Install a production Ghost on local machine?

Developer help Installation
1

The local machine install
$ ghost install local
uses SQLite, where as the production version uses MySQL server.

I’d like to install a production version of Ghost on my macOS Big Sur. I would backup the live website and restore it on the local machine.

Purpose: To have a mini-version of the live website on my local machine to experiment and modify without affecting the live website.

Is this possible?

Thank you.

2

A local version of Ghost should be enough for this, especially if it’s a vanilla install :slight_smile: All a “production” install does is improve reliability and performance

ghost install has several flags for more advanced installations. If you’re looking to create a local ghost install with a MySQL backend, you can run ghost install --db mysql

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3

Hi Vikas,

Thank you. Can SQLite import/export a db from/to MySQL using $ mysqldump and $ gunzip ?

Best regards.

4

It cannot, but it looks like there might be a script to convert a MySQL dump to sqlite:

You can also just run MySQL on your mac :)

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5

For local development it might me easier to just do an export via Settings → Labs → Export and then import that to a ghost install local instance running SQLite, that’s generally what I do when working on themes

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6

Hi, sorry for replying on old issue.

What should I do if I’m not working on themes but want to test the APIs, such as
https://ghost.org/docs/admin-api/#creating-a-member ?

@John @vikaspotluri123

7

You can definitely interact with the API on a local install. I do it all the time. :slight_smile:

Things get a little more complicated if you want to hook up to Stripe or test webhooks, but basic API usage works just fine with a local install. :)

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8

Thank you for your response!

I have trouble finding related docs or blogs,
so could you kindly suggest me any documentation or blogs about testing API on a local install? Do I have to use tools such as postman?

Isn’t there any problem since production(mysql8) and local(sqlite3) differs?

9

Nah, database doesn’t matter at all. You’re going to talk to the Ghost API, not the database. :slight_smile:

You /can/ use Postman, but I’ll suggest checking out the Javascript SDK as the easiest way to get started. It handles a bunch of authentication for you.

Also one step up on the ‘breadcrumbs’ for those links is the API documentation. If you get stumped somewhere, feel free to start a new thread, explaining what you’re trying to do and how you’re stuck.

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