Title: Mac Leopard Theme Dev Workflow
Last modified: August 19, 2016

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# Mac Leopard Theme Dev Workflow

 *  [mikelesser](https://wordpress.org/support/users/mikelesser/)
 * (@mikelesser)
 * [18 years, 2 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/mac-leopard-theme-dev-workflow/)
 * Hi all. I’ve been using a local install on my Mac for development, working out
   of the /Library/WebServer/Documents/. I’ve had Apache set up with a virtual host
   to mimic a live site. All is fine (beyond the mess I’ve created in the config
   files of course).
 * Anyway, I’d like to improve things and work on multiple themes and sites at the
   same time, and make better use of the available tools (Subversion, CSSEdit, et
   al). At present I’m doing a lot of fumbling and file copying.
 * To get to the point: I’m a little creeped out by using Subversion working copies
   and doings lots of editing in the Library root, and think I’d be better off working
   from my personal Sites folder. Does that sound rational? I picture a bunch of
   installs inside my Sites folder, next to whatever other web things i’ve got going
   on.
 * The main problem is I don’t really know how to do it, either from an installation
   standpoint, or Apache setup. Do I have to make my Sites folder the document root,
   and lose the Library root? Any tips? TIA.

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)

 *  [rajmataj](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rajmataj/)
 * (@rajmataj)
 * [18 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/mac-leopard-theme-dev-workflow/#post-740152)
 * Mike,
 * I think it’s safe to say many, if not most, experienced web developers using 
   Mac OS X are using their Sites folder as their DocumentRoot. To do this, you 
   simply need to edit your Apache httpd.conf file (/private/etc/apache2/httpd.conf)
   and set the two options (DocumentRoot “/Library/WebServer/Documents” and <Directory“/
   Library/WebServer/Documents”>), typically within 30 lines or so from each other,
   to something like /Users/MikeLesser/Sites.
 * I’ve used this setup for years and have had no trouble with it. However, as of
   late, I’ve come to prefer using MAMP as my development environment (www.mamp.
   info). Why? Because it leaves the default OS X settings alone and creates a separate
   install of Apache, PHP and mySQL with minimal changes needed. MAMP has its own
   httpd.conf file to adjust and you can basically screw around with it as much 
   as you like without compromising your OSX Apache install. The only time you’ll
   need to edit something in the primary Apache install, is to the hosts file if
   you want to do virtualhosting – very handy if you develop with content mgmt systems.
 * My suggestion is to copy or move your development sites out of the default location
   and put them into your Sites folder, then start using MAMP and point it towards
   your Sites directory. If you need to reinstall a fresh OS later down the road,
   as long as you’ve saved your MAMP preferences (kept in the Applications > MAMP
   folder) and your User folder, you’ll always be able to get up and running right
   away again.
 * For Subversion, there are many options of where to keep your repository, whether
   online or local. Myself, I have a local repository which I use to manage my Sites
   folder, so I can keep track of incremental changes, and if necessary, revert 
   to them. Then, twice a month I backup my work onto an external drive using SuperDuper.
   This way, I can take my external drive with me anywhere, and it will function
   as a duplicate of my machine, svn revisions and all. I keep this backup drive
   at work in case my home is broken into, fire, etc. This Subversion setup is only
   useful because I am the only one working on my files. If you collaborate with
   others, it’s probably better to have a remote repository.
 * This setup has served me well, but of course, there are other variations.

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)

The topic ‘Mac Leopard Theme Dev Workflow’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [mac](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/mac/)
 * [subversion](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/subversion/)

 * In: [Installing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/installation/)
 * 1 reply
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [rajmataj](https://wordpress.org/support/users/rajmataj/)
 * Last activity: [18 years ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/mac-leopard-theme-dev-workflow/#post-740152)
 * Status: not resolved

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