Import & Export

A Studio site can be added from a backup file that contains a site’s site full content.

An existing Studio site can be updated from the backup file in a similar fashion, or from the single .sql file, in the Import / Export tab.

Your backup files can be downloaded from your WordPress.com site or from Jetpack’s Activity Log page. It will have the following files and directories inside:

• wp-config.php: The WordPress configuration file.
• wp-content/plugins: The folder containing your site’s plugins.
• wp-content/themes: The folder containing your site’s themes.
• wp-content/uploads: The folder containing your site’s uploads.
• sql/: A directory with .sql files that contain your site’s database data.

Exports from Studio will also have a meta.json file, which contains information about the desired PHP version for the site.

Other supported formats are:

• The .wpress file from the All-in-One WP Migration and Backup plugin
• The .zip file from the Local app
• The .zip file from WordPress Playground

How to add a new site to Studio from a backup

To add a new site to Studio from backup, you’ll need a .tar.gz, or.zip file:

1. Click the Add site button in Studio.
2. Name your site.
3. Select the backup file in the Import a backup field.
4. Optionally, under Advanced settings, select a Local path (or accept the default).
5. Click Add site.

Any imported site is started by default and visible in the sidebar.

How to update an existing Studio site from a backup

To update an existing Studio site from a backup, you’ll need a .tar.gz, .zip, or .sql file:

1. Select the site you wish to update from the Studio sidebar.
2. Open the Import / Export tab.
3. Click the Import box to select your backup file. Alternatively, you can drag and drop your backup file into the Import box.
4. When prompted, click Import to overwrite your Studio site with your backup file.

The Studio site will be replaced from the provided .tar.gz or .zip backup. However, when you import .sql file to an existing site, the database dump will be imported on top of the existing site.

How to export a site from Studio

Studio allows you to export your entire local site into a .zip format, which is compatible with Jetpack Backup. You may also export only the database into a .sql file, which is compatible with MySQL.

To export a site from Studio:

1. Select the site you wish to export from the Studio sidebar.
2. Open the Import / Export tab.
3. Click the “Export entire site” button to generate a full-site .zip file or the “Export database” file to generate a .sql file.
4. Choose the destination and click Save.

When the export is finished, Studio will open the directory containing the backup file automatically.

How to upload a Studio export to a hosted WordPress site

Once you have the backup file, you can deploy it to a WordPress site hosted anywhere. For example, if you’re on a WordPress.com Business plan, you can follow the Manually Restore Your Site from a Jetpack Backup File on WordPress.com guide.

How to import a site without a Jetpack backup

If you are not using Jetpack Backup, you can still import the site to Studio from a backup file created manually:

1. Create a temporary import directory e.g., import-to-studio/.
2. Create sql/ and wp-content/ directories inside the created directory.
3. Open wp-content/ directory of your site and copy plugins/, themes/, and uploads/ to the wp-content/ in the temporary import directory.
4. Copy your site’s wp-config.php to the temporary import directory.
5. Export your site’s database using your favorite MySQL tool and place the dump file in sql/ directory.
6. Select all files in temporary import directory and compress them as .zip file.
7. Follow the steps shown above to add a new site from the backup file.