<p><small>Quick links: <a href="#overview">Overview</a> | <a href="#global-parameters">Global parameters</a> | <a href="#config-files">Config files</a></small> | <a href="#environment-variables">Environment variables</a></small></p>

WP-CLI's behavior can be changed at runtime through the use of environment variables:

* `WP_CLI_CACHE_DIR` - Directory to store the WP-CLI file cache. Default is `~/.wp-cli/cache/`.

* `WP_CLI_CONFIG_PATH` - Path to the global `config.yml` file. Default is `~/.wp-cli/config.yml`.

* `WP_CLI_DISABLE_AUTO_CHECK_UPDATE` - Disable WP-CLI automatic checks for updates.

* `WP_CLI_PACKAGES_DIR` - Directory to store packages installed through WP-CLI's package management. Default is `~/.wp-cli/packages/`.

* `WP_CLI_SSH_PRE_CMD` - When using `--ssh=<ssh>`, perform a command before WP-CLI calls WP-CLI on the remote server.

To set an environment variable on demand, simply place the environment variable definition before the WP-CLI command you mean to run.

# Use vim to edit a post

$ EDITOR=vim wp post edit 1

To set the same environment variable value for every shell session, you’ll need to include the environment variable definition in your `~/.bashrc` or `~/.zshrc` file

# Always use vim to edit a post

export EDITOR=vim