WP-CLI command line tool

To run WordPress in the command line mode, you will need a set of command line tools, which you can acquire by installing the wp-cli/wp-cli package using the Composer dependency manager or by downloading the wp-cli.phar archive. The downloaded command line tool must be registered in IntelliJ IDEA as described in PHP command line tools.

For information about running the tool in the command line mode, see PHP command line tools.

Before you start

Make sure the PHP interpreter is configured in IntelliJ IDEA on the PHP page, as described in Configuring Local PHP Interpreters and Configuring Remote PHP Interpreters.
Make sure the PHP and Command Line Tool Support plugins are installed and enabled.
The plugins are not bundled with IntelliJ IDEA, but they can be installed on the Settings | Plugins page as described in Installing plugins from JetBrains repository. Once enabled, the plugins are available at the IDE level, that is, you can use them in all your IntelliJ IDEA projects.
Configure the PHP interpreter to use WordPress with, as described Configuring Remote PHP Interpreters. Note that WordPress requires PHP 5.3 or later.

Installing the WP-CLI package using the Composer dependency manager

Before you start, make sure Composer is installed on your machine and initialized in the current project as described in Composer dependency manager.

Click Finish. The create-project Composer command will be invoked with the selected package. As a result, the Composer project will be created, whose configuration and structure depends on the selected package. After that, the created IntelliJ IDEA project opens.

Inside composer.json, add the wp-cli/wp-cli dependency record to the require or require-dev section. Press Control+Space to get code completion for the package name and version.
Do one of the following:
- Click the Install shortcut link on top of the editor panel.
- If the Non-installed Composer packages inspection is enabled, IntelliJ IDEA will highlight the declared dependencies that are not currently installed. Press Alt+Enter and select whether you want to install a specific dependency or all dependencies at once.

Using WP-CLI as an IntelliJ IDEA command line tool

Before you begin, download the wp-cli.phar at WordPress CLI.

Configure WP-CLI as a command line tool

In the Settings dialog (Control+Alt+S), go to Tools | Command Line Tool Support.
Click on the toolbar.
In the Command Line Tools dialog, choose WP-CLI from the list, and specify its visibility level (Project or Global).
When you click OK, the WP-CLI dialog opens.
Choose the way to run WP-CLI:
- Installed via PHAR: Choose this option to launch WordPress through a PHP script or have IntelliJ IDEA detect and start the launcher in the wp-cli.phar archive.
  Choose one of the configured PHP interpreters from the PHP Interpreter list. See Configuring Local PHP Interpreters and Configuring Remote PHP Interpreters for details.
  In the Path to phar field, specify the location of the wp-cli.phar archive. Type the path manually or click and choose the desired location in the dialog that opens.
- Executable available (installed via Composer, and so on): choose this option to launch WordPress through an executable file, which is available when you install WordPress using a package management tool, for example, Composer.
  In the Path to wp.bat field, specify the location of the wp.bat or wp executable file. If you used Composer, the default location is \vendor\wp\cli\bin\wp or \vendor\wp\cli\bin\wp.bat. Type the path manually or click and choose the desired location in the dialog that opens.
Click OK to apply changes and return to the Command Line Tool Support page. Optionally, click to edit the tool properties, or to customize the commands set. See Customize a tool for details.

Run WP-CLI commands

You can run WP-CLI commands and analyze their output right in IntelliJ IDEA, just as the commands of any other command line tools, see PHP command line tools.

From the main menu, choose Tools | Run Command or press Control twice.
In the Run Anything window that opens, type the call of the command in the <wp> <command> format.
The command execution result is displayed in the Run tool window.

Terminate a command

Click on the Run tool window toolbar.

Debug WP-CLI commands

Wordpress commands are defined in controller classes that extend WP_CLI_Command, as well as in arbitrary functions. To debug a command, it is crucial that you initiate a debugging session for the command itself, and not the controller class or the file it is defined in. Otherwise, the Wordpress bootstrapping process will be skipped, and the execution will fail.

In the controller class or the file corresponding to the selected command, click the editor gutter at a code line where you want to set a breakpoint.
Create a run/debug configuration that will run the wp-cli tool with the selected command. In the main menu, select Run | Edit Configurations, then click and choose PHP Script from the list.
In the PHP Script dialog, provide the run/debug configuration parameters.
- In the File field, provide the path to the wp-cli executable file.
- In the Arguments field, type the actual command and its arguments, such as my-command print_year.
On the IntelliJ IDEA toolbar, select the created run/debug configuration and click . The command execution will stop at the specified breakpoint.

Last modified: 21 June 2023