Migrating Gravity Forms from the command line with WP-CLI

GravityMigrate includes WP-CLI commands for exporting and importing your Gravity Forms and GravityKit data from the command line. Every command uses the wp gk migrate prefix. This is useful for scripted migrations, moving data between servers over SSH, and migrating sites that are too large to export through the browser.

Note: The command line is an alternative to the GravityMigrate screen in wp-admin, not a replacement. Both produce and read the same export bundle, so you can export in the browser and import on the command line, or the reverse.

Before you begin #

WP-CLI installed on the server you run the commands on.
GravityMigrate active on both the source and destination sites. GravityKit Foundation, bundled with the plugin, registers the wp gk commands.
An administrator account. The export, import, and reset commands read and write your data, so they require one: pass --user=<administrator login>. Without it, the command stops and asks for an administrator.

Quick start #

The most common workflow is to export a bundle on one site and import it on another:

# On the source site: export everything to a ZIP
wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=all --data=all --output=/tmp/migration.zip

# Copy the ZIP to the destination site (scp, rsync, etc.), then import it
wp gk migrate import /tmp/migration.zip --user=admin --yes

# On the source site: export everything to a ZIP
wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=all --data=all --output=/tmp/migration.zip

# Copy the ZIP to the destination site (scp, rsync, etc.), then import it
wp gk migrate import /tmp/migration.zip --user=admin --yes

Exporting a bundle #

wp gk migrate export writes the forms and data you choose to a portable ZIP bundle.

# Export specific forms with their entries, Views, and pages
wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=3,5 --data=entries,views,posts --output=/srv/backups/forms.zip

# Export every form and every data type
wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=all --data=all --output=/srv/backups/all.zip

# Only entries created within a date range
wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=all --data=entries --date-start=2026-01-01 --date-end=2026-06-30 --output=/tmp/first-half.zip

# Encrypt the ZIP with a password
wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=all --data=all --password="a-strong-password" --output=/tmp/secure.zip

# Export specific forms with their entries, Views, and pages
wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=3,5 --data=entries,views,posts --output=/srv/backups/forms.zip

# Export every form and every data type
wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=all --data=all --output=/srv/backups/all.zip

# Only entries created within a date range
wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=all --data=entries --date-start=2026-01-01 --date-end=2026-06-30 --output=/tmp/first-half.zip

# Encrypt the ZIP with a password
wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=all --data=all --password="a-strong-password" --output=/tmp/secure.zip

Flag	What it does
`--forms=<ids>`	Comma-separated form IDs, or `all`.
`--data=<types>`	Comma-separated data types, or `all`. Defaults to `entries,views,posts`. See Data types below.
`--date-start=<Y-m-d>`, `--date-end=<Y-m-d>`	Limit exported entries to a date range.
`--password=<password>`	Encrypt the ZIP (AES-256).
`--public-url=<url>`	Rewrite this site’s address to `<url>` in exported file-upload links, so uploads download on import when the source’s own address is not reachable from the destination.
`--output=<path>`	Copy the finished ZIP to this path. Without it, the ZIP stays in the exports directory and is removed after three hours.
`--porcelain`	Output only the ZIP path.

Tip: Use --public-url when the source site’s stored address is not reachable from the destination, for example a local or staging clone. Entry file uploads are downloaded from the addresses stored in the bundle, so they must resolve from the importing server.

Importing a bundle #

wp gk migrate import reads a bundle and writes its forms, entries, Views, and other data into the current site. Import into a clean destination when you can, so results do not stack.

# Import everything in a bundle, skipping the confirmation prompt
wp gk migrate import /tmp/migration.zip --user=admin --yes

# Import only certain forms or data types from the bundle
wp gk migrate import /tmp/migration.zip --user=admin --forms=3,5 --data=entries,views --yes

# Import a password-protected bundle
wp gk migrate import /tmp/secure.zip --user=admin --password="a-strong-password" --yes

# Import without downloading entry file uploads
wp gk migrate import /tmp/migration.zip --user=admin --skip-uploads --yes

# Import everything in a bundle, skipping the confirmation prompt
wp gk migrate import /tmp/migration.zip --user=admin --yes

# Import only certain forms or data types from the bundle
wp gk migrate import /tmp/migration.zip --user=admin --forms=3,5 --data=entries,views --yes

# Import a password-protected bundle
wp gk migrate import /tmp/secure.zip --user=admin --password="a-strong-password" --yes

# Import without downloading entry file uploads
wp gk migrate import /tmp/migration.zip --user=admin --skip-uploads --yes

Flag	What it does
`<zip>`	Path to the bundle. The first argument, required.
`--forms=<ids>`	Form IDs to import, or `all` (default). Each must exist in the bundle.
`--data=<types>`	Data types to import, or `all` (default), intersected with what the bundle contains.
`--password=<password>`	Password, if the bundle is encrypted.
`--skip-uploads`	Do not download entry file uploads.
`--yes`	Skip the confirmation prompt.
`--porcelain`	Output only the newly created form IDs, one per line.
`--download-timeout=<secs>`, `--max-download-bytes=<n>`, `--max-dump-file-size=<n>`	Per-run overrides for the import safety limits.

Note: Importing writes into your Gravity Forms tables. Back up the destination site first, and prefer a clean destination so imported entries and Views are not mixed with existing data.

Inspecting a bundle before importing #

wp gk migrate inspect shows what a bundle contains without importing it: its forms, data types, source address, and whether its uploads will download from this server.

wp gk migrate inspect /tmp/migration.zip

# As JSON
wp gk migrate inspect /tmp/migration.zip --format=json

wp gk migrate inspect /tmp/migration.zip

# As JSON
wp gk migrate inspect /tmp/migration.zip --format=json

Checking migration state #

wp gk migrate status reports whether an import is in progress, whether a previous import stalled, and whether an export left state behind to clean up.

wp gk migrate status
wp gk migrate status --format=json

wp gk migrate status
wp gk migrate status --format=json

Clearing stuck migration state #

If an import was interrupted and a later one is refused, wp gk migrate reset clears the stuck state: the temporary tables, the extracted files, and the progress locks.

wp gk migrate reset --user=admin --yes

wp gk migrate reset --user=admin --yes

Data types #

The --data flag accepts a comma-separated list of these types, or all:

Type	What it includes
`entries`	Form entries with their metadata and notes.
`uploads`	Entry file uploads. Downloaded from the source during import, so it requires `entries`.
`views`	GravityView Views.
`posts`	The pages that embed your Views, and other connected posts.
`revisions`	Form revision history.
`addon_feeds`	Add-on feeds, for example GravityView and GravityCharts.
`gravityflow`	Gravity Flow workflow activity, where present.
`drafts`	Saved and continued draft submissions.
`gf_settings`	Gravity Forms settings.
`gk_settings`	GravityKit settings.
`rest_api_keys`	Gravity Forms REST API keys.

Output formats #

Commands that print data support --format=table (the default, human-readable) and --format=json (machine-readable). For scripting, wp gk migrate export --porcelain prints only the ZIP path, and wp gk migrate import --porcelain prints only the newly created form IDs.

Scripting a migration between two servers #

Because --porcelain prints only the essential value, you can chain export and import over SSH:

#!/bin/bash
set -e

# Export on the source site and capture just the ZIP path
ZIP=$(wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=all --data=all --porcelain)

# Copy it to the destination and import it there
scp "$ZIP" deploy@destination:/tmp/migration.zip
ssh deploy@destination "wp gk migrate import /tmp/migration.zip --user=admin --yes --porcelain"

#!/bin/bash
set -e

# Export on the source site and capture just the ZIP path
ZIP=$(wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=all --data=all --porcelain)

# Copy it to the destination and import it there
scp "$ZIP" deploy@destination:/tmp/migration.zip
ssh deploy@destination "wp gk migrate import /tmp/migration.zip --user=admin --yes --porcelain"

Troubleshooting #

“‘gk’ is not a registered wp command”: Make sure GravityMigrate is active. The commands are registered through GravityKit Foundation, which is bundled with every GravityKit plugin.

“Run with –user=<an administrator login>”: The export, import, and reset commands require an administrator. Add --user= with an administrator’s username or ID.

“Import already in progress”: A previous import did not finish. Run wp gk migrate status to confirm, then wp gk migrate reset --user=admin --yes, and try the import again.

Entry file uploads did not download: The source site’s address is not reachable from the destination. Re-export with --public-url= set to an address that resolves from the importing server.

The bundle’s database dump is too large: Raise the limit for a single run with --max-dump-file-size=<bytes> on the import command.