Title: Add VIP site content to a local development app
Author: WordPress VIP Documentation
Published: July 29, 2021
Last modified: December 29, 2025

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 1. [Local and cloud development](https://docs.wpvip.com/local-development/)
 2. Add VIP site content to a local development app

#  Add VIP site content to a local development app

Local development and testing can be more effective if the local environment is 
running with a copy of a production environment’s database and media files.

## SQL database files

Retrieve a SQL database backup file from a VIP Platform environment that includes
custom tables and is suitable for use in a local development environment:

 * Download a full or partial database backup file from [the Database Backups panel in the VIP Dashboard](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-dashboard/backups/).
 * Export a full database backup file with [the VIP-CLI command `vip export sql`](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-cli/commands/export/sql/).
 * Full database backup files shipped to an AWS S3 bucket with [Database Backup Shipping](https://docs.wpvip.com/database-backup-shipping/).

Users who are running a [VIP Local Development Environment](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/)
can sync their production database with [the `vip dev-env sync` command](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-cli/commands/dev-env/sync/),
or import a SQL database file with [`vip dev-env import sql`](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-cli/commands/dev-env/import/sql/).

For other local development applications, refer to that application’s documentation
for instructions on importing a database file.

## Media files

Multiple methods are available to make media files associated with a VIP Platform
environment and stored in the VIP File System available to a local environment:

 * Media files can be downloaded from [the Media Backups panel in the VIP Dashboard](https://docs.wpvip.com/media-backups/)
   and imported to a local environment.
 * Local development applications can mirror a production site’s media library by
   using a [stage file proxy plugin](https://github.com/alleyinteractive/stage-file-proxy).
   This approach enables media files newly added to production to be available to
   the local environment on-the-fly and to avoid needing access to extremely large
   and time-consuming media export files.

Users who are running a [VIP Local Development Environment](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/)
can [upload, import, or proxy media files](https://docs.wpvip.com/dev-env-add-media/)
to their running local environment.

Last updated: December 29, 2025