wp acf json export

Documentation wp acf json export

Last updated Mar 30, 2026

Overview

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

Error	Cause
You must specify –dir or –stdout	Neither output option was provided
Cannot specify both –dir and –stdout	Both output options were provided
Directory not found	The specified directory does not exist
Directory is not writable	The directory exists but cannot be written to
No items found to export	No items match the specified filters

Related

• CLI: wp acf json import
• CLI: wp acf json sync
• CLI: wp acf json status
• CLI: wp acf json
• Features: Local JSON