WP-CLI Commands

C3 CloudFront Cache Controller provides WP-CLI support for managing cache invalidation from the command line. This comprehensive guide covers all available commands, use cases, and best practices for automation, CI/CD pipelines, and server management.

Command Overview

Command	Description	Since
`wp c3 flush`	Clear CloudFront cache for specific posts or all	2.3.0
`wp c3 update`	Update plugin configuration settings	2.4.0

Available Commands

`wp c3 flush`

Clear CloudFront cache for specific posts or all content.

Syntax:

bash

wp c3 flush <post_id|all> [--force]

Parameters:

Required

<post_id|all>: Post ID (numeric), comma-separated list of post IDs, or 'all' for complete cache flush

Optional

--force: Activate Force Clear Mode (bypasses invalidation flag)

Response:

Success:

Success: Create Invalidation Request. Please wait few minutes to finished clear CloudFront Cache.

Error:

Error: Please input parameter:post_id(numeric) or all

Exit Codes:

0 - Success
1 - General error (invalid parameters, AWS API error, etc.)

Examples:

bash

# Flush cache for specific post
wp c3 flush 1

# Flush cache for multiple posts
wp c3 flush 1,2,4

# Flush all CloudFront cache
wp c3 flush all

# Force flush all cache
wp c3 flush all --force

`wp c3 update`

Update C3 CloudFront Cache Controller configuration settings.

Syntax:

bash

wp c3 update <setting_type> <value>

Parameters:

Required

<setting_type>: Type of setting to update: distribution_id, access_key, or secret_key
<value>: New value for the setting

Available Settings:

distribution_id - CloudFront Distribution ID
access_key - AWS Access Key ID
secret_key - AWS Secret Access Key

Response:

Success:

Success: Update Option

Error:

Error: No type selected
Error: No value defined
Error: No Match Setting Type.

Security Considerations:

Access keys and secret keys are stored in WordPress options table
Consider using environment variables for production environments
Values are escaped using esc_attr() before storage

Examples:

bash

# Update distribution ID
wp c3 update distribution_id E1234567890123

# Update access key
wp c3 update access_key AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE

# Update secret key
wp c3 update secret_key wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY

Common Use Cases

Deployment Automation

Invalidate cache after deployment:

bash

#!/bin/bash
# deployment-script.sh

# Deploy your application
./deploy.sh

# Clear all cache after deployment
wp c3 flush all

Content Publishing Pipeline

Invalidate specific content after publishing:

bash

#!/bin/bash
# publish-content.sh

POST_ID=$1

# Invalidate the specific post
wp c3 flush $POST_ID

echo "Cache invalidated for post ID: $POST_ID"

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions Example

yaml

name: Deploy and Clear Cache
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v2
      
      - name: Deploy to server
        run: ./deploy.sh
        
      - name: Clear CloudFront Cache
        run: |
          wp c3 flush all
        env:
          AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
          AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
          C3_DISTRIBUTION_ID: ${{ secrets.C3_DISTRIBUTION_ID }}

GitLab CI Example

yaml

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - ./deploy.sh
    - wp c3 flush all
  environment:
    name: production
  variables:
    AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: $AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID
    AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: $AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY
    C3_DISTRIBUTION_ID: $C3_DISTRIBUTION_ID

Configuration Management

Set up C3 configuration via command line:

bash

#!/bin/bash
# configure-c3.sh

# Set up C3 configuration
DISTRIBUTION_ID="E1234567890123"
ACCESS_KEY="AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"
SECRET_KEY="wJalrXUtnFEMI/K7MDENG/bPxRfiCYEXAMPLEKEY"

echo "Configuring C3 CloudFront Cache Controller..."

# Update distribution ID
wp c3 update distribution_id $DISTRIBUTION_ID

# Update access key
wp c3 update access_key $ACCESS_KEY

# Update secret key
wp c3 update secret_key $SECRET_KEY

echo "Configuration complete"

Advanced Usage

Batch Operations

Process multiple posts:

bash

#!/bin/bash
# batch-invalidate.sh

# Get all published posts from last 24 hours
RECENT_POST_IDS=$(wp post list --post_status=publish --after="24 hours ago" --field=ID)

# Convert to comma-separated list
POST_IDS=$(echo $RECENT_POST_IDS | tr ' ' ',')

if [ -n "$POST_IDS" ]; then
    echo "Invalidating posts: $POST_IDS"
    wp c3 flush $POST_IDS
else
    echo "No recent posts to invalidate"
fi

Environment-Specific Operations

bash

#!/bin/bash
# env-specific-invalidation.sh

ENVIRONMENT=$(wp option get environment_type)

case $ENVIRONMENT in
    "production")
        # More conservative invalidation for production
        echo "Production environment - skipping full cache clear"
        ;;
    "staging")
        # Full cache clear for staging
        wp c3 flush all
        ;;
    "development")
        echo "Skipping cache invalidation in development"
        exit 0
        ;;
esac

Error Handling

Basic Error Handling

bash

#!/bin/bash
set -e  # Exit on any error

if wp c3 flush all; then
    echo "Cache invalidation successful"
else
    echo "Cache invalidation failed"
    exit 1
fi

Advanced Error Handling

bash

#!/bin/bash
# robust-invalidation.sh

flush_with_retry() {
    local post_id=$1
    local max_attempts=3
    local attempt=1
    
    while [ $attempt -le $max_attempts ]; do
        echo "Attempt $attempt: Flushing cache for post $post_id"
        
        if wp c3 flush $post_id; then
            echo "Success: Post $post_id cache flushed"
            return 0
        else
            echo "Failed: Attempt $attempt for post $post_id"
            attempt=$((attempt + 1))
            sleep 5
        fi
    done
    
    echo "Error: Failed to flush cache for post $post_id after $max_attempts attempts"
    return 1
}

# Usage
flush_with_retry "1"
flush_with_retry "all"

Configuration Management

Environment Variables

Set up different configurations for different environments:

bash

# production.env
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="prod_access_key"
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="prod_secret_key"
export C3_DISTRIBUTION_ID="prod_distribution_id"

# staging.env
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="staging_access_key"
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="staging_secret_key"
export C3_DISTRIBUTION_ID="staging_distribution_id"

# Load environment-specific config
source "${ENVIRONMENT}.env"
wp c3 flush all

Configuration Validation

bash

#!/bin/bash
# validate-config.sh

echo "Validating C3 configuration..."

# Check if WP-CLI is available
if ! command -v wp &> /dev/null; then
    echo "Error: WP-CLI not found"
    exit 1
fi

# Test configuration by attempting a flush operation
if wp c3 flush 1 &> /dev/null; then
    echo "✓ C3 configuration is valid"
else
    echo "✗ C3 configuration error"
    exit 1
fi

Performance Optimization

Batch Post Invalidation

For multiple post invalidations, use comma-separated lists:

bash

#!/bin/bash
# batch-post-invalidation.sh

# Instead of individual calls
# wp c3 flush 1
# wp c3 flush 2
# wp c3 flush 3

# Use single command with comma-separated list
wp c3 flush 1,2,3

Force Mode Usage

The --force flag bypasses the invalidation flag filter:

bash

#!/bin/bash
# force-clear.sh

# Normal flush (respects invalidation flag)
wp c3 flush all

# Force flush (ignores invalidation flag)
wp c3 flush all --force

Troubleshooting

Debug Mode

Enable verbose output:

bash

# Add --debug flag for detailed output
wp c3 flush all --debug

# Check WordPress debug log
wp c3 flush all && tail -f /path/to/wp-content/debug.log

Common Issues

Permission Denied:

bash

# Check AWS credentials by testing a flush operation
wp c3 flush 1

# Verify IAM permissions
aws sts get-caller-identity

Network Timeouts:

bash

# Test connectivity
curl -I https://cloudfront.amazonaws.com

Invalid Parameters:

bash

# Check parameter format
wp c3 flush 1,2,3  # Correct: comma-separated
wp c3 flush "1 2 3"  # Incorrect: space-separated

Best Practices

Use specific post IDs when possible instead of clearing all cache
Monitor AWS CloudFront costs - invalidations have associated costs
Test in staging before running in production
Use force mode sparingly - only when necessary
Consider timing - avoid clearing cache during peak traffic periods
Use comma-separated lists for multiple post IDs
Handle errors gracefully in automation scripts

Global Options

All C3 commands support these global WP-CLI options:

Environment

--path=<path> - Path to WordPress installation
--url=<url> - WordPress site URL
--ssh=<ssh> - SSH connection string

Output

--quiet - Suppress informational messages
--debug - Enable debug output

Examples:

bash

# Remote WordPress installation
wp --ssh=user@server.com --path=/var/www/html c3 flush all

# Quiet mode
wp c3 flush 1 --quiet

# Debug mode
wp c3 update distribution_id E1234567890123 --debug

Error Handling

Common Error Scenarios

Scenario	Error Message	Resolution
No parameters provided	`Please input parameter:post_id(numeric) or all`	Provide required post ID or 'all'
Invalid setting type	`No Match Setting Type.`	Use valid setting: distribution_id, access_key, secret_key
Missing setting value	`No value defined`	Provide value for the setting
Invalid post ID	`Please input parameter:post_id(numeric) or all`	Use numeric post ID or 'all'

AWS API Errors

When AWS API calls fail, the error message from AWS will be displayed:

Error: [AWS Error Message]

Common AWS errors include:

Invalid credentials
Distribution not found
Network connectivity issues
Rate limiting

Next Steps

Learn about troubleshooting common issues
Explore filters and hooks for advanced customization

WP-CLI Commands ​

Command Overview ​

Available Commands ​

wp c3 flush ​

Required ​

Optional ​

wp c3 update ​

Required ​

Common Use Cases ​

Deployment Automation ​

Content Publishing Pipeline ​

CI/CD Integration ​

GitHub Actions Example ​

GitLab CI Example ​

Configuration Management ​

Advanced Usage ​

Batch Operations ​

Environment-Specific Operations ​

Error Handling ​

Basic Error Handling ​

Advanced Error Handling ​

Configuration Management ​

Environment Variables ​

Configuration Validation ​

Performance Optimization ​

Batch Post Invalidation ​

Force Mode Usage ​

Troubleshooting ​

Debug Mode ​

Common Issues ​

Best Practices ​

Global Options ​

Environment ​

Output ​

Error Handling ​

Common Error Scenarios ​

AWS API Errors ​

Next Steps ​

WP-CLI Commands

Command Overview

Available Commands

`wp c3 flush`

Required

Optional

`wp c3 update`

Required

Common Use Cases

Deployment Automation

Content Publishing Pipeline

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions Example

GitLab CI Example

Configuration Management

Advanced Usage

Batch Operations

Environment-Specific Operations

Error Handling

Basic Error Handling

Advanced Error Handling

Configuration Management

Environment Variables

Configuration Validation

Performance Optimization

Batch Post Invalidation

Force Mode Usage

Troubleshooting

Debug Mode

Common Issues

Best Practices

Global Options

Environment

Output

Error Handling

Common Error Scenarios

AWS API Errors

Next Steps