Push a local site

Building WordPress on your machine — in Cove, LocalWP, MAMP, XAMPP, or any local stack? Run sandywp push from inside the install to mirror it into a public SandyWP sandbox: database, plugins, themes, and uploads, on a magic-login URL you can share.

Before you start

• A SandyWP account, logged in with the CLI (sandywp auth login).
• A local WordPress install with its database running — the exact stack (Cove, LocalWP, MAMP, XAMPP…) doesn't matter.
• Either wp (wp-cli) or php available on your PATH (used to export the database).

Install the CLI

# Install globally
npm install -g @sandywp/cli

# …or run without installing
npx @sandywp/cli push

Requires Node.js 18+. See the CLI reference for authentication details.

Your first push

Change into your local site's folder — anywhere inside it works, since push walks up to find wp-config.php — and run sandywp push:

$ cd ~/Sites/my-local-site
$ sandywp push
Found WordPress install at /Users/you/Sites/my-local-site
Exporting database...
Packaging wp-content...
Built archive (48.2 MB).
Restoring your site...
✓ Pushed to "my-local-site".
  url:    https://my-local-site.sandywp.dev
  login:  https://my-local-site.sandywp.dev/…
  Wrote /Users/you/Sites/my-local-site/.sandywp
  Tip: add `.sandywp` to your .gitignore — it links this folder to a SandyWP site.

The first push does three things:

1. Exports your local database and packages wp-content (skipping caches, VCS folders, and backup-plugin dumps).
2. Creates a new sandbox and restores your site into it.
3. Writes a .sandywp link file next to wp-config.php, then prints the public URL and a magic-login link.

Add --open to launch the magic-login link in your browser automatically.

Push again after a change

Made edits locally — a new plugin, content, theme tweaks? Run sandywp push again from the same folder. Because a .sandywp file now exists, it syncs into the same sandbox in place: the URL doesn't change and the site stays online. It overwrites the sandbox's database and files, so it asks you to confirm first:

$ sandywp push
Found WordPress install at /Users/you/Sites/my-local-site
This will OVERWRITE my-local-site's database and files. Continue? [y/N] y
Exporting database...
Packaging wp-content...
Syncing into your existing site...
✓ Pushed to "my-local-site".
  url:    https://my-local-site.sandywp.dev

To skip the prompt in scripts or a watch loop, pass --force:

sandywp push --force

A push is atomic — if anything fails partway, the existing sandbox is left exactly as it was. And if you deleted the linked sandbox on SandyWP in the meantime, push offers to create a fresh one and re-link the folder.

Good to know

• One-way sync. push goes local → SandyWP only. Changes you make directly on the sandbox are overwritten by the next push.
• Unlink a folder. Delete .sandywp to stop repushing to that site — the next push creates a new sandbox.
• Big media. Uploads and existing backup archives can make the first push large; subsequent pushes send the full site again, not a diff.

Troubleshooting

“No wp-config.php found”

You're not inside a WordPress install. cd into your site's folder (the one containing wp-config.php, or a parent of the WordPress root) and try again.

“Neither wp nor php is available”

push needs one of them to export the database. Install wp-cli, or make sure your stack's php binary is on your PATH (LocalWP and MAMP ship their own PHP — you may need to add it).

The database export fails or hangs

Your local database has to be running when you push — start your local site in Cove / LocalWP / MAMP / XAMPP first. The bundled PHP exporter reads wp-config.php directly, so socket-based stacks like LocalWP work without wp-cli.

“Subdomain multisite is not supported”

Subdomain multisite networks can't be pushed. Single-site installs and subdirectory multisite networks are fine.

Confirmation prompt in a script

When you don't want the interactive overwrite? prompt (CI, a file-watcher, a deploy script), add --force.

Next steps

• CLI reference — every command and flag, including push.
• Clone a site — copy a live WordPress site into a sandbox instead of a local one.
• Git deployment — deploy a plugin or theme straight from a repo.