Have you ever wanted to bulk-install or update multiple WordPress plugins in one go?
In this tutorial, we’ll use WP-CLI to install multiple plugins from the command line interface. We’ll show you how to manage your plugins using WP-CLI, such as updating multiple plugins, activate/deactivate plugins and deleting (uninstall) plugins in bulk – all without having to log in to your WordPress site!
Before we get started, let’s discuss a few prerequisites:
- If you’re using WordPress on a shared hosting provider, your host must offer SSH access and have WP-CLI installed. You can check the official WordPress list of supported hosts, but as it so happens all of our recommendations for best WordPress hosting come with WP-CLI pre-installed.
- If you’re hosting WordPress in a VPS or cloud server, we’ll show you how to install WP-CLI in your server, later in this tutorial. (PS: If you want to learn how to install WordPress in a VPS, follow our DigitalOcean tutorial)
- Your OS should be a UNIX-like environment (Linux, OS X, FreeBSD); you must have PHP 5.4+ and WordPress 3.7 or later. Since almost all recommended WordPress hosts will meet these criteria, you’re good to go.
- Finally, this tutorial is not intended for beginners. People familiar with the command-line interface (CLI) and server management should use this tutorial.
Let’s get started.
What is WP-CLI in WordPress?
WP-CLI is a free, open-source project that lets you manage your WordPress site using the command-line interface (CLI). WP-CLI hugely simplifies a lot of WordPress tasks, such as installing WordPress, backing up the database, updating the WordPress core and installing or updating WordPress plugins and themes.
All of this can be done by typing in a few commands in the terminal, without having to log in to your WordPress site. The result? A lot of time saved, less room for error and skyrocketing productivity! Here’s a good primer from WPShout to learn more about WP-CLI.
How to install WP-CLI in a WordPress VPS or Cloud Server?
Users who have installed WordPress in a VPS (such as DigitalOcean), a cloud hosting provider (such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud), or a managed cloud host (such as CloudWays), can install WP-CLI in their server.
Note: For this tutorial, we’ve used a Vultr VPS (similar to a DigitalOcean droplet) with WordPress pre-installed, and referred the official documentation.
Step 1: Login to your server with the root user. If you don’t have access to the root user, login with a user with read, write and execute permissions in the “/var/www/html” directory.
Step 2: Download the wp-cli.phar
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This article was written by Sourav and originally published on WPExplorer.