. Without `|`, you’ll see a WP-CLI error. ```bash $ wp cap list 'editor' | xargs wp cap add 'author' Success: Added 24 capabilities to 'author' role. ``` `wp user generate` only generates users; it doesn’t perform supplemental operations. In this example, `wp user generate` passes user ids to `xargs`, which splits the space-separated ids into a list and calls `wp user meta add` for each. ```bash $ wp user generate --count=5 --format=ids | xargs -0 -d ' ' -I % wp user meta add % foo bar Success: Added custom field. Success: Added custom field. Success: Added custom field. Success: Added custom field. Success: Added custom field. ``` ### 󠀁[Define aliases, short macros to common commands](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#define-aliases-short-macros-to-common-commands)󠁿 If you find yourself running the same commands quite often, you can define aliases to them for easier access. Run all three status check commands with one `check-all` alias. In this example, running `alias` creates a `check-all` alias for the current shell session. Save the same statement to your `~/.bashrc` or `~/.zshrc` to always have it available. ```bash $ alias check-all='wp core check-update && wp plugin list --update=available && wp theme list --update=available' $ check-all +-----------------+-------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+ | version | update_type | package_url | +-----------------+-------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+ | 4.7-beta4-39322 | minor | https://wordpress.org/nightly-builds/wordpress-latest.zip | +-----------------+-------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+ +-------------------------+----------+-----------+--------------+ | name | status | update | version | +-------------------------+----------+-----------+--------------+ | akismet | inactive | available | 3.1.8 | | co-authors-plus | inactive | available | 3.1.1 | | wp-redis | inactive | available | 0.2.2 | | rest-api | active | available | 2.0-beta13.1 | | wp-api-oauth1 | inactive | available | 0.2 | +-------------------------+----------+-----------+--------------+ +----------------------+----------+-----------+---------+ | name | status | update | version | +----------------------+----------+-----------+---------+ | p2 | inactive | available | 1.4.2 | +----------------------+----------+-----------+---------+ ``` ### 󠀁[Save command output](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#save-command-output)󠁿 WP-CLI commands send output to both `STDOUT` and `STDERR`, depending on the nature of the message. You may not notice there are two destinations, because WP-CLI renders both inside your shell. However, if you want to capture your output to a file, the distinction matters. Simply using `>` will capture STDOUT from the command to a file. ```bash $ wp import wordpress.wxr --authors=create > import.log ``` Redirect STDERR to STDOUT with `2>&1`, and then capture STDOUT to a log file. ```bash $ wp import wordpress.wxr --authors=create > import.log 2>&1 ``` When you’re capturing output to a file, you won’t see the output in your current shell session. However, you can open a second shell session and run `tail -f ` to see the output as it’s added to the file. Alternatively, you can use `tee` that writes to both standard output and files. You only have to pipe the output to the command and specify the file name. ```bash $ wp import wordpress.wxr --authors=create | tee import.log ``` This will display the output in the current shell screen and also write it to the log file. Note that if the file already exists, it will be overwritten. If you want to append the output to the file, use the `-a` option. ```bash $ wp import wordpress.wxr --authors=create | tee -a import.log ``` ## 󠀁[Snippets](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#snippets)󠁿 Are you an expert in bash or zsh? Share your tips here. ### 󠀁[Take a look at the plugin changelog](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#take-a-look-at-the-plugin-changelog)󠁿 Needs `elinks` to browse HTMLHTML HTML is an acronym for Hyper Text Markup Language. It is a markup language that is used in the development of web pages and websites.. ```bash wget -qO- https://api.wordpress.org/plugins/info/1.0/akismet|php -r '$seri=unserialize(stream_get_contents(STDIN)); echo $seri->sections["changelog"];'|elinks -force-html ``` Explanation * set wget quiet & query the WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. [https://wordpress.org/](https://wordpress.org/) PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. * unserialize with php, `stream_get_contents(STDIN)` means “get all from _stdin_“ * echo the changelog part from the API’s reply * fire up elinks (a console browser) to view the changelog ### 󠀁[Start wp-cli with ABSPATH in the current dir and under the current dir’s owner](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#start-wp-cli-with-abspath-in-the-current-dir-and-under-the-current-dirs-owner)󠁿 ```bash #!/bin/bash sudo -u $(stat . -c %U) -- wp --path="$PWD" "$@" ``` Explanation The `stat` command returns the owner of the current directory, WordPress root. ### 󠀁[Install and Configure WordPress with WP-CLI](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#install-and-configure-wordpress-with-wp-cli)󠁿 ```bash wp_install () { wp core download --path=$1; cd $1; read -p 'name the database:' dbname; wp config create --dbname=$dbname --dbuser=root --dbpass=awoods --dbhost=localhost; wp db create; wp core install --prompt } $ source ~/.bashrc $ wp_install new-site ``` Explanation Add this function to your ~/.bashrc are reload your shell (or open a new shell). You’ll need to substitute these database credentials with your own. When you need to create a new WordPress site, call this function and specify the name of the directory where you want to create the site. This emulates the web-based install process. ### 󠀁[List all image URL-s in posts](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#list-all-image-url-s-in-posts)󠁿 ```bash wp post list --field=ID|xargs -I % wp post get % --field=post_content|sed -ne 's;.*\(https\?\S\+\(jpe\?g\|png\|gif\)\).*;\1;gp' ``` Explanation * List all post ID-s * Get each content (xargs) * Display only image URLURL A specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org-s (sed) ### 󠀁[Create a page from a file and flag it with the file name](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#create-a-page-from-a-file-and-flag-it-with-the-file-name)󠁿 ```bash wp post create new_page.html --post_type=page --post_title="New Page" --porcelain | xargs -I % wp post meta add % imported_from new_page.html ``` Explanation * Create a page (–porcelain will return only the new post ID) * Create post metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. with xargs using “-I %” to signify the placeholder template for the new post ID ### 󠀁[Change to a certain WordPress installation’s directory from a menu](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#change-to-a-certain-wordpress-installations-directory-from-a-menu)󠁿 ```bash #!/bin/bash WP_TOP_PATH="/home/" MENU_TEXT="Choose an installation" GAUGE_TEXT="Searching for WordPress" declare -a MENU WPS="$(wp --allow-root find "$WP_TOP_PATH" --field=version_path)" WP_TOTAL="$(wc -l <<< "$WPS")" WP_COUNT="0" while read -r WP; do WP_LOCAL="${WP%wp-includes/version.php}" NAME="$(cd "$WP_LOCAL"; sudo -u "$(stat . -c %U)" -- wp --no-debug --quiet option get blogname)" if [ -z "$NAME" ]; then NAME="(unknown)" fi MENU+=( "$WP_LOCAL" "$NAME" ) echo "$((++WP_COUNT * 100 / WP_TOTAL))". done <<< "$WPS" > >(whiptail --gauge "$GAUGE_TEXT" 7 74 0) WP_LOCAL="$(whiptail --title "WordPress" --menu "$MENU_TEXT" $((${#MENU[*]} / 2 + 7)) 74 10 "${MENU[@]}" 3>&1 1>&2 2>&3)" if [ $? -ne 0 ] || [ ! -d "$WP_LOCAL" ]; then echo "Cannot find '${WP_LOCAL}'" 1>&2 exit 100 fi echo "cd ${WP_LOCAL}" ``` Explanation * Needs `wp-cli/find-command` and `whiptail` * Find all WordPress installations below `$WP_TOP_PATH` – must be run as root * Display a progress bar while getting `blogname` of each installation * Choose one installation from a nice menu and display `cd` command for it ### 󠀁[Discard header row from a CSV](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#discard-header-row-from-a-csv)󠁿 By default, `--format=csv` includes a headerHeader The header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes. row: ```bash $ wp user list --format=csv ID,user_login,display_name,user_email,user_registered,roles 1,daniel,daniel,daniel@handbuilt.co,"2022-12-21 23:05:16",administrator ``` If you’d like to discard the header row, `tail` is pretty helpful: ```bash $ wp user list --format=csv | tail -n +2 1,daniel,daniel,daniel@handbuilt.co,"2022-12-21 23:05:16",administrator ``` ### 󠀁[Sort plugins or themes by certain column(s)](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/shell-friends/?output_format=md#sort-plugins-or-themes-by-certain-columns)󠁿 * **Challenge**: wp-cli’s ` list` commands have no option by which column(s) to sort. * **Solution**: You can output as `--format=csv` and then simply pipe into a CLICLI Command Line Interface. Terminal (Bash) in Mac, Command Prompt in Windows, or WP-CLI for WordPress. app which has sorting functions built-in. - E.g. if you want to sort by status and then by name with [miller](https://github.com/johnkerl/miller#readme), short form `mlr`: - $ wp plugin list –format=csv | mlr –icsv –opprint sort -f status,name - Explanation: - Manpage says: `sort -f {comma-separated field names} Lexical ascending` - In our example this means: Sort the plugins lexically ascending, first by status, then by name. First published June 12, 2025 Last updated July 1, 2025 Edit article [ Improve it on GitHub: [article_title] ](https://github.com/wp-cli/handbook/edit/main/shell-friends.md) Changelog [ See list of changes: [article_title] ](https://github.com/wp-cli/handbook/commits/main/shell-friends.md) [ Previous: WP_CLI\Utils\write_csv()](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/internal-api/wp-cli-utils-write-csv/) [ Next: Tools](https://make.wordpress.org/cli/handbook/references/tools/)