Getting Started with WordPress WP-CLI and Nginx on Ubuntu 22.04

Author: Łukasz Bodziony

Email: lukasz@bodziony.net.pl

DevOps Services: bodziony.net.pl

Published: June 2025

Introduction

WP-CLI is a powerful command-line tool that lets you manage your WordPress installation without opening a browser. In this tutorial, Łukasz Bodziony will show you how to quickly install Nginx, PHP, and WP-CLI, then deploy a WordPress site on Ubuntu 22.04—all via the terminal.

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS server with sudo/root access
• Basic familiarity with the Linux command line
• A domain name pointing to your server’s IP

Step 1: Update Your System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Nginx, PHP & Extensions

sudo apt install -y nginx php-fpm php-mysql php-xml php-curl php-gd php-mbstring
sudo systemctl enable --now nginx php7.4-fpm
    

Step 3: Install WP-CLI

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar
php wp-cli.phar --info
chmod +x wp-cli.phar
sudo mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp
wp --info
    

Step 4: Create Your WordPress Site

Create a directory for your site and download WordPress:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.com
cd /var/www/example.com
sudo wp core download
    

Create wp-config.php and set database credentials:

sudo wp config create \
  --dbname=wordpress \
  --dbuser=wpuser \
  --dbpass='StrongDBPass123' \
  --dbhost=localhost \
  --dbprefix=wp_
    

Install WordPress:

sudo wp core install \
  --url="https://example.com" \
  --title="My WP Site" \
  --admin_user="admin" \
  --admin_password="StrongAdminPass!" \
  --admin_email="admin@example.com"
    

Ensure proper permissions:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/example.com
sudo find /var/www/example.com -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
sudo find /var/www/example.com -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
    

Step 5: Configure Nginx Server Block

sudo tee /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com << 'EOF'
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com www.example.com;
    root /var/www/example.com;

    index index.php index.html;
    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php7.4-fpm.sock;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}
EOF

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
    

Step 6: (Optional) Enable HTTPS with Let’s Encrypt

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d example.com -d www.example.com
    

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve just bootstrapped a fully functional WordPress site using WP-CLI on Nginx under Ubuntu 22.04. Managing updates, plugins, and themes can now all be done from your terminal.

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© 2025 Written by Łukasz Bodziony – All rights reserved.