wp-multisite

Overview

WordPress Multisite network management via WP-CLI (10 MCP tools). Covers sub-site CRUD, network plugin management, Super Admin listing, network settings, and domain mapping guidance. Uses a hybrid approach: REST API where available, WP-CLI for network-only operations.

When to Use

• User mentions multisite, network, sub-sites, or domain mapping
• User needs to create, activate, deactivate, or delete sub-sites
• User wants to network-activate or network-deactivate plugins
• User needs Super Admin listing or network settings
• User asks about migrating single-site to multisite or vice versa

Prerequisites

WP-CLI access and multisite flag must be configured in WP_SITES_CONFIG:

{
  "id": "mynetwork",
  "url": "https://network.example.com",
  "username": "superadmin",
  "password": "xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx",
  "wp_path": "/var/www/wordpress",
  "ssh_host": "network.example.com",
  "ssh_user": "deploy",
  "ssh_key": "~/.ssh/id_rsa",
  "is_multisite": true
}

• wp_path — required for all wp-cli operations
• ssh_host / ssh_user — required for remote sites (omit for local)
• is_multisite: true — required flag to enable ms_* tools

Detection

Run the detection script to check multisite presence:

node skills/wp-multisite/scripts/multisite_inspect.mjs

Multisite Operations Decision Tree

1. Sub-site management?

   • List all sub-sites → ms_list_sites
   • Get sub-site details → ms_get_site
   • Create new sub-site → ms_create_site
   • Activate/deactivate → ms_activate_site
   • Delete sub-site → ms_delete_site

2. Network plugin management?

   • List all plugins (with network status) → ms_list_network_plugins
   • Network-activate plugin → ms_network_activate_plugin
   • Network-deactivate plugin → ms_network_deactivate_plugin

3. Network administration?

   • List Super Admins → ms_list_super_admins
   • Get network settings → ms_get_network_settings

4. Domain mapping / network setup / migration?

   • See reference files below (no dedicated MCP tool — use wp-cli via Bash)

Recommended Agent

For complex multi-step multisite operations, use the wp-site-manager agent (which has a dedicated Multisite Network Management section).

Additional Resources

Reference Files

• references/network-setup.md — Sub-directory vs sub-domain, wp-config constants, installation
• references/site-management.md — CRUD sub-sites, templates, bulk operations
• references/domain-mapping.md — Custom domains, SSL, DNS CNAME, sunrise.php
• references/network-plugins.md — Network-activated vs per-site plugins, must-use plugins
• references/user-roles.md — Super Admin capabilities, site-level roles
• references/migration-multisite.md — Single to multisite and back, database tables

Related Skills

• wp-wpcli-and-ops — WP-CLI command reference and multisite flags
• wp-security — Super Admin capabilities and multisite security
• wp-deploy — Deploy to multisite network
• wp-multilang-network — Multi-language network orchestration (hreflang, content sync, international SEO)