Set up WordPress locally (Docker®) from a production backup

To set up a local Docker® container to run your production WordPress site locally, follow these steps:

1. Download the backup you plan to use. You'll need the WordPress files (wp-content folder) and the SQL database (.sql).
2. Prepare Docker:
   • Create docker-compose.yml in the root directory of your project with the official WordPress Docker image:

     services:
     
       wordpress:
         image: wordpress
         restart: always
         ports:
           - 8080:80
         environment:
           WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db
           WORDPRESS_DB_USER: exampleuser
           WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: examplepass
           WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: exampledb
         volumes:
           - .:/var/www/html
     
       db:
         image: mysql:8.0
         restart: always
         environment:
           MYSQL_DATABASE: exampledb
           MYSQL_USER: exampleuser
           MYSQL_PASSWORD: examplepass
           MYSQL_RANDOM_ROOT_PASSWORD: '1'
         volumes:
           - db:/var/lib/mysql
     
     volumes:
       wordpress:
       db:

3. Start services:

   docker-compose up -d

4. Find the database table prefix from your site's current wp-config.php or extract it from the SQL file.
   Note: wp_ is the default database table prefix. If your table prefix isn't wp_, find your table prefix and use that in your query. Example: wp_xufdzp_posts.
5. Import the database .sql file:

   cat mwp_db/your-db-file.sql | docker-compose exec -T db mysql -uexampleuser -pexamplepass exampledb

   Required: Be sure to update your-db-file.sql with the name of the SQL file you downloaded in Step 1.
6. Change the siteurl and home values in the wp-options table with the value http://localhost:8080.
   • You can do this with docker-compose exec:

     docker-compose exec -T db mysql -uexampleuser -pexamplepass exampledb -e "UPDATE {your_db_prefix_here}_options SET option_value = 'http://localhost:8080' WHERE option_name IN ('siteurl','home');"

     Required: Be sure to update your_db_prefix_here with your actual table prefix from Step 4.
7. Configure wp-config.php to support both local and production sites:
   • Replace require_once(__DIR__.'/../configs/wp-config-hosting.php'); with the code below:

     if(file_exists(__DIR__.'/../configs/wp-config-hosting.php')) {
         require_once(__DIR__.'/../configs/wp-config-hosting.php');
     }
     // Local DB setup
     else {
         define('DB_NAME',     'exampledb');
         define('DB_USER',     'exampleuser');
         define('DB_PASSWORD', 'examplepass');
         define('DB_HOST', 'db');
         define('WP_DEBUG', true);
         $table_prefix = 'wp_your_prefix'; //
     }

     Required: Be sure to replace wp_your_prefix with your actual table prefix from Step 4.
8. Create an .htaccess file with the following code:

   # BEGIN WordPress
   
   RewriteEngine On
   RewriteBase /
   RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
   RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
   RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
   
   # END WordPress

9. Remove the wp-content/mu-plugins folder and the wp-content/object-cache.php file. These contain hosting settings; removing them locally will not affect your production site.
10. Navigate to your local site with http:localhost:8080.
11. You can create a Git repository with code changes, none of which impact your production site.

More info

• Set up CI/CD Deployments via GitHub Action
• You can find the official WordPress Docker image at Docker.com.