Studio CLI is a globally available command-line utility that lets you interact with WordPress Studio features from your terminal, regardless of whether Studio is open or not.

It’s especially useful for:

• Managing local Studio sites.
• Creating and updating preview sites on WordPress.com.
• Running WP-CLI commands.
• Integrate with AI coding agents. Every site comes with an AGENTS.md file.
• Integrating Studio into scripts and build steps.

Installation

Studio app

1. Open the “WordPress Studio” application.
2. Click App settings at the bottom of the sidebar, or press ⌘, (Ctrl+, on Windows and Linux).
3. On the Settings tab, turn on the Studio CLI for terminal option.
4. On macOS, you’ll be prompted for your account password to allow installation.

Standalone installer

macOS / Linux

curl -fsSL https://wordpress.studio/install.sh | bash

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://wordpress.studio/install.ps1 | iex

Open a new terminal so studio is on your PATH, then verify:

studio --help

npm

npm install -g wp-studio

Usage

The Studio CLI is invoked with the studio command. Commands that manage local sites, such as studio create or studio start, are top-level commands. Other commands are grouped by area and 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 set <host>      # Configure a preview site, such as its name
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 these commands to manage local Studio sites on your machine: creating, starting, stopping, listing, and configuring them.

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

Earlier versions of Studio CLI grouped these commands under studio site (for example, studio site create and studio site set). Those forms still work but are deprecated: use studio create and studio config set instead.

Creating a local site

You can run the create 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.

To create a new local site managed by Studio:

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

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

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

# Create a new site that keeps WordPress up to date automatically
studio create --wp auto-update

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.

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

studio create --help

Creating a site from existing content

Use --from to build a new site from existing static content: compiled build output, a directory, a zip archive, or a URL. When you pass a URL, Studio recreates the site from the live website and names it after the captured site title.

# Create a site from a directory of static files
studio create --from ./build

Create a site from a live website

studio create --from https://example.com

Creating a local site using Blueprints Gallery

Studio offers access to the Blueprints Gallery where you can choose and activate blueprints to create a site. The Blueprints Gallery is also available through CLI. The commands for working with blueprints are:

# Show all available blueprints for creating a local Studio site
studio blueprint list

# Create a local site with selected blueprint
studio blueprint use <blueprint-slug> --name "<site-name>"

Listing and inspecting sites

# Show all local sites known to Studio:
studio list

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

# Or explicitly for a given path:
studio 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 start
studio stop

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

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

# Delete several sites at once, by path or ID
studio delete /path/to/site-one /path/to/site-two

# Show which sites and files would be deleted, without deleting anything
studio delete /path/to/site-one --dry-run

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

Configuring site settings

Use studio config set to adjust settings for a specific local site, and studio config get to view them.

studio config set [options]
studio config get [<key>]

Examples of what studio config set can be used for include:

• Changing the PHP version or WordPress version. Use --wp auto-update to let WordPress update itself.
• Adjusting the site name, custom domain, or HTTPS.
• Switching file access.
• Toggling debugging features: Xdebug, the debug log, showing errors in the browser, script debug, and the environment type.

To see the full list of configurable options, run:

studio config set --help

Syncing with WordPress.com and Pressable

Use studio push and studio pull to sync a local site with a connected WordPress.com or Pressable site. Both commands require you to be logged in with studio auth login.

# Push the local site to its connected live site
studio push

# Pull the live site into the local site
studio pull

# Choose the live site by URL or ID, and sync only some parts of the site
studio push --remote-site example.com --options plugins,themes

The --options flag takes a comma-separated list of all, sqls (the database), uploads, plugins, themes, and contents. For the full set of options:

studio push --help
studio pull --help

Importing and exporting

Use studio import and studio export to work with backup files from the command line.

# Import a backup file into the local site
studio import /path/to/backup.zip

# Export the full site
studio export /path/to/backup.zip

# Export only the database
studio export /path/to/database.sql --mode db

Exports can use .zip or .tar.gz, and database-only exports can also use .sql. Use --mode content to export only the site content. For the full set of options:

studio export --help

Studio in your browser

studio ui starts the Studio interface as a local web app and opens it in your browser. It shows the same sites, chats, and site preview as the desktop app, including attachments and generated images in Studio Code.

studio ui

# Use a specific port, without opening the browser
studio ui --port 8080 --no-open

MCP server

studio mcp runs Studio’s MCP server, which lets AI agents create, configure, and inspect your local sites. You don’t usually run it yourself: add it to your agent’s MCP configuration instead. See MCP on Studio.

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 create --php 8.2
studio start
studio 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 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 start --help
studio set --help
studio wp help

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