drush

Drush CLI Reference

Command-line interface for Drupal site management. Drush runs in the Drupal bootstrap context, giving full access to the Drupal API.

Based on factorial-io/skills/drush (MIT licensed).

Command Structure

All commands follow: drush <command> [arguments] [--options]

Most commands have short aliases. Use drush list to see all available commands, drush <command> --help for details.

In DDEV: Prefix with ddev (e.g., ddev drush cr).

Quick Reference

Task	Command	Alias
Cache rebuild	drush cache:rebuild	drush cr
Config export	drush config:export	drush cex
Config import	drush config:import	drush cim
Config get	drush config:get <name>	drush cget <name>
Config set	drush config:set <name> <key> <value>	drush cset <name> <key> <value>
Database update	drush updatedb	drush updb
Module install	drush pm:install <module>	drush en <module>
Module uninstall	drush pm:uninstall <module>	drush pmu <module>
List modules	drush pm:list	drush pml
User login link	drush user:login	drush uli
User info	drush user:information <name>
Watchdog logs	drush watchdog:show	drush ws
Status overview	drush status	drush st
Run cron	drush cron
State get	drush state:get <key>	drush sget <key>
State set	drush state:set <key> <value>	drush sset <key> <value>
Deploy (updb+cim+cr)	drush deploy
Code generation	drush generate	drush gen
Site requirements	drush core:requirements	drush rq
Watchdog tail	drush watchdog:tail	drush wt
Queue list	drush queue:list
Queue run	drush queue:run <name>
Security check	drush pm:security

Running PHP Code

Drush can evaluate arbitrary PHP within full Drupal bootstrap context.

Inline PHP with eval

# Simple expression
ddev drush php:eval "echo \Drupal::VERSION;"

# Load and inspect an entity
ddev drush php:eval "\$node = \Drupal\node\Entity\Node::load(1); echo \$node->getTitle();"

# Query entities
ddev drush php:eval "\$ids = \Drupal::entityTypeManager()->getStorage('node')->getQuery()->accessCheck(FALSE)->condition('type', 'article')->range(0, 5)->execute(); print_r(\$ids);"

# Access a service
ddev drush php:eval "echo \Drupal::service('extension.list.module')->getPath('node');"

# Get current user
ddev drush php:eval "echo \Drupal::currentUser()->getAccountName();"

Shell escaping: Use single quotes around the PHP string in fish/zsh to avoid $ expansion, or escape \$ in double quotes.

Interactive PHP shell

# Opens interactive REPL with Drupal bootstrapped
ddev drush php:cli

Running PHP scripts

# Execute a PHP file with full Drupal bootstrap
ddev drush php:script path/to/script.php

# Pass arguments (available as $extra in the script)
ddev drush php:script path/to/script.php -- arg1 arg2

SQL Operations

Direct SQL queries

# Run a SQL query directly
ddev drush sql:query "SELECT nid, title FROM node_field_data LIMIT 10"

# Count content by type
ddev drush sql:query "SELECT type, COUNT(*) as count FROM node_field_data GROUP BY type"

# Check a specific table
ddev drush sql:query "DESCRIBE users_field_data"

Database shell and dumps

# Open interactive database client
ddev drush sql:cli

# Create database dump
ddev drush sql:dump > dump.sql
ddev drush sql:dump --gzip --result-file=/tmp/dump.sql

# Import SQL file
ddev drush sql:cli < dump.sql

# Show database connection info
ddev drush sql:conf

# Sanitize user data (emails, passwords) for safe copies
ddev drush sql:sanitize

Configuration Management

Get configuration

# Get entire config object (YAML output)
ddev drush cget system.site

# Get a specific key
ddev drush cget system.site name
ddev drush cget system.site page.front

# Show pending config changes
ddev drush config:status

Set and edit configuration

# Set a single value
ddev drush cset system.site name "My Site"

# Set nested value
ddev drush cset system.site page.front "/node"

# Edit full config object in editor
ddev drush config:edit system.site

# Delete a config object
ddev drush config:delete <config-name>

Export/import workflow

# Export active config to sync directory
ddev drush cex -y

# Import config from sync directory
ddev drush cim -y

# Import partial (does not delete active-only config)
ddev drush cim --partial

# Import from non-default directory
ddev drush cim --source=/path/to/config

Module Management

# List all modules with status
ddev drush pml
ddev drush pml --status=enabled
ddev drush pml --type=module --status="not installed"

# Install module(s)
ddev drush en module_name
ddev drush en module_one module_two

# Uninstall module(s)
ddev drush pmu module_name

# Check if module is enabled
ddev drush pml --filter=module_name

User Management

# Generate one-time login link
ddev drush uli
ddev drush uli --uid=1
ddev drush uli admin

# Create user
ddev drush user:create username --mail="user@example.com" --password="pass"

# Add/remove role
ddev drush user:role:add editor admin
ddev drush user:role:remove editor admin

# Block/unblock user
ddev drush user:block username
ddev drush user:unblock username

# Reset password
ddev drush user:password admin "newpassword"

Roles and Permissions

# List all roles
ddev drush role:list

# Get permissions for a specific role
ddev drush cget user.role.editor

# List all available permissions
ddev drush php:eval 'echo implode("\n", array_keys(\Drupal::service("user.permissions")->getPermissions()));'

# Search for specific permissions
ddev drush php:eval 'echo implode("\n", array_keys(\Drupal::service("user.permissions")->getPermissions()));' | grep administer

# Grant/remove permissions
ddev drush role:perm:add anonymous 'access content'
ddev drush role:perm:add editor 'access content,administer nodes'
ddev drush role:perm:remove anonymous 'access content'

# Create/delete a role
ddev drush role:create editor Editor
ddev drush role:delete editor

Code Generation

Scaffolding via drush generate (powered by drupal-code-generator):

# Interactive: pick a generator from the list
ddev drush generate

# Generate a specific component
ddev drush generate module
ddev drush generate controller
ddev drush generate form:config
ddev drush generate plugin:block
ddev drush generate entity:content
ddev drush generate hook

# Preview without writing files
ddev drush generate controller --dry-run

# Pre-fill answers to skip prompts
ddev drush generate controller --answer=Example --answer=example

Common generators: module, controller, field, hook, form:simple, form:config, form:confirm, plugin:block, plugin:action, entity:content, entity:configuration, service-provider, drush:command.

Useful Options

Option	Description
--format=json	JSON output (useful for scripting/parsing)
--format=yaml	YAML output
-y	Auto-confirm prompts
-v / --debug	Verbose / debug output
--uri=http://example.com	Set base URI

Deprecated and Removed Commands

Commands that NO LONGER EXIST in modern Drush (12+). Never suggest these:

Removed Command	What to Use Instead
drush entity-updates / drush entup	drush updatedb — entity schema updates are handled by update hooks
drush pm-download / drush dl	composer require drupal/<module>
drush pm-update / drush up	composer update then drush updb
drush pm-enable (old syntax)	drush pm:install / drush en
drush pm-disable / drush dis	drush pm:uninstall / drush pmu (no "disable" concept)
drush features-*	Use config management (drush cex/drush cim)
drush registry-rebuild / drush rr	drush cr
drush variable-get/set	drush sget/drush sset (State) or drush cget/drush cset (Config)

Rule: If a command uses a hyphen (e.g., entity-updates), it is likely old syntax. Modern Drush uses colons (e.g., cache:rebuild).

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
drush entity-updates	drush updb	entity-updates removed in Drush 11+
drush dl module	composer require drupal/module	Package management via Composer
drush up	composer update && drush updb	Updates via Composer, then DB updates
drush dis module	drush pmu module	No disable concept; uninstall instead
drush variable-get x	drush sget x or drush cget x	Variables removed; use State or Config
drush cim before drush updb	drush updb && drush cim or drush deploy	Update hooks may add schemas needed by config
Missing -y in scripts	Add -y flag	Commands prompt for confirmation and hang without it
Missing accessCheck(FALSE) in php:eval queries	Always add ->accessCheck(FALSE)	Required since Drupal 9.2

Related Skills

• ddev — DDEV environment management (wraps drush commands with ddev prefix)
• drupal-expert — Drupal development patterns and coding standards
• config-management — Detailed config export/import, Config Split, Recipes
• scaffold — Module/component generation with project standards
• debug — Troubleshoot issues using drush and watchdog logs