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Hi @localwprun

Guessing: Possibly due to running an older version of LocalWP on your personal computer?
The prior screenshots are from the latest release for MacOS. … or perhaps it is a Mac vs Windows thing. Dunno.

LocalWP Version
LocalWP Version400×391 24.9 KB

Digging Further: Looks like there might be a simple answer … due to a feature of LocalWP that is quite cool and not well advertised. Found this prior thread “Location of database files and software”.

Revised Answer: Your original question about ‘Is dropboxing the complete site files directory enough?’ … might be, yes, it is enough.

Condition: It appears that each time the LocalWP website is cleanly shutdown with the [Stop Site] button … it also does a database content export to the ./app/sql/ directory, existing next door to the WordPress files in the ./app/public/ directory.

So, as long as you use the LocalWP → Site → [Stop Site] button then you will have the WordPress Files and Database in the directory that you are also syncing to Dropbox.

Warning 1: Unfortunately, a clean graceful closing of the LocalWP v9.2.3 application does NOT action the database content export into the ./app/sql/ directory for any active/started site. It only happens when [Stop Site] button is intentionally clicked.

Warning 2: Unfortunately, if your personal computer suddenly shuts down ungracefully (like a windows bluescreen of death) and LocalWP does not get a chance to do it’s graceful [Stop Site] housekeeping … then the answer is no because the database content export to the ./app/sql/ directory would not have been actioned.

Restore Process: A re-install process would look something like:

  1. Re-install the LocalWP application.

  2. Create a new blank site within LocalWP; pointing to a new directory that is not the same as the old one you want to restore.
    Hint: Just in case you already-have or still-have dropbox actively syncing that original directory (that you do not want to overwrite).

  3. Click [Start Site] and then [Stop Site] to confirm the new LocalWP empty site is working as expected.

  4. Copy the older/original dropbox ./app/ directory contents over to the new site ./app/ directory.
    Hint: This will include the sub-directories for the WordPress files (./app/public/) and for the last clean sutdown database content export (./app/sql/).
    Hint: This is intentionally avoiding anything to do with the ./conf/ directory which needs to remain untouched.

  5. Click [Start Site] button to activate the running services again, including the database.

  6. In LocalWP → Site → Database tab … click [Open AdminerEvo] link to open the database manager.

  7. For the local database, Import the ./app/sql/local.sql database content exported file and then click [Execute] button.

image
image1626×490 56.3 KB

  1. Congratulations, the LocalWP new site is now fully restored from the older dropbox files (WordPress & Database).

Note: I have tested the above sequence, including a manual dodgy tweak to the local.sql file to rename the website title (aka the blogname record) and then re-do the database import … works beautifully.

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