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 advised 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-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_language: the language to copy the content from;

  • to_language: the language to copy the content to.

It accepts the following options

  • force-copy: 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;

  • verbose: set for more verbose output.

Example:

cms copy-lang en de force-copy site=2 verbose

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 1 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.

  • 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
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-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.

Once a database has been migrated from MPTT to MP, there is no use for this command.