Studio: Frequently Asked Questions

On this page you’ll find answers to common questions about the Studio app and certain features like the Assistant and Studio Sync.

As a reminder, Studio is an open source project that welcomes all contributions. If you spot a bug or the Studio feature you need is missing, we have some options:

• Reach out to our Happiness Engineers for specific questions about using Studio.
• Open an issue in the repository to report bugs, suggest ideas, or request new features.

General FAQs

Here are some answers to common questions about Studio:

How can I export a theme I created in Studio?

Themes created in Studio are the same as themes created on traditional WordPress sites. You can export your theme by following these steps:

1. Select the local site within Studio.
2. Ensure that your site is already running.
3. Click on the Overview tab.
4. Click the “Site Editor” button.
5. Once the site editor loads in your browser, expand the editor by clicking anywhere on the site preview.
6. Click the Options menu button in the top right of the screen, represented by the ellipsis icon (⋮). 
7. Click Export, and your browser should begin downloading a .zip file of your theme.

You can then upload your theme to any live or staging WordPress site by following these instructions.

How can I publish my Studio site so that it’s publicly available?

While preview sites are intended for sharing with clients and gathering early feedback for up to seven days, a hosting plan is required to make your site permanently accessible.

To publish your local site on WordPress.com, follow the steps outlined in the Studio Sync doc.

To publish your local site on another WordPress host, follow the Import and Export guide to create an export of your source site. When the export is ready, you can import that content to the destination site, for example, following the Manually Restore Your Site from a Jetpack Backup File on WordPress.com guide.

How can I manage the Studio site’s SQLite database?

Studio uses SQLite instead of MySQL server. SQLite is a lightweight, self-contained SQL database engine that stores your database in a single file. Each of your sites will have a database file available in the following path: wp-content/database/.ht.sqlite. This is a hidden file and may not be visible using your File Explorer. On a Mac, you can press cmd + shift + . to reveal the hidden files using Finder.

Once you’ve located the SQLite database file, you can manage the database using any application compatible with SQLite. If you’re comfortable using the command line, we recommend the SQLite3 terminal tool. Otherwise, you can use a graphical app like SQLiteStudio, which gives you a user-friendly interface to work with the database.

SQLite3

SQLite is installed by default in Unix systems like Mac. For Windows, you can download it from the official page.

Once you have it installed:

1. Select the local site within Studio.
2. Click on the Overview tab.
3. Click the Terminal button.
4. In your terminal, execute the following command to interact with your database:
   sqlite3 wp-content/database/.ht.sqlite

Learn more about using SQLite3 from the terminal in SQLite3 documentation.

SQLiteStudio

If you prefer using an application with a user interface, you can use SQLiteStudio.

Once you have it installed:

1. Find the wp-content/database/ folder in your File Explorer or Finder.
2. Make sure you can see hidden files.
3. Open SQLiteStudio.
4. Drag and drop the .ht.sqlite file into the application.

How can I use Studio with the MySQL server of my choice?

Studio has built-in support for a SQLite database, but you can use the MySQL server of your choice, e.g., Homebrew or Docker, to test your site with different database engines.

If you have a local site already configured to work with a custom MySQL server of your choice, you can add it to Studio. If the site files include a wp-config.php file, Studio will skip the SQLite database setup and use the already configured database.

If you have already created a site in Studio, and want to switch SQLite to the MySQL server of your choice, follow the steps below:

1. Stop the site.
2. Open your Studio’s site directory.
3. Navigate to the wp-content directory and delete the db.php file and the database directory.
4. Navigate to the mu-plugins directory and delete sqlite-database-integration-main directory.
5. Update wp-config.php file and fill in your MySQL server’s credentials.
6. Start the site.
7. Start your MySQL server.
8. Open the site.

How do I select the PHP and WordPress versions for my site? 

You can select the PHP version or the WordPress version for your site when you first create it. This option is located in the “Advanced Settings” section. After creating a site, the current PHP and WordPress  versions are displayed in the site’s settings tab, where you can also edit and change them.

1. Select the relevant site in the sidebar. 
2. Click the Settings tab. 
3. Click the Edit button in the top right corner. 
4. Within the dialog, select the desired PHP and WordPress versions. 
5. Click the Save button to persist the changes. 

Why isn’t the “Open In” button available for my preferred app?

For each of your local sites, the following “Open in…” options are available:

File Browsers:

• Finder (for macOS)
• File Explorer (for Windows)

Code Editors:

• VS Code
• PhpStorm
• Windsurf
• Webstorm
• Cursor

Terminal Applications:

• Terminal (for macOS)
• iTerm (for macOS)
• Warp (for macOS)
• Command Prompt (for Windows)
• Ghostty

Studio, the code editors and terminal applications must live in your Applications folder to ensure the Open in… options are available.  If you haven’t selected a preferred code editor in your User Settings, no code editor button will appear in the Open in… area. Similarly, if no terminal application is selected, the default will be:

• Terminal on macOS
• Command Prompt on Windows

How can I make Studio faster on Windows?

If the Real-Time Protection Service of Windows Defender is enabled on your machine, it may slow down the process of creating and starting a site, particularly when running PHP files of WordPress. To enhance site speed, we recommend adjusting the configuration accordingly:

1. Go to Start → Settings, then:
   • Windows 11: Navigate to Privacy & Security → Virus & threat protection.
   • Windows 10: Navigate to Update & Security → Windows Security → Virus & threat protection.
2. Under “Virus & threat protection” settings, select “Manage settings“, and then under Exclusions, select “Add or remove exclusions“.
3. Select “Add an exclusion“, and then select “from process“.
4. Type the path of the Studio app executable file (e.g. C:\Users\<YOUR_USER>\AppData\Local\studio\Studio.exe) and then click on “Add button“.

How can I regenerate my thumbnails?

If some thumbnails are missing after importing your site, you can regenerate them by running the following WP-CLI command:

wp media regenerate --yes --only-missing

If WP-CLI isn’t installed locally, you can ask Studio Assistant to run this command for you. Simply request, “Please regenerate my images using WP-CLI.”

How can I access Studio logs?

Occasionally, actions like Push or Pull in the Sync tab, or Import and Export, could fail due to different reasons related to PHP, the site’s database, or custom code issue.

If this happens, Studio will allow you to open logs and may ask to contact support. You can also open the logs manually.

If you use Studio on Mac:

1. Open Terminal.
2. Enter command:
   open ~/Library/Logs/Studio
3. Locate the latest log file and open it.

If you use Studio on Windows:

1. Open Terminal.
2. Enter command:
   ii AppData\Roaming\Studio\logs
3. Locate the latest log file and open it.

Is it possible to change the port or URL of my Studio site?

No, it’s not possible to change the port of a Studio site. Each site gets a unique port starting from 8881. For example, your first Studio site uses the URL http://localhost:8881, and your second site uses http://localhost:8882. While the port or URL cannot be modified from Studio, you can change the WordPress site URL from WordPress general settings, just ensure it includes the correct port assigned by Studio and points to localhost.

When creating a Studio site, you can optionally choose to use a custom domain instead of localhost.

How can I use a tunneling tool (ngrok) with Studio?

You can use Studio for local WordPress development that requires incoming connections by setting up a tunneling tool like ngrok. ngrok, which is free to use, redirects external requests to your localhost, making your site accessible from the internet. This is especially useful for plugins like Jetpack, which default to offline mode when running locally. By using a tunneling tool, your local site can reconnect to WordPress.com, which unlocks the full capabilities of Jetpack and creates a more realistic development environment.

Follow the steps below to set up your site for this workflow. Begin by starting your local Studio site and setting up the tunneling tool.

If your site uses a local domain in the form of localhost:port:

1. Start your Studio site and note its port (e.g., 8883). The port can also be found on the Settings tab.
2. Open a terminal and set up ngrok if you haven’t already.
3. Set up a tunnel to expose your local site using the following command:
   ngrok http 8883

 If your site uses a custom local domain:

1. Start your Studio site and note the domain (e.g., my-wordpress-website.wp.local). The domain can also be found on the Settings tab.
2. Open a terminal and set up ngrok if you haven’t already.
3. Set up a tunnel to expose your local site using the following command:
   ngrok http --host-header=my-wordpress-website.wp.local http://my-wordpress-website.wp.local

When your tunnel is active, make sure to note the tunnel URL and update it in your Studio site’s WordPress configuration file.

1. Copy the generated tunnel URL. It will look something like this:
   https://6xb2-12-13-14-15.ngrok-free.app
2. Update your WordPress configuration (wp-config.php) by adding:
   define( 'WP_SITEURL', 'https://6xb2-12-13-14-15.ngrok-free.app' );
define( 'WP_HOME', 'https://6xb2-12-13-14-15.ngrok-free.app’ );
3. Refresh your site in the browser.

Your local Studio site should now be accessible through the tunnel URL. If it doesn’t redirect automatically, clearing your browser cache may help. You can also access the site directly by using the generated tunnel URL. 

The Local URL shown in the Settings tab will not update to reflect the new tunnel URL, and since the ngrok URL changes each time you restart the tunnel, you will need to update the wp-config.php file accordingly.

To reset your local site, stop the tunnel in the terminal and shut down the Studio site. Then, remove the changes made to wp-config.php and restart your Studio site. It will now revert to the localhost or custom domain shown in the Settings tab.

Studio Assistant FAQs

Here are some answers to common questions about the Studio Assistant. Please review the Studio Assistant doc for step-by step instructions and helpful tips for using this feature.

Where do the Assistant’s answers come from?

The Assistant leverages WordPress.com infrastructure and our WordPress knowledge base to provide helpful responses using Retrieval Augmented Generation. That’s why it needs internet connectivity and to be connected to a WordPress.com account.

What languages does the Studio Assistant support?

The sample prompts you see when you first start using the Assistant will be displayed in your chosen Studio language. That said, you can talk with the Assistant in any language you prefer. 

Can I use the Studio Assistant without a WordPress.com account?

No, you must log into Studio with your WordPress.com account to use the Studio Assistant. This is because we use WordPress.com infrastructure to generate messages and manage access.

Is there any cost to use the Studio Assistant?

It is free for any WordPress.com user, regardless of which plan you have. 

How many prompts can I use per month?

Each user is allowed 200 prompts per month across all of their Studio sites. If you reach this limit, you will need to wait until the next month for the prompt count to reset.

Where can I give feedback about the Studio Assistant’s responses?

There are two ways to give feedback about the Assistant’s responses.

First, there is a feedback mechanism built into the responses. Simply click Yes or No at the end of each response to help give feedback to the Studio team.

Second, you can write into support to share specific feedback about the Assistant’s responses. 

Studio Sync FAQs

Here are some answers to common questions about the Studio Sync feature. Please review the Studio Sync doc for step-by step instructions and helpful tips for using this feature.

Why don’t my local users appear on the WordPress.com site after pushing?

When pushing, Studio exports all your content and your entire database except for the wp_users and wp_usermeta tables. This ensures that the Jetpack-powered features on your WordPress.com website (like single sign-on or image optimization) continue working after the push.