Studio CLI

Studio CLI is a globally available command-line utility that lets you interact with WordPress Studio features from your terminal. It’s especially useful for:

• Managing local Studio sites.
• Creating and updating preview sites on WordPress.com.
• Running WP-CLI commands in correctly configured environments.
• Integrating Studio into scripts, build steps, and AI-assisted workflows.

Installation

1. Open the “WordPress Studio” application.
2. From the main menu, open the Settings modal. You can also click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the app.
3. Enable the “Studio CLI” option and click Save.
4. On macOS, you’ll be prompted for your account password to allow installation.

Usage

The Studio CLI is invoked with the studio command. All commands follow the pattern:

studio <area> <command> [options]

You can see a high-level overview at any time with:

studio --help

Most commands are designed to be run from the root directory of a Studio-managed site. To target a different site directory than your current working directory, use the --path option:

studio <area> <command> --path /path/to/site

Authentication commands

Use the auth commands to manage your WordPress.com authentication for Studio features that require a logged-in user (for example, preview sites).

studio auth login      # Log in to WordPress.com
studio auth logout     # Log out and clear WordPress.com authentication
studio auth status     # Check authentication status

• studio auth login opens a browser-based flow to connect the CLI to your WordPress.com account. You will receive an authentication token to paste into the terminal to complete the login process.
• studio auth status reports whether you are currently authenticated and shows which account is in use.
• studio auth logout disconnects the CLI from your WordPress.com account and clears stored credentials.

If you run a command that requires authentication (such as studio preview create) while logged out, the CLI will return an error and guide you to log in.

Use the --help flag for detailed options on any auth command:

studio auth --help
studio auth login --help

Preview site commands

Preview sites are temporary, shareable environments hosted on WordPress.com that mirror your local Studio site. Use them to share work with teammates or stakeholders without requiring a local environment.

studio preview create          # Create a preview site
studio preview list            # List preview sites
studio preview update <host>   # Update an existing preview site
studio preview delete <host>   # Delete a preview site

Creating a preview site

From the root of your local Studio site:

cd /path/to/your/studio-site
studio preview create

This will:

• Build and upload your local site to a preview environment.
• Return a preview URL you can share with others.
• Require you to be logged in with studio auth login.

You can also specify a site directory explicitly:

studio preview create --path /path/to/your/studio-site

Listing preview sites

To view all preview sites associated with your account:

studio preview list

This shows each preview’s host (for example, example-preview.wpcomstaging.com), which you’ll use with the update and delete commands.

Updating and deleting preview sites

Each preview site is identified by its host name:

# Rebuild and redeploy changes from your local site to the preview site:
studio preview update <host>

# Permanently remove a preview site:
studio preview delete <host>

Use studio preview list to discover the appropriate <host> value if you don’t have it handy.

For the full set of options:

studio preview --help
studio preview create --help
studio preview update --help
studio preview delete --help

Local site management commands

Use the site commands to manage local Studio sites on your machine: creating, starting, stopping, listing, and configuring them.

studio site status    # Get status of local site
studio site create    # Create a new local site
studio site list      # List local sites
studio site start     # Start local site
studio site stop      # Stop local site(s)
studio site delete    # Delete local site
studio site set       # Configure site settings

Creating a local site

To create a new local site managed by Studio:

# Create a new site in the current working directory, using all the default options
studio site create

# Create a new site with a custom domain and HTTPS
studio site create --https --domain hello.wp.local

# Create a new site in a different directory
studio site create --path /path/to/site

This will create a new site in your current working directory, start the WordPress server, and open wp-admin in your browser automatically when finished.

You can run this command from an empty directory, or a directory that already contains the files of a WordPress site, but one that’s not already listed in Studio.

There are several supported flags that you can use when creating a new site. For the full set of options:

studio site create --help

Listing and inspecting sites

# Show all local sites known to Studio:
studio site list

# Show details and current status for the site in the current directory:
studio site status

# Or explicitly for a given path:
studio site status --path /path/to/site

Status output includes information such as:

• Whether the site is running.
• Local URL (for example, http://localhost:PORT).
• Key configuration details (PHP version, database status, etc.).

Starting and stopping sites

# From inside a site directory:
studio site start
studio site stop

# Or by path:
studio site start --path /path/to/site
studio site stop --path /path/to/site

Starting a site will launch the local services required to access it in a browser, while stopping it shuts those services down.

Deleting a local site

# Delete a site from Studio
studio site delete

# Delete the site and move the site directory to the system trash
studio site delete --files

This removes the site from Studio and, optionally, the site files from disk.

Configuring site settings

Use studio site set to adjust settings for a specific local site.

studio site set [options]

Examples of what this command can be used for include:

• Changing the PHP version or WordPress version.
• Adjusting the local domain or port.
• Toggling features that affect how the local environment runs.

To see the full list of configurable options, run:

studio site set --help

Using WP-CLI through Studio

The studio wp command gives you access to WP-CLI within the context of a Studio-managed site, without requiring you to install or configure WP-CLI separately.

studio wp [<wp-cli-command>] [<wp-cli-arguments>...]

Examples (run from your site’s root directory):

# Check WordPress version:
studio wp core version

# List installed plugins:
studio wp plugin list

# Run database upgrades:
studio wp core update-db

Key points:

• You don’t need a separate WP-CLI installation; Studio provides and configures it for you.
• Environment variables, paths, and credentials are automatically set based on the selected site, so commands operate on the correct database and files.
• You can use --path if you’re not in the site directory:

  studio wp plugin list --path /path/to/site

For a complete list of supported WP-CLI subcommands and arguments, refer to the WP-CLI documentation or run:

studio wp help
studio wp help <command>

Using Studio CLI with AI coding agents

The Studio CLI works well with AI-assisted development tools and agents such as Claude Code, Cursor, and other IDE extensions that can run shell commands on your behalf.

Because these tools can see your project files and execute terminal commands, they can:

• Detect that you are working in a Studio-managed WordPress project.
• Call studio commands automatically to manage local sites, previews, and WP-CLI tasks.
• Use command output to guide further code changes or debugging steps.

Typical workflows with AI agents

Below are some concrete ways to combine Studio CLI with an AI coding agent.

1. Spinning up and managing a local site

You can instruct your AI agent to create and run a local WordPress site via Studio. For example, in your editor:

“Set up a new local WordPress site using PHP version 8.2 using Studio in this folder, start it, and tell me the local URL.”

Behind the scenes, the agent might run:

studio site create --wp 8.2
studio site start
studio site status

This is useful when:

• Quickly prototyping a new plugin or theme.
• Onboarding to an existing project where you want the agent to set up the environment for you.

2. Automated debugging and WP-CLI operations

When the agent suggests a fix or change, it can also run checks using studio wp:

# Run database upgrades:
studio wp core update-db

# Check for current plugins:
studio wp plugin list

You might ask:

“Run whatever WP-CLI checks you need through Studio to diagnose why the site is throwing a 500 error, then propose fixes.”

The agent can iteratively:

1. Run studio wp commands to gather diagnostics.
2. Update code or configuration.
3. Re-run commands to verify the fix.

3. Creating and updating preview sites for review

Agents can help you set up and maintain preview environments tied to your branch or feature:

“Create a preview site for this project and give me the shareable URL. Then, after each code change, update the same preview.”

Which translates to:

studio auth login              # if needed
studio preview create          # initial deployment
studio preview update <host>   # after subsequent changes

This is particularly useful when:

• Sharing progress with non-technical stakeholders.
• Collaborating with teammates who need to see live behavior without setting up a local environment.

Best practices when using AI agents with Studio CLI

• Stay in a Studio site root: Many commands assume the current directory is a Studio-managed site. Remind your agent to cd into the correct folder or to use --path.
• Be explicit in instructions: When prompting an agent, mention “use the studio CLI” and any constraints, for example:
  • “Don’t delete existing sites.”
  • “Ask for confirmation before running database migrations.”
  • “Only run read-only studio wp commands.”
• Review destructive operations: Commands like studio site delete and studio preview delete can remove environments. Ask the agent to show the commands it plans to run before executing them.
• Use authentication deliberately: For commands that require WordPress.com access (studio auth login, studio preview ...), ensure you’re comfortable with the agent initiating login flows, and confirm which account is being used.

By combining Studio CLI with AI coding agents, you can offload much of the repetitive environment setup, testing, and deployment orchestration, and focus more on writing and reviewing your WordPress code.

Getting help

Every command and subcommand supports --help for inline documentation, usage, and available options. For example:

studio --help
studio auth --help
studio preview create --help
studio site start --help
studio site set --help
studio wp help

This is the best way to explore the capabilities of the specific version of Studio CLI you have installed.