WordPress Local Environment Setup with Docker

This guide explains how to set up a local WordPress environment using Docker, retrieve the live site files and database via SSH, and restore the site locally.

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Prerequisites

1. Docker installed on your machine.
2. SSH access to your remote WordPress server.

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Step 1: Set Up the Local Docker Environment

1. Create a Project Directory:

   mkdir wordpress-docker
   cd wordpress-docker

2. Create Required Files:

   • Dockerfile
   • docker-compose.yml

3. Write the Dockerfile:

   # Base image
   FROM wordpress:latest
   
   # Install additional PHP extensions if needed
   RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
       libfreetype6-dev \
       libjpeg62-turbo-dev \
       libpng-dev \
       && docker-php-ext-configure gd --with-freetype --with-jpeg \
       && docker-php-ext-install gd
   
   # Set permissions (optional but useful)
   RUN chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html
   
   # Expose port 80
   EXPOSE 80

4. Write the docker-compose.yml:

   version: '3.8'
   
   services:
     wordpress:
       build: .
       container_name: wordpress
       ports:
         - "8000:80"
       environment:
         WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db:3306
         WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wordpress_user
         WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: wordpress_password
         WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpress_db
       volumes:
         - ./wordpress:/var/www/html
   
     db:
       image: mysql:5.7
       container_name: wordpress_db
       environment:
         MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root_password
         MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress_db
         MYSQL_USER: wordpress_user
         MYSQL_PASSWORD: wordpress_password
       volumes:
         - db_data:/var/lib/mysql
   
   volumes:
     db_data:

5. Start Docker Containers:

   docker-compose up -d

6. Verify the environment by visiting http://localhost:8000.

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Step 2: Retrieve Files and Database from Remote Server via SSH

Retrieve WordPress Files

1. Copy wp-content folder:

   scp -r user@your-remote-server:/path/to/wordpress/wp-content ./wordpress/wp-content

   Replace:

   • user with your SSH username.
   • your-remote-server with your server's domain or IP.
   • /path/to/wordpress/wp-content with the actual path to the wp-content folder on your remote server.

2. Copy Additional Files (if needed):

   scp user@your-remote-server:/path/to/wordpress/wp-config.php ./wordpress/wp-config.php

Retrieve the Database Backup

1. SSH into the remote server:

   ssh user@your-remote-server

2. Export the database using mysqldump:

   mysqldump -u db_user -p db_name > wordpress-database-backup.sql

   Replace:

   • db_user with your database username.
   • db_name with your database name.

3. Copy the database backup to your local machine:

   scp user@your-remote-server:/path/to/wordpress-database-backup.sql ./wordpress-database-backup.sql

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Step 3: Restore WordPress Locally

Replace Files Locally

Copy the wp-content folder and any additional files into the local project directory:

cp -r ./wordpress/wp-content/* ./wordpress/wp-content/

Import the Database

1. Import the SQL file into the MySQL Docker container:

   docker exec -i wordpress_db mysql -u wordpress_user -pwordpress_password wordpress_db < ./wordpress-database-backup.sql

2. Update Site URLs in the Database:

   docker exec -it wordpress_db mysql -u wordpress_user -pwordpress_password wordpress_db

   Run the following SQL commands:

   UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'http://localhost:8000' WHERE option_name = 'siteurl';
   UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = 'http://localhost:8000' WHERE option_name = 'home';

3. Exit MySQL:

   exit

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Step 4: Verify and Troubleshoot

1. Open http://localhost:8000 in your browser.
2. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard.
3. Fix Permalinks (if needed):
   • Go to Settings > Permalinks in the dashboard.
   • Save your preferred structure to regenerate the .htaccess file.

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Step 5: Managing Docker Containers

• Stop containers:

  docker-compose down

• Restart containers:

  docker-compose up -d

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This guide covers all steps for setting up a local WordPress environment, retrieving files and the database from a remote server, and restoring them locally using Docker.