Move from Live Production Environment to Local macOS Development Sandbox (MAMP)

This is the converse of slash companion to this guide.

Finalize everything in your live production environment (by adding, removing, editing, and updating plugins, themes, WordPress, content, etc.) before proceeding.

First: Back up

1. Local wp-content folder:
   open new Terminal window/tab
   cd [Local WordPress Path] (drag WordPress folder from Finder to Terminal to get path)
   mkdir -p my-wp-backups && tar -czvf my-wp-backups/wp-content-`date +%F`.tar.gz wp-content
2. Local wp-config.php file:
   cp wp-config.php my-wp-backups/wp-config-`date +%F`.php
3. Local MySQL database:
   [Local mysqldump Path] -u [DB_USER] -p[DB_PASSWORD] --opt [DB_NAME] > wp-database.sql (e.g., /Applications/MAMP/Library/bin/mysqldump) (see local wp-config.php file for DB_USER, DB_NAME, and DB_PASSWORD)
   tar -czvf my-wp-backups/wp-database-`date +%F`.sql.tar.gz wp-database.sql
rm wp-database.sql
4. Production wp-content folder:
   open new Terminal window/tab
   ssh username@example.com (e.g., ssh adamcap.com@adamcap.com)
   enter password
   cd [Production WordPress Path] (e.g., cd html)
   mkdir -p my-wp-backups && tar -czvf my-wp-backups/wp-content-`date +%F`.tar.gz wp-content
5. Production wp-config.php file:
   cp wp-config.php my-wp-backups/wp-config-`date +%F`.php
6. Production MySQL database:
   wp db export wp-database.sql
tar -czvf my-wp-backups/wp-database-`date +%F`.sql.tar.gz wp-database.sql
rm wp-database.sql
7. Production my-wp-backups folder:
   tar -czvf my-wp-backups.tar.gz my-wp-backups
   (rm my-wp-backups)
   (rm my-wp-backups.tar.gz)

Second: Download my-wp-backups

1. Download production my-wp-backups folder:
   scp [username@example.com]:[Production WordPress Path]/my-wp-backups.tar.gz [Local Desktop Path] (obtain from web host; e.g., adamcap.com@adamcap.com:/var/www/html/ad/adamcap.com) (drag Desktop from Finder to Terminal to get path or ~/Desktop)

Third: Unzip, rename, and move

1. Unzip:
   double-click my-wp-backups.sql.tar.gz file on Desktop to unzip folder
   enter folder
   double-click wp-database-`date +%F`.sql.tar.gz file to unzip database
2. Rename:
   add suffix -new to each item’s file/folder name
3. Move:
   drag wp-content-new and wp-database-new.sql to local WordPress folder

Fourth: Prepare wp-config.php

1. Copy local wp-config.php file:
   open new Terminal window/tab
   cd [Local WordPress Path] (drag WordPress folder from Finder to Terminal to get path)
   cp wp-config.php wp-config-new.php
2. Edit local wp-config-new.php file:
   nano wp-config-new.php
   Update DB_NAME, DB_USER, and DB_PASSWORD (and verify $table_prefix) (be certain to update DB_NAME, e.g., database-XXXX-XX-XX)
   control + O (to save), control + X (to exit)
3. (Switch local wp-config.php file:)
   mv wp-config.php wp-config-old.php && mv wp-config-new.php wp-config.php
4. (Revert local wp-config.php file:)
   mv wp-config.php wp-config-new.php && mv wp-config-old.php wp-config.php

Fifth: Import database

1. Create new local database:
   open new Terminal window/tab
   cd [Local WordPress Path] (drag WordPress folder from Finder to Terminal to get path)
   wp db drop ; wp db create OR drop/create via phpMyAdmin
2. Switch local wp-content folder:
   mv wp-content wp-content-old && mv wp-content-new wp-content
3. Switch local wp-config.php file:
   mv wp-config.php wp-config-old.php && mv wp-config-new.php wp-config.php
4. Import wp-database-new.sql file into local database:
   wp db import wp-database-new.sql OR [Local mysql Path] -u [DB_USER] -p[DB_PASSWORD] [DB_NAME] < wp-database-new.sql (e.g., /Applications/MAMP/Library/bin/mysql)
5. Search/replace local database:
   wp search-replace $(wp option get siteurl) [Local Site URL](e.g., http://localhost:8888/adamcap or http://adamcap.local)
   (wp search-replace [Production Hostname] [Local Hostname]) (e.g., adamcap.com) (e.g., localhost:8888/adamcap)
   (wp search-replace https://[Production Hostname] http://[Local Hostname]) (e.g, https://adamcap.com) (e.g., http://localhost:8888/adamcap)
6. Flush rewrite rules (i.e., save permalinks)
7. (Revert local wp-content folder:)
   mv wp-content wp-content-new && mv wp-content-old wp-content
8. (Revert local wp-config.php file:)
   mv wp-config.php wp-config-new.php && mv wp-config-old.php wp-config.php
9. (Delete unneeded/old local files and folders:)
   rm wp-content-new.tar.gz
rm wp-database-new.sql
rm wp-database-new.sql.tar.gz
rm -rf wp-content-old
rm wp-config-old.php