When WP-CLI commands mysteriously return no output, it’s often due to a misbehaving plugin. Here’s a quick script that helped me identify the culprit:

bash

for plugin in $(wp plugin list --field=name --skip-plugins); do
    echo -e "\033[1;34m-----------------------------------------\033[0m"
    echo -e "\033[1;33mTesting with --skip-plugins=$plugin...\033[0m"
    
    output=$(wp eval 'echo "test";' --skip-plugins="$plugin")
    
    if [ ! -z "$output" ]; then
        echo -e "\033[1;32mSuccess! Output: $output\033[0m"
        echo -e "\033[1;31mProblem likely caused by: $plugin\033[0m"
        echo -e "\033[1;34m-----------------------------------------\033[0m"
        break
    else
        echo -e "\033[1;31mNo output. Moving to the next plugin.\033[0m"
    fi
done

This script iterates through each plugin, disabling them one at a time until WP-CLI output is restored. When output appears, you’ve found your problematic plugin.

The script uses color coding for better visibility:

• Blue: Separators
• Yellow: Current test
• Green: Success
• Red: Issues/problematic plugin

Save this as debug-wpcli.sh and run it from your WordPress root directory.

Happy debugging!