CLI Abilities Bridge WP Registry grade A. No security issues foundWP RegistryNo security issues foundOpen the reportA

Exposes WP-CLI and system commands as abilities via the WordPress Abilities API.

Description

CLI Abilities Bridge gives AI agents direct access to WP-CLI through a single ability. Instead of registering hundreds of individual command abilities (which consumes excessive tokens for AI models to parse), the plugin exposes one wp-cli/execute ability that accepts commands exactly as you would type them in a terminal.

The plugin also registers a curated set of system CLI commands (network diagnostics, text processing, system info) as structured abilities with strict security controls.

How It Works

AI agents call wp-cli/execute with a command string — the same way they would use bash:

post list --post_type=page --format=json
option get blogname
plugin list --status=active --format=json
user list --role=administrator --format=json
post create --post_title="Hello World" --post_status=publish

No discovery step, no syncing, no cache. The command is validated against a blocklist, permissions are checked, and it runs.

Features

• Single Ability Interface — One wp-cli/execute ability instead of hundreds. Minimal token overhead for AI agents.
• Natural Command Syntax — Agents pass commands as plain text, exactly like bash.
• System Command Catalog — 30+ pre-defined system commands (whois, dig, curl, df, jq, and more) with structured input schemas.
• Role-Based Permissions — Three access levels (read, write, destructive) mapped to WordPress capabilities. Checked per-command at execution time.
• Security Layering — Command blocklists, binary allowlists, SSRF protection for curl, shell-free execution via array-based proc_open, and process timeouts.
• MCP Annotations — Abilities include metadata annotations for AI model awareness.
• Multisite Aware — Passes network context and authenticated user to all executed commands.

Security

The plugin enforces multiple layers of protection:

• Blocklisted commands — Dangerous top-level commands (db, shell, config, core, eval, etc.) and sub-commands (site empty, plugin install, super-admin add, etc.) are blocked by default.
• No shell execution — Commands are executed via array-based proc_open, bypassing the shell entirely and eliminating injection risk.
• Permission checks — Each command is classified (read/write/destructive) and checked against the user's capabilities at runtime.
• Binary allowlist — System commands are restricted to a strict allowlist of safe binaries.
• SSRF protection — Curl commands block internal/private IP ranges and unsafe URL schemes.
• Process timeouts — All command execution enforces configurable timeouts (default 30s, max 120s).
• Output limits — Command output is truncated at 1MB to prevent memory exhaustion.

Requirements

• WordPress with the Abilities API available (wp_register_ability() function).
• WP-CLI installed and executable on the server.

Installation

1. Upload the cli-abilities-bridge folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress (or Network Activate on multisite).
3. That's it — the wp-cli/execute ability is immediately available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this plugin work on single-site WordPress?

Yes. The plugin works on both single-site and multisite installations. On multisite, it automatically passes the site URL context to WP-CLI commands.

What happened to wp abilities sync?

Version 2.0 removed the discovery/sync workflow. Commands are validated and executed on-the-fly — no caching step needed.

What happens if WP-CLI is not installed?

The WP-CLI ability will return an error. System command abilities work independently if the required binaries are present on the server.

Can I customize which commands are blocked?

Yes. Use the wp_cli_abilities_blocklist filter to modify the top-level blocklist and wp_cli_abilities_subcommand_blocklist for sub-commands.

Can I change the required capabilities for command access levels?

Yes. Use the wp_cli_abilities_capability_map filter to customize the WordPress capabilities required for each access level (read, write, destructive).

Screenshots

Changelog

2.0.1

Version 2.0.1 - Released on 2026-08-19

• Improved: WordPress compatibility metadata now reflects testing through WordPress 7.1.

2.0.0 - 2026-04-10

• Breaking change: Replaced per-command ability registration with a single wp-cli/execute ability.
• Agents now pass WP-CLI commands as plain text strings — natural bash-style interface.
• Removed command discovery, caching, and sync workflow (wp abilities sync is gone).
• Removed JSON Schema builder — no longer needed for individual command schemas.
• Switched to array-based proc_open for shell-free command execution.
• Added command string tokenizer with proper quote handling.
• Per-command permission checks now happen at execution time instead of registration time.

1.0.0

• Initial release.
• WP-CLI command discovery and ability registration.
• System command catalog with 30+ commands.
• Role-based permission system.
• JSON Schema input validation.
• SSRF protection and security hardening.