Drush Commands — Drupal Command Line Interface Complete Guide

# Install Drush globally via Composer
composer global require drush/drush

# Or install it as a project dependency
composer require drush/drush

# Verify installation
drush --version
# Output: Drush 12.x.x

# List all available commands
drush list

# Get help for a specific command
drush help cache:rebuild

# Install Drupal with standard profile
drush site:install \
  --db-url=mysql://user:password@localhost/drupal_db \
  --site-name="My Site" \
  --site-mail=admin@example.com \
  --account-name=admin \
  --account-pass=securepassword \
  --account-mail=admin@example.com

# Short form
drush si \
  --db-url=mysql://user:password@localhost/drupal_db \
  --site-name="My Site"

# Install with a custom install profile
drush si my_custom_profile \
  --db-url=mysql://user:password@localhost/drupal_db

# Install with existing settings.php
drush si --existing-config

# Set the default language
drush si --locale=fr

# Rebuild all caches (most common command)
drush cache:rebuild
# Short form
drush cr

# Clear a specific cache bin
drush cache:clear render
drush cache:clear page
drush cache:clear dynamic_page_cache

# Clear all caches (older Drupal versions)
drush cache:clear all

# Check cache status
drush cache:get cache_container

# Export all configuration to the sync directory
drush config:export
# Short form
drush cex

# Export to a specific directory
drush cex --destination=/path/to/config

# Import all configuration from the sync directory
drush config:import
# Short form
drush cim

# Import a single config item
drush config:import --filter=system.site

# View a specific configuration value
drush config:get system.site name
# Output: system.site:name [My Site]

# Set a configuration value
drush config:set system.site name "New Site Name"

# List all configuration
drush config:list

# Delete a configuration item
drush config:delete system.site name

# Show differences between active and sync config
drush config:diff

# Export a single configuration item
drush config:export --filter=node.type.article

# Export a database dump
drush sql:dump > backup.sql

# Export with options
drush sql:dump \
  --result-file=/backups/drupal.sql \
  --structure-tables-key=common \
  --extra=--skip-lock-tables

# Import a database dump
drush sql:cli < backup.sql

# Open an interactive SQL shell
drush sql:cli

# Run a raw SQL query
drush sql:query "SELECT nid, title FROM node_field_data WHERE status = 1"

# Show database connection details
drush sql:connect

# Sanitize the database (for dev copies)
drush sql:sanitize

# Show database size
drush core:status

# Sanitize removes or anonymizes:
# - User passwords
# - Email addresses
# - Usernames
drush sql:sanitize

# Custom sanitization options
# --sanitize-email: Replace emails with safe values
# --sanitize-password: Replace all passwords
drush sql:sanitize \
  --sanitize-email=user+%uid@example.com \
  --sanitize-password=changeme

# List all modules
drush pm:list

# List only enabled modules
drush pm:list --status=enabled

# List only contributed modules
drush pm:list --type=module --no-core

# Enable a module
drush pm:enable pathauto views_ui
# Short form
drush en pathauto

# Disable a module
drush pm:disable pathauto

# Uninstall a module
drush pm:uninstall pathauto

# Install a module with dependencies
drush pm:enable my_module --include-dependencies

# Show module information
drush pm:info pathauto

# Create a new user
drush user:create \
  --name=johndoe \
  --mail=john@example.com \
  --password=securepass123

# Create a user with roles
drush user:create \
  --name=editor1 \
  --mail=editor@example.com \
  --password=editorpass \
  --roles=content_editor

# Get a one-time login link (for admin access without password)
drush user:login admin
# Output: https://example.com/reset/1/1700000000/abc123def/login

# Get login link for a specific user
drush user:login --uid=5
drush user:login --name=johndoe

# Block a user
drush user:block --name=spammer

# Unblock a user
drush user:unblock --name=johndoe

# Change a user's password
drush user:password admin --password=newsecurepass

# Cancel a user account
drush user:cancel --name=johndoe

# List all users
drush user:list

# List users with specific role
drush user:list --roles=content_editor

# Run all cron tasks
drush cron
# Short form
drush core:cron

# Run a specific cron handler
drush cron --env=production

# Check when cron last ran
drush state:get system.cron_last

# Get a state value
drush state:get system.cron_last

# Set a state value
drush state:set system.maintenance_mode 1

# Delete a state value
drush state:delete my_module.temp_data

<?php
namespace Drupal\my_module\Commands;

use Drush\Commands\DrushCommands;

class MyCustomCommands extends DrushCommands {

  /**
   * Import content from an external API.
   *
   * @command my_module:import
   * @param string $source The API endpoint to import from.
   * @option limit Maximum number of items to import.
   * @usage my_module:import https://api.example.com/data --limit=50
   *   Import up to 50 items from the API.
   */
  public function import($source, $options = ['limit' => 100]) {
    $this->output()->writeln('Starting import from: ' . $source);
    $this->output()->writeln('Limit: ' . $options['limit']);

    try {
      // Your import logic here
      $count = \Drupal::service('my_module.importer')
        ->import($source, $options['limit']);

      $this->output()->writeln(
        sprintf('Successfully imported %d items.', $count)
      );

      $this->logger()->notice('Import completed from @source', [
        '@source' => $source,
      ]);
    } catch (\Exception $e) {
      $this->logger()->error('Import failed: @message', [
        '@message' => $e->getMessage(),
      ]);
      throw $e;
    }
  }

  /**
   * Generate a report of content statistics.
   *
   * @command my_module:report
   * @option type Content type to filter by.
   * @usage my_module:report --type=article
   *   Generate report for articles.
   */
  public function report($options = ['type' => NULL]) {
    $query = \Drupal::entityQuery('node')
      ->accessCheck(FALSE);

    if ($options['type']) {
      $query->condition('type', $options['type']);
    }

    $total = $query->count()->execute();
    $published = (clone $query)
      ->condition('status', 1)
      ->count()
      ->execute();

    $this->output()->writeln('=== Content Report ===');
    $this->output()->writeln('Total nodes: ' . $total);
    $this->output()->writeln('Published: ' . $published);
    $this->output()->writeln('Unpublished: ' . ($total - $published));
    $this->output()->writeln('=====================');
  }
}

# my_module.services.yml
services:
  my_module.commands:
    class: Drupal\my_module\Commands\MyCustomCommands
    tags:
      - { name: drush.command }