makeadmin.php

<?php
// This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/
//
// Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
// (at your option) any later version.
//
// Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
// GNU General Public License for more details.
//
// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
// along with Moodle.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

/**
 * @package    cli_makeadmin
 * @copyright  2026 Onwards LSU Online & Continuing Education
 * @author     Robert Russo
 * @license    https://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
 */

// Make sure we cannot execute this on the web.
define('CLI_SCRIPT', true);

// We need config.
require(__DIR__ . '/../../config.php');
require_once($CFG->libdir . '/clilib.php');

// We need DB access.
global $DB;

// Build out allowable options.
list($options, $unrecognized) = cli_get_params(
    ['help' => false],
    ['h' => 'help']
);

// If someone asks for help.
if ($options['help']) {

    // Build the help.
    $help = "Moodle CLI Admin Promotion

A simple CLI utility for promoting an existing Moodle user to a Site Administrator.

Usage:
  php makeadmin.php <username>

Options:
  -h, --help    Print out this help

Example:
  php makeadmin.php jsmith
";

    // Write out the help and exit.
    cli_writeln($help);
    exit(0);
}

// If we have no parms, let the user know how to use the tool.
if (count($unrecognized) !== 1) {
    cli_error("Usage: php makeadmin.php <username>
Try 'php makeadmin.php --help' for more information.", 1);
}

// Get the script parm and assign it to username.
$username = $unrecognized[0];

try {

    // Get the user object.
    $user = $DB->get_record('user', ['username' => $username, 'deleted' => 0], '*', MUST_EXIST);

    // Make sure the user is not suspended.
    if ($user->suspended) {
        cli_error("Error: User '{$username}' is suspended.", 3);
    }

    // Make sure the user is not the guest user.
    if (isguestuser($user)) {
        cli_error("Error: Cannot make the guest user an administrator.", 4);
    }

    // Get a list of site admins.
    $admins = explode(',', (string)get_config('moodle', 'siteadmins'));

    // Check to see if the supplied user is already an admin, if not then do stuff.
    if (!in_array($user->id, $admins)) {

        // Add the user to the list of admin userids.
        $admins[] = $user->id;

        // No dupes please.
        $admins = array_filter(array_unique($admins));

        // Write the config out as a comma separated value.
        set_config('siteadmins', implode(',', $admins));

        // Let the user know we did what they wanted.
        cli_writeln("User '{$username}' (ID {$user->id}) is now a site administrator.");

    // The supplied user is already a site admin.
    } else {

        // Let the user know they might be special.
        cli_writeln("User '{$username}' is already a site administrator.");
    }

// We do not have a matching username. Let the user know.
} catch (dml_missing_record_exception $e) {
    cli_error("Error: User '{$username}' not found.", 2);
}