Title: VIP Local Development Environment
Author: WordPress VIP Documentation
Published: June 24, 2021
Last modified: December 31, 2025

---

#  VIP Local Development Environment

The VIP Local Development Environment is a feature built into [VIP-CLI](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-cli/)
for creating and managing an environment on a local machine that is nearly identical
to an environment running on the VIP Platform. The VIP Local Development Environment
can be used for local development, quick testing, tutorials, or other activities
where a local stack is more convenient than a [non-production environment](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-platform/environments/).

To get started, follow the guide for [creating a VIP Local Development Environment](https://docs.wpvip.com/local-development/use-the-vip-local-development-environment/).

 * 
   ### 󠀁[VIP Local Development Environment limitations](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/limitations/)󠁿
   
 * Some features are not yet available in the local environment or have default 
   behaviors that differ from a VIP Platform environment.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[VIP Local Development Environment requirements](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/requirements/)󠁿
   
 * To successfully work with the VIP Local Development Environment, some dependencies
   must be installed and maintained on the user’s local machine.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Stack services](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/stack-services/)󠁿
   
 * Similar to VIP Platform environments, the VIP Local Development Environment has
   container-based services. Some of the service containers on the local machine
   have exposed ports.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Basic usage](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/basic-usage/)󠁿
   
 * VIP Local Development Environment commands, options, and basic usage.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Create a VIP Local Development Environment](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/create/)󠁿
   
 * Create one or more local development environments, each with their own unique
   configurations, using the VIP Local Development Environment built into VIP-CLI.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Update a local environment to load application code](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/load-application-code/)󠁿
   
 * A VIP Local Development Environment can be configured to run with a local git
   clone of an application’s wpcomvip GitHub repository.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Sync or import database content to a VIP Local Development Environment](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/add-database-content/)󠁿
   
 * Database content can be imported or synced to a running VIP Local Development
   Environment. Configuring the environment to load locally cloned application code
   prior to adding data can also help prevent unexpected errors.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Add media to a VIP Local Development Environment](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/add-media-content/)󠁿
   
 * Media files can be uploaded, imported, or proxied to a running VIP Local Development
   Environment.
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Troubleshooting](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/troubleshooting-dev-env/)󠁿
   
 * If issues are encountered when working with the VIP Local Development Environment,
   the first troubleshooting step is to verify that the local machine is running
   up to date versions of VIP-CLI, Node.js, npm, and Docker. vip -v && node -v &&
   npm -v && docker –version Restart the local machine Some issues can also be resolved
   by restarting the user’s local machine. If an issue persists after restarting
   the local machine, retrieve verbose output with –debug. Create a VIP Support 
   request with a detailed description of the issue and attached the debugging output.
   Disable all other local development applications Simultaneously…
 * 
   ### 󠀁[Advanced usage](https://docs.wpvip.com/vip-local-development-environment/dev-env-advanced-usage/)󠁿
   
 * The VIP Local Development Environment is built to be as identical to a VIP Platform
   environment as possible, and designed to allow for a wide variety of options 
   needed in local development. Once a user gains familiarity with dev-env commands
   and options, more advanced techniques and customizations can be explored when
   working with a local environment. Executing dev-env commands non-interactively
   In some cases, there may be a need to execute one or more dev-env commands in
   a non-interactive mode. For example, executing a series of dev-env commands in
   a script to create and start a VIP Local Development Environment, and to…

Last updated: December 31, 2025