MAMP PRO (macOS) Documentation

Sites > Site > Transfer > Hosting

MAMP PRO allows you to connect to a remote server via (S)FTP. You can upload and download your website or data from your local Mac, or use the built-in editor to modify text files directly on the server.

We have paid special attention to helpful features around the world’s most popular WordPress. For example, MAMP PRO can automatically detect the database (MySQL/MariaDB) connection data of your WordPress installation on the remote server, or make all the necessary changes so that WordPress still runs smoothly after uploading or downloading to another server. Based on this technology, you can easily move (migrate) an existing WordPress installation from one server to another. And you don’t have to hand over any credentials to an external service. Your data stays with you on your Mac - safely stored in your keychain.

To see the files and folders of a host on a remote server in the built-in editor, you must switch the file list to its remote view. This is done with the switch on the right side below the file list. Editing, creating, deleting, or customizing files does not require a separate download step, and saving is also done directly on the server.

Requirements

Before you get started, here are the requirements for your remote site account:

• Apache or Nginx with mod_rewrite module (Apache 2.2 or later)
• MySQL 5.6 or later / MariaDB 10.3 or later
• PHP 5.4.2 or later
• PHP extensions required: MySQLi, cURL
• Working WordPress 4.9.4 or later
• User has rights to read & write files when connected via (S)FTP

You must also set your host provider’s PHP settings to the following minimum requirements

• upload_max_filesize = 40M
• post_max_size = 128M
• max_execution_time = 120
  (This needs to be increased if your server is slow and cannot import data.)
• memory_limit = 128M
• max_input_vars = 2000

If you have any questions about changing these PHP configuration settings, please contact your remote server provider. Please also see our related articles. You can find them here.

Tested Host Providers

The following is a list of hosters that have been tested with various versions of Apache, PHP, and MySQL:

Uploading & Downloading

Before you start transferring your site, make sure you have backed up both your remote site files and your remote database file (before each import transfer, a snapshot is automatically taken to save the last state of your local site, and if something goes wrong, you can always restore the snapshot of that site). Once you have made your backups, you are now ready to begin your transfer.

The transfer process involves making changes directly to the database and some configuration files. At this time, only the WordPress content management system has been fully verified for uploading and downloading to a remote server. Other content management systems, such as Drupal and Joomla, or dynamic websites have not been tested, but you may proceed at your own risk. Once the transfer is complete, you should see your site live.

More detailed examples on uploading and transferring your site can be found in the FAQ section.

What information do you need from your provider?

• Static Sites
  If you have a static site that does not use a database, you only need to enter the information in the “Public URL” field and “Remote File Server” section.

• WordPress and sites that use databases
  If you have a WordPress website or another dynamic website that uses a database, you must fill in all fields.

  We only actively support WordPress sites, but your non-WordPress site may work. Please make backups before moving your site to a remote host. The remote feature does not support WordPress multi-sites.

Settings

• Enable Transfer Functions
  Activate this option if you want to use the transfer functions for the selected site.

• Presets
  Clicking this button opens a menu with the following options:

  • Copy Settings from other Site
    Allows you to copy remote access credentials from other local site to the currently selected local site.

  • Ask Provider for Server Info…
    Selecting this option will open the macOS Mail application and create a new e-mail. This e-mail contains some questions to your provider regarding the access data to your remote server.

• Public URL
  This is what you must type into a web browser to view your remote website. The address must begin with “http://” or “https://”.

• Remote File Server

  • Protocol
    Select the protocol you will use to transfer files to your remote server. The options are as follows:

    • SFTP
    • FTP with TLS/SSL
    • FTP with implicit SSL
    • FTP

  • Server
    The name of the server you are connecting to when uploading or downloading your files to a remote server.

  • Port
    Select the port to which you will connect when transferring your files to your remote server. The following ports are commonly used for the appropriate protocols:

    • SFTP = 22
    • FTP with TLS/SSL = 21
    • FTP with implicit SSL = 990
    • FTP = 21

  • User name
    Your user name to use when connecting to your remote server.

  • Password
    Your password for connecting to your remote server.

  • Path
    The path to your web server’s document root.

    • Auto-Detect…
      If you click this button, MAMP PRO will try to determine the value for the Path field automatically. This button is only active if you have entered something in the Public URL field.

    • Choose…
      Clicking this button opens a dialog with the directory structure of your remote host. Here you can select the appropriate directory.

• Remote MySQL Server
  Most websites you create will use a database. You will need to connect to your remote database server (MySQl/MariaDB) to transfer your database.

  • Auto-Detect…
    If you click this button, MAMP PRO will try to fill in the values of the database connection fields automatically. This will only work if you have WordPress installed on your remote server.

  • User name
    The name of the database user on your remote server.

  • Password
    The password of the database user on your remote server.

  • DB Host
    The name of your host on the remote server.

  • DB Name
    The database name you will be using on your remote server.

• Verify
  When you click this button, the credentials you entered for your remote host will be validated.

  Note: You must first save your settings for this button to become active.

  If everything is okay, a message will be displayed:

  

  However, it is also possible that a problem is detected. For example, the following screenshot shows a message that appears when the remote server has a higher PHP version than the local host.

  

  The example below shows a message when there is a problem with the FTP data:

  

• Import…
  When you click this button, the data (files, directories, database) will be downloaded from your remote host to your local site.

  Note: You must first save your settings to enable this button.

• Publish…
  When you click this button, the data (files, directories, database) will be uploaded from your local site to your remote host.

  Note: You must first save your settings to enable this button.