Imported from soderlind/skills (plugins/wordpress-skills/skills/wp-cli-local/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add soderlind/skills --skill wp-cli-local. Copyright stays with the author.

WP-CLI for Local by Flywheel

Run WP-CLI commands against Local sites using the wrapper script bundled with this skill.

Never run bare wp commands. Always use the wrapper:

bash {{SKILL_DIR}}/scripts/wp <wp-cli-command...>

Determinism checklist

Before declaring this skill run complete:

1. Scope fixed: inputs and target files are explicit.
2. Read-first: inspect current state before edits.
3. Plan-first: preview actions before writes when tooling supports it.
4. Confirm-before-write: get user confirmation before destructive or broad writes.
5. One step, one done-test: each step has a checkable completion criterion.
6. Verify outcomes: run the smallest available validation commands.
7. Report skips: list what was skipped and why.
8. Stop on blockers: capture exact failing command and error summary.

Shell compatibility (zsh vs bash)

The default shell in macOS and VS Code terminals is zsh, which does not word-split unquoted variable expansions. A pattern like WP="bash .../wp" followed by $WP plugin list runs the whole string as a single command name in zsh and fails with no such file or directory.

To make examples work on the first try in both bash and zsh, either:

• Invoke the wrapper as a full command (recommended for agents):

  bash "{{SKILL_DIR}}/scripts/wp" --site=my-site plugin list

• Or define a shell function wrapper that forwards arguments correctly in both shells:

  wp() { bash "{{SKILL_DIR}}/scripts/wp" "$@"; }
  
  wp plugin list

Do not use a bare $WP variable to hold the command. If a variable is truly required in zsh, force word-splitting with ${=WP} (e.g. ${=WP} plugin list).

Site Detection

The wrapper auto-detects the site by matching the current working directory against site paths in Local's sites.json. Paths stored as ~/Local Sites/... are expanded before matching, so the default macOS Sites folder works. No site name argument is needed when the terminal is inside a Local site directory.

# Define a function wrapper (works in bash and zsh)
wp() { bash "{{SKILL_DIR}}/scripts/wp" "$@"; }

# Auto-detect (CWD must be inside a Local site directory)
wp plugin list
wp core version

# Explicit site override
wp --site=my-site plugin list

# List all sites with running/halted status
wp --list

If auto-detection fails (CWD is not inside any Local site) and no --site= is given, the script prints available sites. Ask the user which site to target, or use --site=<name>.

Completion criterion: A target site is explicitly resolved by auto-detection or --site=<name> before mutating commands are run.

Requirements

• macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel)
• Local by Flywheel installed with sites in ~/Library/Application Support/Local/sites.json
• WP-CLI installed and available in PATH (e.g. via brew install wp-cli)
• The target site must be running in Local (the site-specific php.ini only exists at runtime)

Common Commands

# Define a function wrapper (works in bash and zsh)
wp() { bash "{{SKILL_DIR}}/scripts/wp" "$@"; }

# Plugin management
wp plugin list
wp plugin activate <slug>
wp plugin deactivate <slug>
wp plugin status <slug>

# Cache / transients
wp cache flush
wp transient delete --all

# Options
wp option get <key>
wp option update <key> <value>
wp option list --search="<pattern>"

# Database
wp db query "SELECT * FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '<pattern>%' LIMIT 10;"
wp db export backup.sql
wp db import backup.sql

# Eval PHP
wp eval 'echo get_option("siteurl");'
wp eval-file script.php

# Rewrites / cron
wp rewrite flush
wp cron event list
wp cron event run <hook>

# User / site info
wp user list
wp option get siteurl
wp core version

Failure modes / recovery

• WP-CLI not found: Verify wp --info works in PATH, then retry wrapper command.
• Site is not running: Start the Local site first, then rerun command.
• Auto-detection failed: Run wp --list (or bash "{{SKILL_DIR}}/scripts/wp" --list), then rerun with --site=<name>.
• Wrapper path issue: Use absolute wrapper path from {{SKILL_DIR}}/scripts/wp and retry.

Note: The AI agent should always use the wrapper script, not direnv. The direnv setup is a convenience for the user's own interactive terminal sessions.

Completion criterion: Commands were executed through the wrapper, target site was explicit, and any failures were reported with the exact failing command.