WP-CLI commands

WP-CLI is a console program for managing WordPress. WooCommerce adds the wp wc command group to it: products, orders and customers can be read and changed without the admin panel. That is convenient for deployment scripts, bulk operations and work on a server without a browser.

The first run

Commands are run in the site folder:

wp wc product list --user=1 --fields=id,name,price,stock_quantity

The command prints a product table with four columns. The --user parameter is required for all wp wc commands: it is the ID or login of a user allowed to manage the shop, on whose behalf the operation runs.

How commands are built

Commands mirror the REST API: a resource name, then an action.

Action	What it does
`list`	A list
`get <id>`	One record
`create`	Creating
`update <id>`	Changing
`delete <id>`	Deleting

Resource	What it is
`product`	Products
`product_variation`	Variations
`product_cat`	Categories
`shop_order`	Orders
`customer`	Customers
`shop_coupon`	Coupons

All parameters of a resource are shown by the help: wp wc product create --help.

Products

wp wc product create --name="Saucer" --regular_price=4.50 --sku=SAUCER-001 --user=1
wp wc product update 12 --regular_price=12.90 --stock_quantity=20 --user=1
wp wc product get 12 --fields=id,name,price --user=1

The first command creates a product and prints its ID, the second changes the price and stock, the third shows the result. Parameters are named the same as REST API fields.

Orders

wp wc shop_order list --status=processing --fields=id,total,date_created --user=1
wp wc shop_order update 1024 --status=completed --user=1

The first command prints paid orders, the second moves order 1024 to Completed — with all hooks and emails, as with a status change in the admin panel.

Output format

wp wc product list --user=1 --format=json
wp wc product list --user=1 --format=ids
wp wc product list --user=1 --format=csv > products.csv

Besides the table there are json, csv, ids and count. The ids format is handy to pass to another command, csv to save to a file.

Service commands

Command	What it does
`wp wc update`	Updates database tables after a plugin update
`wp wc tool list --user=1`	The tools from the Status → Tools page
`wp wc tool run clear_transients --user=1`	Clears the WooCommerce cache
`wp wc hpos status`	The state of the HPOS order storage
`wp action-scheduler run`	Runs the background job queue

Your own command

A plugin can add its own command. Create the includes/cli.php file and include it in acme-shop.php:

// wp-content/plugins/acme-shop/includes/cli.php
if (defined('WP_CLI') && WP_CLI) {
    WP_CLI::add_command('acme low-stock', function () {
        $products = wc_get_products(['manage_stock' => true, 'limit' => 100]);
 
        foreach ($products as $product) {
            if ($product->get_stock_quantity() < 5) {
                WP_CLI::line($product->get_id() . ' ' . $product->get_name() . ': ' . $product->get_stock_quantity());
            }
        }
 
        WP_CLI::success('Done.');
    });
}

The WP_CLI check keeps the code from running on ordinary site requests. Run wp acme low-stock — the command prints products with fewer than five left.

Common mistake

A command is run without --user and fails with a permissions error: Sorry, you cannot list resources. wp wc commands pass the same permission checks as the REST API, and the console works without a user by default. Add --user=1 or an administrator login to every command.

Thanks for reading!