How to use wp-cli.yml file?

TL;DR:

  1. Run wp version --debug
  2. Check that wp-cli.yml was found
  3. Check that the ABSPATH set by WP-CLI matches the directory where WP is installed
  4. Look at find_wp_root() for hints about why it’s finding the wrong folder

The docs say:

inside the current working directory (or upwards)

…so you should be able to use it in parent directories, not just in the directory where you call wp from. i.e., you should be able to have it several levels above the folder where Core is installed, and then call it from anywhere below the directory where wp-cli.yml is installed [1].

Was wp-cli.yml included?

You can find out by running wp version --debug

  • Found: Debug: Using project config: /var/www/example.localhost/wp-cli.yml (0.012s)
  • NOT Found: Debug: No project config found (0.014s)

Is WP-CLI’s ABSPATH set correctly?

Note: This is the ABSPATH that WP-CLI defines internally, not the one from your wp-config.php

WP-CLI’s internal ABSPATH is what it uses to find WordPress [2, 3], so if it’s wrong then you’ll get the This does not seem to be a WordPress install error.

To find out if it’s wrong, you can run wp version --debug from a few different directories, and look at the ABSPATH output. Does it match the actual path to the folder where Core is installed?

Assuming the path to WP is /var/www/example.localhost/web/wordpress/, then:

  • Correct: Debug: ABSPATH defined: ABSPATH defined: /var/www/example.localhost/web/wordpress/ (0.013s)
  • Incorrect: Debug: ABSPATH defined: /var/www/example.localhost/web/content/plugins/akismet/wordpress/ (0.019s)

Keep in mind that any arguments passed via parameters (e.g., wp --path=foo) will override the values in wp-cli.yml.

Why is ABSPATH wrong?

There are probably lots of different causes for it being wrong, because it depends on how your folder structure is setup, the path defined in wp-cli.yml, etc.

ABSPATH is set to the value of find_wp_root()[4, 5, 6], so that’s where you need to start troubleshooting.

You can read through find_wp_root() and mentally step through the code, looking for clues. If you have WP-CLI installed via composer, then you can also edit Runner.php to add debugging output to find_wp_root(), use Xdebug, etc.

In my case, I had a Bash alias setup for wp that was passing --path to the command, which was overriding the path set in wp-cli.yml, but I’d forgotten about it.

Related Posts:

  1. Detect if WP is running under WP-CLI
  2. WP CLI “Error establishing a database connection” in localhost (MAMP)
  3. How do I run a PHP script from WordPress environment, like `wp shell`?
  4. Using wp-cli can I not query pages by their title?
  5. wp-cli 0.14.1 MySQL error
  6. WP cli –path does not seem to work
  7. How do I clone or duplicate a post with the WordPress Command Line Interface WP-CLI?
  8. wp-cli doesn’t find and wordpress installation
  9. wp-cli import theme sample data
  10. Export list of users with first and lastname in WP-CLI
  11. What could cause WP-CLI search-replace to not replace all instances of a string?
  12. Using Travis CI to run unit tests and running phpunit locally [closed]
  13. “Could not open input file” error even when WP-CLI is in the path
  14. WP-CLI over SSH – wp command not found
  15. wp-cli create post and media import
  16. Import Media To CPT with CLI & Filter Custom Taxonomy
  17. wp-cli with MAMP shows sh: mysql: command not found
  18. What is the difference between the Package Language and the Site Language?
  19. PHP warning are displaying when using WP CLI [closed]
  20. How can I replace all regex matches using the WP_CLI search-replace tool
  21. How do I update a nested option?
  22. Is it possible to use WP-CLI via PHP-framework?
  23. What tools respect `.distignore`?
  24. How to prevent WP-CLI shell from exiting when an exception occurs?
  25. WP-CLI Get Site ID from its url
  26. WP-CLI alias: connect with ssh proxy
  27. wp-cli: run post generate and post meta add together
  28. Setting boolean and array values using wp theme mod set
  29. Ask WP-CLI latest core WordPress version released
  30. How can I get the WP-CLI eval-file command to report errors to stderr?
  31. How to get all posts related to a term with WP-CLI?
  32. WP CLI: there has been critical error
  33. wp-cli: wp term generate xxxxx – Error: ‘xxxxx’ is not a registered taxonomy
  34. MAMP PRO WP-CLI Error: Error establishing a database connection
  35. “Class ‘Phar’ not found” error setting up WP-CLI with Cygwin
  36. Running WP-CLI without SSH
  37. WP CLI Shell not working on Windows
  38. How do you kill WP-CLI execution?
  39. Is it possible to delete a range of posts by ID with WP-CLI?
  40. How to specify to wp-cli for the `wp config create` (`wp core config`) command that the DB user is an ‘all hosts’ user?
  41. Formatting messed up when piping wp commands
  42. wpcli: Error on post_content or post_title if accents
  43. wp-cli configuration in php?
  44. Lock User and Enforce Password change via wp-cli
  45. BackupBuddy WP CLI Invalid Profile Error
  46. How to find what pages/posts contain a particular reusable block?
  47. How can I search and replace by post type?
  48. WP CLI not outputting anything
  49. Only the WP CLI command, wp –info, runs under my cPanel account
  50. WP-CLI search-replace posts content for certain URLs
  51. Set Site Icon programmatically (eg. using `wp cli`)
  52. Bulk remove custom post type and its attachments with wp-cli?
  53. Resetting internal WordPress state during its cycle
  54. WP-CLI can not find Url
  55. Running custom defined WP-CLI commands without WordPress installation present
  56. Update BackupBuddy with WP-CLI
  57. Wrong output order when mixing WP_CLI::API and php-cli-tools
  58. WP-CLI not working from Bash script
  59. Get media url (featured image) with wp-cli
  60. MySQL 5.6 Causes Errors with WP CLI
  61. Using WP-CLI, how do I delete a post by title or slug, not ID?
  62. wp-cli only displays PHP version for all input options
  63. WP CLI: search and replace specific directory name of URL
  64. WP-CLI plugin install causes PHP fatal error – Using $this when not in object context
  65. How to delete a single post using wp cli in command line?
  66. Adding content from file with wp post create
  67. How to run wp cli from a wp hook?
  68. wp-cli PHP Notice after moving server behind load balancer
  69. What is the purpose of the “user” global parameter in wp-cli.yml config?
  70. Userless db-only wordpress instalation
  71. One-click WP site generation wih wp-cli on Windows
  72. PHPUnit via WP-CLI: Warning: Cannot modify header information … bootstrap.php:68
  73. WP-CLI mysteriously stopping while downloading the core [closed]
  74. WP-CLI: Does “wp post create” will create post normally and will ping to Ping Service?
  75. Trying to install/configure wp-cli for WordPress
  76. Logs for WP CLI
  77. WP-Cli Autoloads Non-existant Framework
  78. Mocking WP_CLI static methods in unit tests
  79. Give WP-Cli User Home Directory Privileges
  80. How to add an array to a command “wp config set”?
  81. WP-CLI: detect altered core files and restore them automatically
  82. wp-cli core install unknown: fatal: file /etc/postfix/main.cf: parameter mail_owner: user postfix has same user ID as _postfix
  83. How to specify which editor is used when editing posts with WP-CLI?
  84. bash script wp-cli search-replace 0 replacements, but command-line 3000+
  85. Is WP-CLI safe to use in a hosting environment? Why?
  86. WP-CLI is unable to update password
  87. Wp-cli from a plugin?
  88. Is it possible to update a single page using WP-CLI?
  89. Is it possible to use WP CLI to update a theme that is not in the WordPress Repo?
  90. Can I use WP-CLI from a remote computer?
  91. Install WordPress using PHP
  92. How to install WordPress with Composer?
  93. wp-cli output ‘column display format’ / wrapping
  94. When might you need to specify the “url” argument/option in WP-CLI?
  95. WP-CLi Uable to Install / Update Plugins
  96. wp-cli incorrectly believes a plugin is currently installed
  97. WordPress CLI isn’t working while use WordPress development repository
  98. Using wp-cli on remote with quoted commands
  99. Post Count for Multisite?
  100. ‘wp’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file

Leave a Comment

Hata!: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1045] Access denied for user 'divattrend_liink'@'localhost' (using password: YES)