Using WP CLI to delete spam comments
We all know that WordPress is a powerhouse in website creation. Its flexibility and robustness have made it a favorite among novices and seasoned web developers. However, like any popular platform, WordPress sites are often targeted by spammers who litter the comment sections with unwanted messages; this is annoying as a site owner or maintainer and deleting these span comments is a tedious process if we do it inside the WordPress Admin UI.
But WP CLI (Command Line Interface) is here to save the day. With WP CLI, managing spam comments becomes a breeze. This post will delve into using WP CLI to eliminate those pesky spam comments, ensuring your website is clean.
A Dive into WP CLI
If you are unaware, WP CLI is the command-line tool for WordPress. It allows you to interact with your site from the terminal, a haven for many developers. This tool simplifies various WordPress tasks, making managing your site less of a chore, and this will be the first post of a series about WP CLI.
Installation
Before you can command your site to obedience, you must install WP CLI. Most reputable WordPress hosting already provides SSH access and WP CLI by default, but if you need to install it on your local environment or in a hosting that is not installed, This is the official way to do it.
To be sure that everything is working, type on your terminal:
$ wp --info
You should see a similar output similar to the one below.
OS: Darwin 23.0.0 Darwin Kernel Version 23.0.0: Fri Sep 15 14:41:43 PDT 2023; root:xnu-10002.1.13~1/RELEASE_ARM64_T6000 arm64
Shell: /bin/zsh
PHP binary: /Users/tmeister/Library/Application Support/Herd/bin/php81
PHP version: 8.1.24
php.ini used:
MySQL binary: /opt/homebrew/bin/mysql
MySQL version: mysql from 11.0.2-MariaDB, client 15.2 for osx10.18 (arm64) using EditLine wrapper
SQL modes: STRICT_TRANS_TABLES,ERROR_FOR_DIVISION_BY_ZERO,NO_AUTO_CREATE_USER,NO_ENGINE_SUBSTITUTION
WP-CLI root dir: phar://wp-cli.phar/vendor/wp-cli/wp-cli
WP-CLI vendor dir: phar://wp-cli.phar/vendor
WP_CLI phar path: /Users/tmeister/Code/Personal/wp-api-jwt-auth
WP-CLI packages dir:
WP-CLI cache dir: /Users/tmeister/.wp-cli/cache
WP-CLI global config:
WP-CLI project config:
WP-CLI version: 2.8.1
Preparing the Ground
Before you unleash WP CLI, ensure you have a recent site backup. It's a safety net, just in case things go south.
You can create a full database backup using:
$ wp db export
Yeah!! That's it; that command will create an SQL file with all the database information. I'll write more deeply about this command in future posts.
The Execution
Now, it's time to show those spam comments the door. Open your terminal, navigate to your WordPress directory, and type the following command:
$ wp comment delete $(wp comment list --status=spam --format=ids)
This command tells WP CLI to list all spam comments then delete them. Simple, yet powerful but let's break down this command into its two main components for better understanding:
Inner Command (wp comment list --status=spam --format=ids):
wp comment list: This is the WP CLI command to list comments on your WordPress site.
--status=spam: This flag filters the list to only include comments marked as spam.
--format=ids: This flag formats the output to only show the IDs of the spam comments, instead of the full details.
Outer Command wp comment delete:
wp comment delete: This is the WP CLI command to delete comments.
$(...): This syntax is used to execute the inner command and pass its output (the IDs of spam comments) as arguments to the outer command.
So, in essence, this command operates in two steps:
- It first fetches the IDs of all comments marked as spam.
- It then passes these IDs to the wp comment delete command, which deletes all these spam comments from your WordPress site.
WP CLI is a robust tool that empowers you to manage your WordPress site efficiently. Deleting spam comments is just one of the many tasks WP CLI simplifies. It's time-saving, effective, and a must-have for every WordPress administrator.
