How do I install a site on an external drive?

DevKinsta Community Guides
1

I am on a Mac. I need to install the site (which I am recovering from an UpdraftPlus backup) on an external drive because there’s not enough room on my internal HD. I don’t have any options of where to create the site when I create a new site with DevKinsta. How do I do this?

2

Hi @criswaller :wave: and welcome to Kinsta Community!

In DevKinsta, we can only set/change the Site path - where our local sites will be stored in that path/folder defined there. If we change this site path, all of our (existing and also new) sites will be moved and stored into that new folder/path.

To change the “Site path”, this can be done on your DevKinsta → click the blue button on the left bottom (to open the Settings page) → scroll down and locate for “Site path” (shown as follow - the screenshot I took from my DevKinsta on my Linux Ubuntu):

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So in case your internal HDD does not have enough room to create new site, and that you would like to create new (and store any existing) site(s) on the external drive instead, then I would say to do the following:

  1. Plug in your external drive to your computer (Mac), i.e.: via USB

  2. Check the path mounted for that external drive you just plugged in to your computer. (i.e: /media/yourname/extdrivename - yours may look different)

  3. Create a new empty subfolder (may name it as “DevKinsta”) within the mounted path for that external drive, so it looks like this: /media/yourname/extdrivename/DevKinsta (yours may look different)

  4. Then go the Settings page in DevKinsta and change the “Site path” to point to that new empty “DevKinsta” sub-folder (select this folder).

  5. Once changed, DevKinsta will move the previous folder (and its existing sites folders/files, etc.) to that new Site path location (to your external drive) - and after that, DevKinsta will restart.

  6. Now if you check on that “Settings” page in DevKinsta again, the “Site path” has changed to point to that new location/path.

  7. Your local sites are stored (and new sites will be created and stored) in that new location/path mentioned above (that’s located in your external drive).

Note:
Since all sites’ files/folders are now stored in your external drive (and the “Site path” in DevKinsta is pointing to it), please be sure to remove the external drive after DevKinsta is completely shutdown, and also please be sure to plug the external drive first (and the mounted path is not changed) before you open/run DevKinsta (as it will look into that Site path you set before).

Hope the workaround above will help!

regards,
Agus

3

I’m getting this message when I try to do this:
“External drive is not supported for Project path.”

4

Thank you for your reply and update.
Could you please provide screenshot for the “Site path” you have setup in your DevKinsta, also the one that’s showing that error message? “External drive is not supported for Project path.”

I also tried on my Linux Ubuntu with my external USB Flash Disk (pretending that would be the external drive) and once connected (and mounted), I could change the “Site path” in the Settings page in my DevKinsta. My existing sites’ folders/files were then moved to that new path/folder in my USB flash disk (and I also could create a new site).

regards,
Agus