Content Studio / Publishing & Moving Sites

Moving from Local Folder to Server

Move a locally published Content Studio site to its server safely.

Identify the Local Site State

First determine whether the folder is only an uninitialized export or a site that was already initialized while running under PHP. An uninitialized export has no client runtime to migrate. An initialized copy has authoritative content in cyclops-cms-data.

Move the Generated Site

1. Publish the current Elements project to the Local Folder destination. 2. Copy the generated site files to the target server without changing the Content Studio folder relationship. 3. If the local copy was initialized and is the intended source, move its complete cyclops-cms-data folder with it. 4. Confirm that the target runs PHP 8.0 or newer and permits writable runtime storage.

Initialize or Verify

Open the published administration page on the target server. For an uninitialized export, complete initialization there. For a transferred initialized site, confirm that the existing login, content, settings, and media are present; do not initialize it as a new site.

Existing Live Targets

Content Studio does not merge two runtime folders. If both the local copy and target contain live changes, stop and choose the authoritative complete data set rather than combining individual files.

Verify the Target

Check public Posts and Events, sign in, inspect Smart Images and Media Manager, and run System Health. Confirm Preview and Logout destinations if they are configured.