I just released the first beta version of the new and redesigned drush module.

Drush stands for the Drupal Shell: A command-line shell for Drupal. It was originally developed by Arto Bendiken for Drupal 4.7, but unfortunately never got out of a mostly unusable alpha stage back then.

Recently, I picked up the project and redesigned many parts - drush.module itself now only provides an API that allows other modules expose command line functionality in a super-easy way (more on that propably soon in another post).
Now, also included in this beta release is the drush_pm.module: The Drupal Shell Package Manager. Sounds interesting?

This module allows you to install modules from the command line in a very simple way - just type drush pm install views in a Drupal directory to install the Views project. Convenient, isn’t it? ;)
Additionally, the Drush Packet Manager also allows you to update all your modules with just one command - drush pm update. It will then query drupal.org for update information for all installed modules, and install the newer versions of the installed modules if available (it will prompt you before, of course).

All this is basically working, but it’s still considered early beta code, so use with care (esp. don’t use it on production sites without doing a backup before…).

drush_pm.module relies heavily on the update status module and the new release system - so once more thanks to Derek Wright for the new release system and also Earl Miles for the update status module, and of course Arto Bendiken for the initial drush.module.

Oh, there’s also the drush_tools.module, of course: The Drush Toolbox, providing several useful utilities for site administrators and developers (e.g. drush cron or drush cache clear).

More contributions both in the form of new commands for the drush_tools.module and new modules that make use of the drush API are greatly welcome!