Push: Local → your host
Open your site's host panel and choose Push to [host]. Select Files, Database, or both. Review the target and the deletion option. Enable a host backup when available through an API connection, then start the transfer.
A push can replace a production site's files and database. A database push replaces the destination database; it does not merge posts, orders, customers, or other records. Use staging and plan how live changes will be preserved.
Pull: your host → Local
Choose Pull from [host]. Select your transfer scope, keep the Local database backup enabled, and review the option to delete Local files absent from the host. Start the transfer and wait for the success or error banner.
Bluehost and Kinsta move overwritten or deleted Local files into host-specific pull backup folders and retain the last three sets. See backups and recovery for paths. Do not assume Cloudways has the same file recovery behavior.
Pull into a new Local site
- Click + in Local to create a site.
- Choose Pull from Cloudways, Pull from Bluehost, or Pull from Kinsta.
- Select a remote site/environment or enter SSH connection details.
- Give the Local site a name and choose Create site & pull.
The add-on checks the connection before creating the site. Local then creates a site, the add-on links it, and the files and database are pulled.
Compare before syncing
Open Tools → [host] → Compare & sync files and select Compare with [host]. Comparison is a dry run: it does not transfer anything.
Differences appear in three groups: Different on each side, Only in Local, and Only on [host]. Review paths, sizes and modification times, select files, then choose Push selected or Pull selected.
Selecting a file that exists only on the receiving side deletes it on that side. For example, pushing a selected file that exists only on the host removes it from the host. Review the confirmation carefully.
Selective sync transfers files only. It does not touch the database. Transfer the database separately from a Push/Pull tab.
Fast comparison vs. checksums
The default comparison uses file size and modification time. Compare file contents (slower) uses checksums, which can detect content changes even when size and timestamp match. It reads files on both sides, so allow more time for large sites.
Progress and errors
Local shows transfer progress in its site overlay and reports the final result in a banner. Keep Local open until the transfer completes. If a transfer fails, inspect the message and destination before retrying; file transfers are not an atomic transaction and may have partially completed.