# How to Install and Use WP-CLI to Manage WordPress

> URL: https://www.atlantic.net/vps-hosting/how-to-install-and-use-wp-cli-to-manage-wordpress/ | Published: 2020-10-18 | Updated: 2023-11-22 | Author: Hitesh Jethva

WP-CLI is the official command-line tool used for managing WordPress. WP-CLI allows you to install and update themes, plugins and configure multisite installations without using a web browser. It can boost productivity and speed up the development process, since performing certain tasks using the command-line is much easier than using a graphical interface.

WP-CLI allows you to perform commands that are not supported through the standard WordPress back-end. One of the most important benefits of WP-CLI is its efficiency; for a multi-site environment, you don’t need to log in to each account to take care of basic tasks.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install and use WP-CLI to manage WordPress.

## Install WP-CLI

By default, WP-CLI is not available in the Ubuntu default repository, so you will need to download it from their website. You can download it with the following command:

```
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar
```

Once the download is completed, move the downloaded file to the /usr/bin directory:

```
mv wp-cli.phar /usr/bin/wpcli
```

Next, provide execution permission with the following command:

```
chmod +x /usr/bin/wpcli
```

Next, verify the WP-CLI installation using the following command:

```
wpcli --info
```

You should get the following output:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli1.png)

## Manage Plugins with WP-CLI

WP-CLI allows you to search, install, and activate the WordPress plugins as per your need.

To list the installed WordPress plugins, run the wp-cli command as a www-data user inside the WordPress document root directory:

```
cd /var/www/html/
sudo -u www-data wpcli plugin list
```

You should get something similar to the following output:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli2.png)

If you want to install caching plugin, first search for the plugin with the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli plugin search w3-total-cache
```

You should see the following list:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli3.png)

Now, install the w3-total-cache plugin from the above list using the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli plugin install w3-total-cache
```

You should get the following output:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli4.png)

Next, activate the installed plugin with the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli plugin activate w3-total-cache
```

You should see the following output:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli5.png)

Now, verify the installed plugins with the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli plugin list
```

You should get the following list:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli6.png)

## Manage Themes with WP-CLI

You can also search for, install, and activate a WordPress theme using the WP-CLI.

First, list the installed WordPress themes in your system using the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli theme list
```

You should get the following output:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli7.png)

Next, search your for desired theme with the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli theme search astra
```

You should get the following list:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli8.png)

Now, install the theme from the above list using the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli theme install astra
```

Once installed, you should get the following output:

```
Installing Astra (2.4.5)
Downloading installation package from https://downloads.wordpress.org/theme/astra.2.4.5.zip...
Unpacking the package...
Installing the theme...
Theme installed successfully.
Success: Installed 1 of 1 themes.
```

Now, activate the installed theme using the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli theme activate astra
```

You should see the following output:

```
Success: Switched to 'Astra' theme.
```

## Manage Post With WP-CLI

You can also create, edit and manage WordPress posts with WP-CLI.

List all posts in your system using the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli post list
```

You should see the following list:

```
+----+--------------+-------------+---------------------+-------------+
| ID | post_title | post_name | post_date | post_status |
+----+--------------+-------------+---------------------+-------------+
| 1 | Hello world! | hello-world | 2020-06-21 05:01:58 | publish |
+----+--------------+-------------+---------------------+-------------+
```

Next, create and publish a new post with title “Install Django Ubuntu 20.04” using the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli post create --post_status=publish --post_title="Install Django Ubuntu
20.04" --edit
```

This will open the vim editor. Add the following contents:

```
In this tutorial, we will learn how to install Django on an Ubuntu 20.04 server.
```

Save and close the vim editor when you are finished.

You can now verify your newly created post using the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli post list
```

You should get the following output:

```
+----+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+---------------------+-------------+
| ID | post_title | post_name | post_date | post_status |
+----+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+---------------------+-------------+
| 5 | Install Django Ubuntu 20.04 | install-django-ubuntu-20-04 | 2020-06-21 05:31:36 | publish |
| 1 | Hello world! | hello-world | 2020-06-21 05:01:58 | publish |
+----+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+---------------------+-------------+
```

## Manage Database with WP-CLI

You can also manage the WordPress database with WP-CLI.

You can connect to the WordPress database using the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli db cli
```

You should see the following output:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli9.png)

Now, exit from the database with the following command:

```
MariaDB [wordpress]> EXIT
```

You can also query about your users using the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli db query "SELECT user_login,ID FROM wp_users;"
```

You should get the following output:

```
+------------+----+
| user_login | ID |
+------------+----+
| admin | 1 |
+------------+----+
```

## Update WordPress with WP-CLI

If you want to update your WordPress installation, run the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli core update
```

You should see the following output:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli10.png)

To update your WordPress database, run the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli core update-db
```

You should see the following output:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli11.png)

To update all plugins, run the following command:

```
sudo -u www-data wpcli plugin update --all
```

You should see the following output:

![](https://www.atlantic.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/wpcli12.png)

## Conclusion

In this guide, you learned how to manage WordPress with WP-CLI. WP-CLI is a very useful tool that makes WordPress administration much easier. See if it helps you to perform your day-to-day WordPress administration tasks on your [VPS Hosted](https://www.atlantic.net/vps-hosting/) WordPress installation from Atlantic.Net.