Local (LocalWP) is where we build and test WordPress sites. Pressable is where we host them. Moving work between those two environments is a regular part of our development process, so we built a tool to make that handoff easier.
Pressable Connect is Kelp’s free, open-source add-on for LocalWP. It adds a Pressable panel to your site’s Tools tab, where you can connect a local site to a Pressable site and push or pull its files, database, or both.
The source is available under the MIT license, and you can download an installable package from GitHub Releases.
A shorter path from local development to hosting
A typical WordPress handoff involves several separate steps: packing files, uploading them, exporting and importing a database, and replacing the site’s domain. Pressable Connect puts those transfer steps behind one panel inside LocalWP.
Each local site can have its own saved Pressable connection. That means you can map a development site to the appropriate remote environment and return to that connection when it’s time to transfer again.
You choose the direction and the data:
- Push to Pressable: send selected local data to the mapped Pressable site.
- Pull from Pressable: bring selected remote data into the local site.
- Files, database, or both: transfer the parts needed for the task.
For example, a theme change may only need a files push. Refreshing a development environment with remote content may call for a database pull, or a pull of both files and database.
What moves—and what stays in place
The files option transfers wp-content, which holds themes, plugins, uploads, and other site content. It does not transfer WordPress core or overwrite wp-config.php.
On a push, the add-on excludes selected host-managed files, caches, and other environment-specific files. It overlays the files on the destination; it does not remove every destination-only file to produce an exact mirror.
The database option exports the source database and imports it into the destination. It then uses WP-CLI’s WordPress-aware search-and-replace to update the domain while handling serialized data and skipping the guid column. That helps avoid the broken settings that a plain text replacement can cause.
Database transfers use LocalWP’s database services for local exports and imports, so the add-on can work with the site’s own database configuration. If a database transfer needs a stopped local site, the add-on starts it first.
How to install Pressable Connect
You’ll need LocalWP 10 or newer, a Pressable site you can access, a Pressable API application with Sites Read and FTP Read scopes, and an SSH/SFTP user for that site.
- Open the latest GitHub Release.
- Under Assets, download
local-pressable-connect-0.1.11.tgz, or the equivalent.tgzfor the latest version. Leave it compressed. The source ZIP and TAR downloads are not the installable add-on. - In LocalWP, open Add-ons → Installed → Install from disk and select the package.
- Enable Pressable Connect and restart LocalWP if prompted.
- Select your local site and open Tools → Pressable Connect.
This is a LocalWP desktop add-on. You do not install it as a plugin inside WordPress.
Connect your first site
The panel has three sections: connect the Pressable API, map the local site, and choose a transfer.
First, create an API application in MyPressable under User Settings → API Applications. Enter its client ID and client secret in Pressable Connect, then choose Connect API.
Next, choose the destination Pressable site and its SSH/SFTP user. Enter that user’s SSH/SFTP password and save the connection. These credentials are separate from your WordPress login and Pressable API credentials. You can find the site’s SSH/SFTP details in its Collaborators area.
The add-on stores credentials and site mappings in LocalWP’s encrypted user-data storage. They are not saved in your WordPress theme or this public repository. Switching to a different Pressable site or SSH/SFTP user clears the password field, so a previous connection’s password does not silently carry over.
Finally, select files, database, or both and choose push or pull. The add-on asks for confirmation before the transfer and shows progress in the panel.
Use staging and backups before pushing
A transfer changes the destination. A database push can replace remote content, user records, settings, and transactions with the local database; a pull can replace the corresponding local data. Databases are replaced rather than merged.
Start with a staging site, check that the saved destination is correct, and make a backup before transferring data you need to keep. Pressable Connect does not create a backup automatically. For a theme-only update, leaving the database unchecked can avoid replacing live content unnecessarily.
The current 0.1 release transfers an archive of the selected files rather than individual changes. It does not provide incremental MagicSync, selective table merging, or automatic conflict resolution. Transfer archives, SQL exports, and extraction logs are cleaned up after the transfer.
Free, open source, and built for our workflow
We’re sharing Pressable Connect because the same workflow that helps our team may help other WordPress developers working with LocalWP and Pressable.
This is an early release. Development and transfer checks have been performed on macOS with LocalWP 10; Windows and Linux have not been verified. If you find an issue, open a GitHub issue with the add-on version, LocalWP version, operating system, and relevant error message. Keep passwords, API secrets, and database exports out of public reports.
Pressable Connect is independent software by Kelp Agency. It is not affiliated with Pressable, WP Engine, or LocalWP.
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