---
summary: "How to pipe PHP/SQL to wp-cli over the WP Engine SSH gateway — wp eval - does not read stdin (use wp eval-file - with a <?php tag), and the gateway strips one quoting layer off argv, so payloads must ride stdin."
tags:
  - type/howto
  - tool/wp-cli
  - tool/wpengine
  - domain/wordpress
  - client/lento-law
scope: global
type: howto
date: 2026-07-16
last_updated: 2026-07-16
source: llf-schema deploy.sh live debugging (verified on both PLD and SDD production gateways)
---

# wp-cli stdin eval + WP Engine SSH gateway quoting

Two independent behaviors, verified live 2026-07-16 on WP Engine's SSH gateway (wp-cli 2.x phar at `/usr/local/bin/wp`):

## 1. `wp eval -` does NOT read stdin

wp-cli's `eval` command takes its argument as literal PHP code — `-` is not a stdin marker. `wp eval -` evaluates the string `-` and dies with:

```
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected end of file in ... Eval_Command.php(39) : eval()'d code on line 1
```

The stdin-capable form is **`wp eval-file -`**, and because the payload is parsed as a *file* (not an eval string) it **must start with `<?php`**:

```bash
printf '<?php echo get_option("home");' | ssh <site> 'wp eval-file -'
```

## 2. WP Engine gateway strips one quoting layer from argv

The gateway wraps the ssh command string in an extra `bash -c` evaluation. One layer of quotes/escapes is consumed before the command runs, so argv-embedded PHP/SQL — even `printf %q`-escaped — gets word-split or syntax-errors remotely. Diagnostic signature:

```
$ ssh pld 'echo "echo 1;" | wp eval -'
bash: -c: line 1: syntax error near unexpected token `|'
bash: -c: line 1: `echo echo 1; | wp eval -'    # ← quotes already gone
```

**Rule: payloads ride stdin, never argv.** Stdin passes through untouched:

```bash
printf '<?php update_field("field_x", "value", 123);' | ssh pld 'wp eval-file -'

ssh pld 'wp db query --skip-column-names' <<'SQL'
SELECT post_id, meta_value FROM wp_postmeta WHERE meta_key = 'x';
SQL
```

Simple quote-free commands (`wp plugin list`, `cat -`) are unaffected; only quoted/escaped argv payloads break.

Repo-local record: llf-schema `docs/wp-cli-access.md` gotcha A and `scripts/lib/deploy_lib.sh` (`remote_exec_stdin`).