handbook/internal-api/wp-cli-runcommand.md

WP_CLI::runcommand()

Run a WP-CLI command.

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Usage

WP_CLI::runcommand( $command, $options = [] )

$command (string) WP-CLI command to run, including arguments.
$options (array) Configuration options for command execution.
@return (mixed)

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Notes

Launches a new child process to run a specified WP-CLI command. Optionally:

• Run the command in an existing process.
• Prevent halting script execution on error.
• Capture and return STDOUT, or full details about command execution.
• Parse JSON output if the command rendered it.
• Include additional arguments that are passed to the command.

$options = array(
  'return'       => true,                // Return 'STDOUT'; use 'all' for full object.
  'parse'        => 'json',              // Parse captured STDOUT to JSON array.
  'launch'       => false,               // Reuse the current process.
  'exit_error'   => true,                // Halt script execution on error.
  'command_args' => [ '--skip-themes' ], // Additional arguments to be passed to the $command.
);
$plugins = WP_CLI::runcommand( 'plugin list --format=json', $options );

Internal API documentation is generated from the WP-CLI codebase on every release. To suggest improvements, please submit a pull request.

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Related

• WP_CLI::launch() - Launch an arbitrary external process that takes over I/O.
• WP_CLI::launch_self() - Run a WP-CLI command in a new process reusing the current runtime arguments.
• WP_CLI::run_command() - Run a given command within the current process using the same global parameters.