WP-CLI
The official WordPress command line: posts, media, users, plugins, and themes on any install, no browser.
WP-CLI is the WordPress project's command-line interface, maintained under wordpress.org with Automattic and hosting sponsors. About fifty top-level commands cover everything an agent needs to run a WordPress site: create and publish posts, import media, moderate comments, manage users, install plugins and themes, set options, and run database operations. It is the interface, not the CMS; the Listing is Operable only.
- I want my agent to publish and update WordPress content from a script instead of the dashboard
- I maintain several WordPress sites and want plugin updates, users, and content handled from a shell
- Needs shell access on the server running WordPress; many managed hosts expose WP-CLI, some do not
- PHP 7.2.24+ and WordPress 4.9+; limited Windows support
- Commands run with the server user's rights and bypass WordPress capability checks; scope carefully
- WordPress itself is GPL; WP-CLI is MIT
- Curator note: WordPress also ships an official mcp-adapter; a WordPress Listing could carry both as official interfaces
Last activity Sep 1, 2026. Fit: adaptable 1, operable 3.
Operable: what an agent can drive
Interface
OfficialCLIpublished by the builderlocal
How an agent can drive an Operable Listing, in five levels: native (built for the agent as the primary interface), official (the Builder ships an agent interface), wrapped (a third party wraps the software's API), config (an agent can only drive it by editing files), gui (screen control only). An interface is official only when it is published by the same organization that ships the software. GUI-level Listings are allowed and sorted last.
Reach
Partial coverage. 9 of 10 jobs reachable through the stated interface.
| Job | Through the interface | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Create, edit, and publish posts and pages | Reachable | wp post create, update, list with post_status and meta |
| Import media and regenerate thumbnails | Reachable | wp media import, regenerate |
| Moderate comments | Reachable | wp comment create, update, delete, approve, spam |
| Manage categories and tags | Reachable | wp term |
| Manage users and roles | Reachable | wp user, wp role, wp cap |
| Install and update plugins and themes | Reachable | wp plugin install --activate, wp theme |
| Read and set site options | Reachable | wp option get, update |
| Run database operations and search-replace | Reachable | wp db, wp search-replace |
| Administer multisite networks | Reachable | wp site |
| Lay out pages visually in the block editor | Not reachable | post content is passed as raw HTML or block markup; there is no visual layout command |
Code stack
- Languages
- PHP
- Frameworks
- none
- Package manager
- composer
- Database
- none
- Hosting target
- any host with shell access to a WordPress install
- Built
- Human-written (recorded, never ranked)
Evidence and confidence
| Field | Where it was seen | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| formFactor | README: command-line interface distributed as a Phar | 95% |
| executionModel | no model at runtime | 95% |
| operability | documented at developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands under the WordPress project; README credits Automattic and host sponsors | 95% |
| effort | not listed as Adaptable; wp-cli.yml exists but adapting the CLI is not the use case | 0% |
| editions | README: Phar download, Composer, Homebrew, Docker; MIT | 95% |
| active | pushedAt 2026-09-01; 27 open issues | – |
| provenance | project since 2011 under the WordPress umbrella | 95% |
| reach | 95% |
Open questions
- Should the Curator fold this into a single WordPress Listing alongside the official mcp-adapter?
Sources
- github.com/wp-cli/wp-cli sourcing:content-publishing:github
- developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/ analysis:content-publishing