Where Does LocalWP Store Sites and Settings?
LocalWP keeps site files in Local Sites and its registry in sites.json. Default paths on Windows and Mac, plus recovery tips.
Last updated
LocalWP (Local) separates two things. Your actual WordPress files live in a Local Sites folder, one subfolder per site, each with app, logs and conf inside. The app's own registry of those sites is a small sites.json file in app data. When sites vanish from the sidebar but folders remain, sites.json is the usual suspect.
Both locations are choices, not cages. The site path is set per site at creation with a global default in Preferences. If the app forgets everything, check that sites.json exists and parses before reinstalling. Never hand-edit it unless support asks you to.
Where LocalWP stores this, by platform
C:\Users\[Username]\Local Sites
Default home for site folders. The registry sits at %APPDATA%\Local\sites.json. Move slow sites out of the default path; some users report big speedups elsewhere on the drive.
~/Local Sites
Same site-folder role as Windows. The registry is at ~/Library/Application Support/Local/sites.json. A corrupt site-groups.json beside it causes the same disappearing act.
Frequently asked questions
My LocalWP sites disappeared but folders exist, how do I recover?
Quit Local, check that sites.json in the app-data path above exists and holds your sites. If site-groups.json looks corrupt, delete just that file and restart. As a fallback, drag a site folder's zip onto Local to reimport it.
How do I move a LocalWP site to another drive?
Right-click the site and export it, then import the zip after choosing a new location, or set the global default in Preferences before creating sites. Keep the whole site folder together so the database and uploads stay matched.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.