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.

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

# Package the uploaded files inside the ZIP
wp gk migrate export --user=admin --forms=all --data=all --include-files --output=/tmp/standalone.zip

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

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. Since GravityMigrate 1.4.0 it also reports a running import’s progress: the current phase, how much has been processed, percent complete, and an estimated time remaining. Add --watch to keep it running and follow the import until it finishes.

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

# Follow a running import until it finishes (GravityMigrate 1.4.0+)
wp gk migrate status --watch

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

Migrating forms to or from another form plugin #

The same migration the wizard runs between Gravity Forms and another form plugin on the site is available on the command line. Gravity Forms stays the hub: to copies Gravity Forms forms into another plugin, and from recreates another plugin’s forms as Gravity Forms forms. Both run one form at a time, with the same permission checks as the screen. Migrating forms from another form plugin explains what moves and how to read the report.

First list the plugins this site can migrate to or from:

wp gk migrate plugins
wp gk migrate plugins --available --format=ids

The listing names each plugin’s slug, whether it can be a destination (to), whether it can be a source (from), and the reason when a direction is unavailable. Copy Gravity Forms forms into another plugin:

# See what would happen to each field, and change nothing
wp gk migrate to contact-form-7 --forms=all --dry-run

# Recreate forms 3 and 5 in Ninja Forms
wp gk migrate to ninja-forms --forms=3,5 --user=admin --yes

# Recreate every active form in WPForms and print the IDs it created
wp gk migrate to wpforms --forms=all --user=admin --yes --format=ids

Bring another plugin’s forms into Gravity Forms:

# See what would happen to each field, and change nothing
wp gk migrate from ninja-forms --forms=all --dry-run

# Recreate Contact Form 7's form 2 as a Gravity Forms form
wp gk migrate from contact-form-7 --forms=2 --user=admin --yes

Warnings the migration produces are printed as it runs.

Data types #

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

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, or re-export with --include-files so the files travel inside the ZIP.

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.

Related articles #

• Getting started with GravityMigrate
• Migrating forms from another form plugin
• Best practices for moving data using GravityMigrate
• GravityMigrate hooks
• Firewall or WAF blocking GravityKit imports and exports

• Getting started with GravityMigrate
• Migrating forms from another form plugin
• Best practices for moving data using GravityMigrate
• GravityMigrate hooks
• Firewall or WAF blocking GravityKit imports and exports