Creating Sandboxes

Rudel offers several ways to create sandboxes, depending on how much of your host site you want to bring along.

Blank sandbox

Creates an empty sandbox with a fresh SQLite database and minimal wp-content:

wp rudel create --name="my-sandbox"

This is the fastest option. The sandbox gets the default WordPress tables but no content, no themes beyond the default, and no plugins.

Clone everything

Clones the host MySQL database and all wp-content into the sandbox:

wp rudel create --name="full-clone" --clone-all

The --clone-all flag is equivalent to passing --clone-db --clone-themes --clone-plugins --clone-uploads together. The database cloner converts MySQL data to SQLite and rewrites URLs automatically.

Clone database only

Clones just the host database without any wp-content files:

wp rudel create --name="db-only" --clone-db

Useful when you want the host's posts, options, and users but plan to install themes and plugins fresh.

Selective cloning

Pick exactly what to clone:

# Clone themes and plugins, but not uploads or database
wp rudel create --name="themes-plugins" --clone-themes --clone-plugins

# Clone database and themes only
wp rudel create --name="db-themes" --clone-db --clone-themes

Available flags:

Clone from an existing sandbox

Create a new sandbox by copying an existing one:

wp rudel create --name="copy" --clone-from=my-sandbox-a1b2

This copies the source sandbox's SQLite database and wp-content directory into a new sandbox. The --clone-from flag is mutually exclusive with --clone-db, --clone-themes, --clone-plugins, --clone-uploads, and --clone-all.

Create from a template

Use a saved template as the starting point:

wp rudel create --name="from-template" --template=starter

Templates are pre-configured snapshots saved from existing sandboxes. See Templates for how to create and manage them.

What happens during creation

When you create a sandbox, Rudel:

1. Generates a unique sandbox ID from the name (e.g., my-sandbox-a1b2).
2. Creates the sandbox directory with wp-content, tmp, and subdirectories.
3. Copies or creates the SQLite database.
4. Generates wp-cli.yml scoped to the sandbox.
5. Generates bootstrap.php with the sandbox's WordPress constants.
6. Optionally clones content based on the flags provided.
7. Writes .rudel.json metadata to the sandbox directory.

The sandbox is ready to use immediately after creation.