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WP-CLI Cache Commands

Cache commands manage the WordPress object cache and transients from the terminal. Essential after deployments, migrations, and configuration changes — stale cache is one of the most common causes of unexpected behavior after updates.

wp-cli — bash

Commands

wp cache flush

Clears the entire WordPress object cache.

wp cache flush

The most-used cache command. Clears whatever object cache backend is active — Redis, Memcached, or the default in-memory cache. Run after deployments, theme switches, plugin updates, and database imports. If something looks wrong after an update — this is the first command to run.

wp cache type

Shows the active cache backend.

wp cache type

Returns the cache driver in use: Redis, Memcached, or the WordPress default (non-persistent). Useful when diagnosing caching behavior or verifying that a persistent cache is actually connected.

wp cache get

Retrieves a value from the object cache.

wp cache get my_key my_group
wp cache get my_key my_group --format=json

Reads a cached value by key and group. Useful when debugging whether a value is being cached correctly and what it contains.

wp cache set

Stores a value in the object cache.

wp cache set my_key "my_value" my_group 3600

Arguments: key, value, group, expiration in seconds. Primarily useful for testing cache behavior or manually seeding cache values during debugging.

wp cache delete

Removes a specific value from the object cache.

wp cache delete my_key my_group

Removes one cached item by key and group. Use when you need to invalidate a specific cached value without flushing everything.

wp cache add

Adds a value to the cache only if the key does not already exist.

wp cache add my_key "my_value" my_group 3600

Will not overwrite an existing cached value. Useful for testing cache write behavior.

wp transient get / set / delete

Manages WordPress transients — time-limited values stored in the database or object cache.

wp transient get my_transient
wp transient set my_transient "value" 3600
wp transient delete my_transient
wp transient delete --all
wp transient list

Transients are used extensively by plugins to cache API responses and computed data. --all deletes every transient at once — useful when debugging stale plugin data or cleaning a bloated wp_options table.

Common Workflows

Post-deployment cache flush

wp core update
wp plugin update --all
wp cache flush

Standard end of every deployment sequence. Always flush after code or database changes.

Debug stale data after plugin update

wp cache flush
wp transient delete --all

If something looks wrong after a plugin update — flush object cache first, then clear transients. Covers both persistent cache and database-stored cache in one pass.

Check cache backend before debugging

wp cache type

Before spending time debugging caching issues — confirm what backend is actually running. A site that’s supposed to use Redis but falls back to default in-memory cache will behave very differently.

Clean bloated wp_options table

wp transient list --format=count
wp transient delete --all
wp db optimize

Check how many transients are stored, delete them all, then optimize the table. Common maintenance task on sites that use many third-party API integrations.

Notes on Cache Backends

WordPress supports three cache backends:

Default (in-memory) — built into WordPress, non-persistent. Cache exists only for the duration of a single request. wp cache flush has no real effect between requests.

Redis — persistent object cache. Survives requests and server restarts. Requires a Redis server and a drop-in plugin like redis-cache. wp cache flush clears the Redis store.

Memcached — persistent object cache. Similar to Redis. Requires Memcached PHP extension and a compatible drop-in.

If wp cache type returns Default on a site that should have Redis — the drop-in is missing or not connected. Check with wp plugin status redis-cache.

Related Command Groups

  • Core — flush cache after core updates
  • Plugins — flush after plugin updates
  • Database — transients are stored in wp_options when no persistent cache is active

Practice Cases