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WordPress Studio

WordPress Studio is a free desktop app for local WordPress development. Spin up local sites in seconds, with SSL and custom local domains to match your production environment. Use Blueprints to define exactly which plugins, themes, and content each site starts with, so you can reproduce the same setup every time.

Manage your site from the terminal with Studio CLI, or ask the Studio Assistant for contextual help, code generation, and command suggestions without leaving the app. When something breaks, built-in debugging tools, including a debug log, phpMyAdmin, and Xdebug, help you diagnose issues without installing anything extra.

Sync with WordPress.com and Pressable in both directions: pull an existing online site to work on it locally, or push any local site to production or staging when it’s ready. You can also import from a backup or export your local work as a ready-to-deploy archive. Share your work in progress by pushing to a temporary preview site with a public URL.

Check out the video below for a brief overview.

Quick start

To install Studio, visit the official WordPress Studio page and download the installer for your operating system: macOS or Windows. Alternatively, you can install Studio for Windows directly from the Microsoft Store.

Install WordPress Studio for macOS

To install and start using Studio on macOS:

  1. Download the correct installer for your computer’s specs: Silicon or Intel.
  2. Open the downloaded file.
  3. Drag the Studio application to your Applications folder.
  4. Double-click the Studio icon to start the Studio app.
  5. Name your first site and click Continue.

Install WordPress Studio for Windows

To install and start using Studio on Windows from Microsoft Store:

  1. Access Studio on the Microsoft Store from your Windows computer.
  2. Click Install.
  3. Once installed, launch Studio from your Start menu.
  4. Name your first site and click Continue.

To install and start using Studio on Windows from WordPress.com:

  1. Download the Windows installer.
  2. Open the setup .exe file.
  3. Wait for Studio to install, it will launch automatically once the installation is complete. 
  4. Name your first site and click Continue.

Connect to WordPress.com

By connecting your WordPress.com account to WordPress Studio, you unlock features like preview sites, syncing with WordPress.com and Pressable, and access to the Studio Assistant. It also ensures you’re ready for upcoming improvements that rely on a WordPress.com connection.

If you don’t already have a WordPress.com account, you can create one for free.

To connect Studio to WordPress.com:

  1. Click the “WordPress.com Log in” link in the top right corner of Studio.
  2. A new browser window will open. Log into WordPress.com.
  3. On the authorization screen, click Approve to connect Studio to your account.
  4. Once approved, a popup will appear prompting you to open the Studio app. Click on the “Open Studio” button to finalize the process.
A screenshot depicting the Studio app and how to connect a site from WordPress.com.

Once you’ve logged into WordPress.com, the Sync, Previews, and Assistant tabs should display their respective action buttons, rather than showing a “Log in to WordPress.com” button. If they don’t, you might need to restart the desktop application.

Next steps and feedback

We hope Studio effortlessly fits into your local development workflow. Be sure to check out our other docs about specific Studio features:

WordPress Studio is an open source project that welcomes all contributions. If you spot a bug or the Studio feature you need is missing, we have some options:

Last updated: April 14, 2026