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Installing WP-CLI in Docker WordPress Container

· 2 min read
CCLEE
CCLEE

TL;DR​

The official WordPress Docker image doesn't include WP-CLI. Add a command configuration in docker-compose.yml to auto-install WP-CLI on container startup—no manual container entry required.

Problem​

Running wp command inside WordPress Docker container:

docker exec -it wordpress_container wp --version

Returns:

bash: wp: command not found

Root Cause​

The official WordPress Docker image is built on php:apache with a focus on minimal size. WP-CLI is a separate CLI tool that requires additional installation—it's not included in the default image.

Solution​

Add a command to the WordPress service in docker-compose.yml to auto-install WP-CLI on startup:

services:
  wordpress:
    image: wordpress:latest
    volumes:
      - ./wordpress:/var/www/html
    command: >
      bash -c "curl -sO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar &&
               chmod +x wp-cli.phar &&
               mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp &&
               docker-entrypoint.sh apache2-foreground"

Key points:

  1. curl -sO - Silently download WP-CLI phar package
  2. chmod +x - Add execute permission
  3. mv ... /usr/local/bin/wp - Move to PATH directory for global access
  4. docker-entrypoint.sh apache2-foreground - Execute original image entrypoint to start Apache

Verify after restart:

docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d
docker exec -it wordpress_container wp --version
# Output: WP-CLI 2.x.x

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