How to clone a WordPress site to your Mac
A full, safe copy of your live site — running locally in minutes.
Get a complete copy of a production WordPress site onto your Apple-silicon Mac — database, files, and uploads — ready to develop on, or hand to an AI agent.
To clone a WordPress site to your Mac: set up a free Pete Panel dev playground (Docker, Apple silicon), install the free Pete Converter on the live site and export it in Pete format — database, files, and uploads in one archive — then import that archive into your local playground. You get a complete, safe copy running at a local URL, ready to develop on or hand to an AI agent. Production is never touched.
Why clone locally instead of editing live
Editing a production site directly is how sites break. A local clone gives you a complete, disposable copy to experiment on — try a redesign, test a plugin update, debug a problem, or let an AI agent rebuild a section — with zero risk to the live site. If something goes wrong, you delete the copy and clone again. On Apple silicon, a Dockerized copy runs fast and matches your production stack, so what works locally works when you ship. Here’s the whole process.
The steps, start to finish
Set up the free dev playground on your Mac
Install Pete Panel on Apple silicon (M1–M5) — Docker Desktop, one command, and the full WordPress stack comes up locally. This is the safe home your clone will live in.
Install the Pete Converter on the live site
On the production site, add the free Pete Converter plugin — Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin — and activate it. It reads the site to build an export; it doesn’t change anything.
Export the site in Pete format
Run the export. It packages the database, wp-content files, uploads, and configuration into a single Pete Panel archive and downloads it to your machine.
Import the archive into your playground
In your local Pete Panel, use the WordPress importer to upload the archive. Pete restores the domain, database, and files in one step — no manual SQL, no find-and-replace.
Open the clone locally
Visit the local URL and you have a complete, working copy of the live site on your Mac — same theme, plugins, content, and data. Break it freely; production never feels a thing.
Work on it — or hand it to an agent
Develop, test, debug — or point Claude at the playground for real WP-CLI, file, and database access. It’s an agentic WordPress environment now: the agent works on the copy, you approve what ships.
Ship changes back when ready
When the work is verified, export in Pete format and deploy to production — the same archive path works in reverse, so you push a tested result rather than editing live.
Frequently asked questions
Does cloning affect my live site?
No. The Pete Converter only reads the live site to build an export archive — it makes no changes. Your production site keeps running untouched while you work on the local copy.
What gets copied?
The full site — database, wp-content files, uploads, theme, plugins, and configuration — so the local clone matches production. It’s a complete copy, not a partial export.
Do I need to be on a Mac?
The Pete Panel dev playground is supported on Apple silicon (M1–M5). The site you’re cloning can be hosted anywhere — any WordPress host works as the source.
Can I push my local changes back to production?
Yes — the same Pete-format path works in reverse. Export your updated local site and deploy it to any cloud, so you ship a tested result instead of editing the live site directly.
Is it free?
The local dev playground and the Pete Converter plugin are both free. Running the result in production is covered by Pete Panel Pro.
Clone your site in minutes.
Set up a free dev playground on your Mac, import your site, and start building on a safe copy.