WordPress is known for its quick 5-minute installation process. However, it can be done even faster, much faster, using WP CLI (Command Line Interface).

To install WordPress, you need to follow these steps:

1. Download WordPress.
2. Create a database.
3. Generate the wp-config.php file (created by the WP installer).
4. Provide administrator and site basic information.

To download the latest version of WordPress, use the command:

wp core download --skip-content

The --skip-content parameter prevents downloading default plugins and themes. You can also download the Polish version using the --locale=pl_PL parameter.

Before creating the database, you should generate the wp-config file using the command:

wp config create --dbname=db_name --dbuser=user --dbpass=pass

You don’t have to remember these parameter names; you can use:

wp config create --prompt

This way, you’ll be prompted to provide all the necessary parameters.

Before installing WordPress, you need a database. You can create it with the following command:

wp db create

This command will use the settings configured in the wp-config.php file.

Now that you have downloaded WordPress, created a database, and generated the wp-config.php file, it’s time to install WordPress:

wp core install --prompt

Just like when creating wp-config, you can use prompts to set the necessary parameters.

WP CLI config file

There are quite a few commands, and you need to be familiar with all of them, so installing WordPress in this way, especially in the beginning, can take some time. However, you can make it even faster using a configuration file called wp-cli.yml. Here’s an example of what such a file might look like:

url: https://my-site.locale
path: ./

core download:
  locale: pl_PL
  version: '6.3'
  skip-content: 1

core install:
  title: "My site"
  admin_user: admin
  admin_password: admin
  admin_email: dawid@wp360.pro

config create:
  dbuser: wordpress
  dbpass: wordpress
  dbname: wordpress
  dbhost: localhost
  dbprefix: wdr56_
  extra-php: |
    define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
    define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', true );
    define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
    define( 'WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE', 'local' );

Now all you need to do is execute all of the above commands one after the other:

wp core download && wp config create && wp db create && wp core install

The above configuration is just an example and can be applied to a local environment. Here’s an explanation of the new parameters:

• url – the address under which my WordPress will be accessible.
• path – the directory where WordPress files will be located relative to the WP CLI configuration file.
• version – it will download WordPress in the specified version; omitting this parameter will download the latest version of WordPress.
• dbprefix – in my projects, I aim to keep the table prefix the same across all environments.
• extra-php – additional PHP code that I want to include in the wp-config.php file. Here, I’ve set sample values for a local environment.

With a configuration file prepared in this way, I can copy it from one project to another, only changing the url, dbname, and dbprefix. When using Lando, I don’t need to change dbname, but that’s a topic for another time.

Learn more:

• https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/core/download/
• https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/config/create/
• https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/db/create/
• https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/core/install/