generated: '2026-08-13'
method: searched
source: https://developer.matomo.org/guides/piwik-on-the-command-line
docs: https://developer.matomo.org/guides/piwik-on-the-command-line
name: Matomo Console
binary: ./console
official: true
description: >-
  Matomo ships a first-party command-line interface as part of the platform itself.
  It is not a separately distributed client — `./console` lives in the root of every
  Matomo installation and is run on the SERVER by the operator, not by an API consumer
  on a laptop. It is built on the Symfony Console component, and the available command
  set expands with whichever plugins are installed.
distribution:
  method: bundled
  note: >-
    Included in the Matomo download / Composer package; there is no npm, PyPI or
    Homebrew formula. See packages/matomo-packages.yml.
install:
  - method: bundled-with-matomo
    command: cd /path/to/matomo && ./console
    note: Must be run as the same user that owns the Matomo files (commonly the web server user).
usage: ./console <namespace>:<command> [options]
discovery:
  list_commands: ./console list
  help: ./console help <command>
  note: >-
    The command surface is instance-specific because plugins register their own
    commands. `./console list` is the authoritative catalog for a given deployment.
command_groups:
  - group: core
    purpose: Platform maintenance and the archiving pipeline.
    commands:
      - name: core:archive
        description: >-
          Pre-process report archives. The single most important Matomo operation
          command — Cloud runs it for you, self-hosters must cron it or reports are
          computed on request.
      - name: core:run-scheduled-tasks
        description: >-
          Run Matomo's scheduled tasks. Also the way to force-regenerate the OpenAPI
          documents the ApiReference plugin produces.
        example: ./console core:run-scheduled-tasks "Piwik\\Plugins\\ApiReference\\Tasks.generateConfiguredPluginSpecs"
      - name: core:update
        description: Apply database updates after a Matomo version upgrade.
      - name: core:clear-caches
        description: Clear Matomo's caches.
      - name: core:invalidate-report-data
        description: Mark archived report data as invalid so it is recomputed.
  - group: plugin
    purpose: Plugin lifecycle.
    commands:
      - name: plugin:activate
        description: Activate an installed plugin (e.g. McpServer, ApiReference, OAuth2).
      - name: plugin:deactivate
        description: Deactivate a plugin.
      - name: plugin:list
        description: List installed plugins and their state.
  - group: usercountry / customdimensions / scheduled-reports
    purpose: Per-plugin operational commands registered by first-party plugins.
    note: Exact membership varies by installation.
  - group: development
    purpose: Plugin authoring and testing.
    commands:
      - name: generate:plugin
        description: Scaffold a new Matomo plugin.
      - name: generate:api
        description: Scaffold an API.php for a plugin — how new Reporting API methods come into existence.
      - name: tests:run
        description: Run Matomo's test suites.
  - group: visitorgenerator
    purpose: Fixture generation.
    commands:
      - name: visitorgenerator:generate-visits
        description: Generate fake visits for testing. See sandbox/matomo-sandbox.yml.
    note: Requires the VisitorGenerator plugin.
relationship_to_api: >-
  The console is an OPERATOR tool, not an API client. It does not wrap the Reporting
  API; it drives the platform underneath it. An integrator consuming Matomo data uses
  the HTTP API, an SDK, or the MCP server — not this CLI.