Command Line Interface

You can invoke the django CMS command line interface using the cms Django command:

python manage.py cms

Informational commands

cms list

The list command is used to display information about your installation.

It has two sub-commands:

  • cms list plugins lists all plugins that are used in your project.
  • cms list apphooks lists all apphooks that are used in your project.

cms list plugins will issue warnings when it finds orphaned plugins (see cms delete-orphaned-plugins below).

cms check

Checks your configuration and environment.

Plugin and apphook management commands

cms delete-orphaned-plugins

Warning

The delete-orphaned-plugins command permanently deletes data from your database. You should make a backup of your database before using it!

Identifies and deletes orphaned plugins.

Orphaned plugins are ones that exist in the CMSPlugins table, but:

  • have a plugin_type that is no longer even installed
  • have no corresponding saved instance in that particular plugin type’s table

Such plugins will cause problems when trying to use operations that need to copy pages (and therefore plugins), which includes cms moderator on as well as page copy operations in the admin.

It is recommended to run cms list plugins periodically, and cms delete-orphaned-plugins when required.

cms uninstall

The uninstall subcommand can be used to make uninstalling a CMS plugin or an apphook easier.

It has two sub-commands:

  • cms uninstall plugins <plugin name> [<plugin name 2> [...]] uninstalls one or several plugins by removing them from all pages where they are used. Note that the plugin name should be the name of the class that is registered in the django CMS. If you are unsure about the plugin name, use the cms list to see a list of installed plugins.
  • cms uninstall apphooks <apphook name> [<apphook name 2> [...]] uninstalls one or several apphooks by removing them from all pages where they are used. Note that the apphook name should be the name of the class that is registered in the django CMS. If you are unsure about the apphook name, use the cms list to see a list of installed apphooks.

Warning

The uninstall commands permanently delete data from your database. You should make a backup of your database before using them!

cms copy

The copy command is used to copy content from one language or site to another.

It has two sub-commands:

  • cms copy lang copy content to a given language.
  • cms copy site copy pages and content to a given site.

cms copy lang

The copy lang subcommand can be used to copy content (titles and plugins) from one language to another. By default the subcommand copy content from the current site (e.g. the value of SITE_ID) and only if the target placeholder has no content for the specified language; using the defined options you can change this.

You must provide two arguments:

  • --from-lang: the language to copy the content from;
  • --to-lang: the language to copy the content to.

It accepts the following options

  • --force: set to copy content even if a placeholder already has content; if set, copied content will be appended to the original one;
  • --site: specify a SITE_ID to operate on sites different from the current one;
  • --verbosity: set for more verbose output.
  • --skip-content: if set, content is not copied, and the command will only create titles in the given language.

Example:

cms copy lang --from-lang=en --to-lang=de --force --site=2 --verbosity=2

cms copy site

The copy site subcommand can be used to copy content (pages and plugins) from one site to another. The subcommand copy content from the from-site to to-site; please note that static placeholders are copied as they are shared across sites. The whole source tree is copied, in the root of the target website. Existing pages on the target website are not modified.

You must provide two arguments:

  • --from-site: the site to copy the content from;
  • --to-site: the site to copy the content to.

Example:

cms copy site --from-site=1 --to-site=2

Moderation commands

cms moderator

If you migrate from an earlier version, you should use the cms moderator on command to ensure that your published pages are up to date, whether or not you used moderation in the past.

Warning

This command alters data in your database. You should make a backup of your database before using it! Never run this command without first checking for orphaned plugins, using the cms list plugins command, and if necessary delete-orphaned-plugins. Running cms moderator with orphaned plugins will fail and leave bad data in your database.

cms publisher-publish

If you want to publish many pages at once, this command can help you. By default, this command publishes drafts for all public pages.

It accepts the following options

  • --unpublished: set to publish all drafts, including unpublished ones; if not set, only already published pages will be republished.
  • -l, --language: specify a language code to publish pages in only one language; if not specified, this command publishes all page languages;
  • --site: specify a site id to publish pages for specified site only; if not specified, this command publishes pages for all sites;

Example:

#publish drafts for public pages in all languages
cms publisher-publish

#publish all drafts in all pages
cms publisher-publish --unpublished

#publish drafts for public pages in deutsch
cms publisher-publish --language=de

#publish all drafts in deutsch
cms publisher-publish --unpublished --language=de

#publish all drafts in deutsch, but only for site with id=2
cms publisher-publish --unpublished --language=de --site=2

Warning

This command publishes drafts. You should review drafts before using this command, because they will become public.

Maintenance and repair

fix-tree

Occasionally, the pages and plugins tree can become corrupted. Typical symptoms include problems when trying to copy or delete plugins or pages.

This command will fix small corruptions by rebuilding the tree.

fix-mptt

Occasionally, the MPTT tree can become corrupted (this is one of the reasons for our move away from MPTT to MP in django CMS 3.1). Typical symptoms include problems when trying to copy or delete plugins or pages.

This command has been removed in django CMS 3.1 and replaced with fix-tree.