☁️ Duplicator: Backup and move sites

[Claus]

Before I do something wrong, let me just check. If I make a backup from my live site, can I then put that file in my local machine development site (that is identical to the live site but outdated) and have Duplicator update everything automatically?

[flydev]

Hi @Claus  

1 hour ago, Claus said:

Before I do something wrong

Don't worry, you SHOULD do it before doing something else 🙂  Duplicator will not alter anything, still.

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Whether local or live, it's always recommended to make a copy to avoid any frustration. Duplicator will me a perfect copy of your live site and you will have possibility to either download the backup (package) from the admin page or manually from your FTP server. Inside the package you will have at hand your distant database backup and all distant files (based on the configuration -> see module's settings - using default settings is safe).

So if your goal is to update your local dev, then you must (as always) make a backup of it just in case. Once that's said proceed following theses steps:

1. make copy of your local dev 
2. create a backup on live site and download the package
3. update your local dev site - here you have two options as I don't know how your local setup work:
   • option 1 (manual):  extract the zip and import your database then adjust database settings in config.php file to use your local database server.
   • option 2 (auto)    : use the installer.php and follow the steps to import everything

Now, if you need to bring back modifications from the old dev (local) site to your new dev (based on fresh live site) then you have to do it manually. Using a diff tool make thing easier and faster. Using @bernhard migration is also a good option.