wp acf json export

Exports field groups, post types, taxonomies, and options pages to a JSON file.

Description

Exports ACF items to a JSON file, replicating the functionality of the export tool in the WordPress admin. You can export all items or filter by specific types and keys.

Options

wp acf json export [--field-groups=<keys>] [--post-types=<keys>] [--taxonomies=<keys>] [--options-pages=<keys>] [--dir=<directory>] [--stdout]

--field-groups=<keys> (string) Optional. Export specific field groups by key or label, comma separated.

--post-types=<keys> (string) Optional. Export specific post types by key or label, comma separated.

--taxonomies=<keys> (string) Optional. Export specific taxonomies by key or label, comma separated.

--options-pages=<keys> (string) Optional. Export specific options pages by key or label, comma separated. Requires ACF PRO.

--dir=<directory> (string) Required (unless using --stdout). Directory path to write the JSON file to.

--stdout (flag) Optional. Output JSON to stdout instead of writing to a file. Useful for piping to other commands.

Examples

Export all items to a directory

$ wp acf json export --dir=./exports/
Success: Exported 15 item(s) to ./exports/acf-export-2025-01-01.json

Export specific field groups by key

$ wp acf json export --field-groups=group_abc123,group_def456 --dir=./

Export a field group by label

$ wp acf json export --field-groups="My Field Group" --dir=./

Export multiple item types

$ wp acf json export --field-groups=group_abc123 --post-types=post_type_def456 --dir=./exports/

Export to stdout for piping

# Output raw JSON
$ wp acf json export --stdout

# Pretty print with jq
$ wp acf json export --field-groups=group_abc123 --stdout | jq .

# Pipe to another command
$ wp acf json export --stdout > backup.json

Backup before deployment

# Export current state before sync
$ wp acf json export --dir=./backups/
$ wp acf json sync

Return

When using --dir, the command creates a file named acf-export-YYYY-MM-DD.json in the specified directory and outputs a success message with the item count and file path.

When using --stdout, the JSON is output directly to the terminal.

Notes

• You must specify either --dir or --stdout
• Cannot use both --dir and --stdout together
• If no filter options are provided, all items across all types are exported
• Items can be specified by their ACF key (e.g., group_abc123) or by their title/label
• The export includes all fields for field groups
• Options pages require ACF PRO

Errors