Anyone managing several WordPress environments — production, staging, or separate installs for different languages — ends up re-typing SSH connection details and install paths every time they run a command. Building that connection string by hand each time invites mistakes: a copy-paste error, or reusing a stale path, can send a command to the wrong environment entirely. That risk matters most for write commands — bulk plugin updates or database operations — where hitting the wrong target has real consequences.
WP-CLI has a built-in feature for exactly this problem: aliases.
Note: A WP-CLI "alias" assigns a short name (like @production) to a set of connection details — an SSH target and a WordPress install path. Once registered, that short name replaces the full connection string on every subsequent command.
Where aliases live
Aliases are registered in one of two config files:
