# File selection does not work. Deselecting just one .env file means no files are downloaded **URL:** \ **Category:** Bug Reports\ **Created:** [September 28, 2026, 5:57am UTC](https://community.kinsta.com/t/file-selection-does-not-work-deselecting-just-one-env-file-means-no-files-are-downloaded/8003 "2026-09-28T05:57:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nicolepaton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7feea3/32.png) [@nicolepaton](https://community.kinsta.com/u/nicolepaton)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 5:57am UTC](https://community.kinsta.com/t/file-selection-does-not-work-deselecting-just-one-env-file-means-no-files-are-downloaded/8003/1 "2026-09-28T05:57:10Z")
**Q: Date/Time this occurred (Provide your time zone also)** **A: Repeatable on demand at any time. Happened most recently at** 2026-09-28 15:49 **Q: DevKinsta Version** **A: 2.13.6** **Q: OS Version** **A: Windows 11 Business** **Q: Docker Desktop Version** **A: 4.91.0** **Q: Were any error codes or messages observed? If so, what were they?** **A: No** **Q: Detailed Description of the Problem** **A: I wish to sync the site from the server however exclude some files. At very least I need to exclude the .env file as if I sync that it breaks the local site because the database details are different. This is a bedrock wordpress. When I select “Pull from Kinsta” then click on the relevant site I then click on the arrow next to “Files” to deselect the .env file. I navigate through the file tree and deselect the .env file. Suddenly the top level “Files” is deselected and shows 0 B will be downloaded even though all other files are still selected. See screenshot below:** ![Screenshot 2026-09-28 153327](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/kinsta/original/2X/c/c680773dbeab6eec955a8c82f6ef6d2a96d4e4a9.png) If I do click the “update local site” anyway none of the new files are downloaded. Only the database updates. The logs show: [2026-09-28 15:49:52.544] [info] [terminalExec] Child process exited with code 0 [2026-09-28 15:49:52.692] [info] [getDirectoryTreeFromLs] Structure of the direcory { type: ‘directory’, name: ‘public’, path: ‘.’, fullPath: ‘/www/site\_986/public’, selected: true, indeterminate: false, children: [ ```auto { type: 'directory', name: 'repos', fullPath: '/www/site_986/public/repos', path: '/repos', children: \[ { type: 'directory', name: 'site', fullPath: '/www/site_986/public/repos/site', path: '/repos/site', children: \[ \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\], \[Object\] \], selected: true, indeterminate: false, isVisible: true, size: 25 } \], selected: true, indeterminate: false, isVisible: true, size: 3 } ``` ], isVisible: true, size: 0 } Is there a way to make this work as expected? Obviously it would be better to have an ignore feature to ignore certain files such as .env permanently, however at very least I need to be able to manually deselect them on sync. Thanks, Nicole ---
**Author:** ![VladimirM](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.kinsta.com/vladimirm/32/2786_2.png) [@VladimirM](https://community.kinsta.com/u/VladimirM)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2026, 10:12am UTC](https://community.kinsta.com/t/file-selection-does-not-work-deselecting-just-one-env-file-means-no-files-are-downloaded/8003/2 "2026-09-28T10:12:57Z")
Hello again @nicolepaton 👋 I suspect this is due to Bedrock since DevKinsta was made primarily to work with standard WordPress install. Please send me the site name in DM so I can check it’s structure and see if the bug is Bedrock-related or just a Mykinsta bug. Kind regards! ---
**Author:** ![VladimirM](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.kinsta.com/vladimirm/32/2786_2.png) [@VladimirM](https://community.kinsta.com/u/VladimirM)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 10:04am UTC](https://community.kinsta.com/t/file-selection-does-not-work-deselecting-just-one-env-file-means-no-files-are-downloaded/8003/3 "2026-10-06T10:04:06Z")
Hello @nicolepaton👋 If you don’t mind, I’m responding publicly so that the information provided is available to others who might have the same issue. I’m afraid that there’s no workaround within DevKinsta and that custom sites have to be pulled completely (or selectively in terms files only (all files), database only) but selective file push is impossible. What you can do to pull the site locally is use Command Prompt or PowerShell. You need to navigate to the site’s directory where .env and /web are. `cd /mnt/c/Users/[YOUR_WINDOWS_USERNAME]/DevKinsta/public/[YOUR_SITE_NAME]/repos/[YOUR_REPO_NAME]` Then run this: `rsync -avzP ` `--exclude='.env' ` `--exclude='web/app/uploads/' ` `-e "ssh -p [KINSTA_PORT]" ` `[KINSTA_USERNAME]@[KINSTA_IP_ADDRESS]:public/ ./` Modify exclude lines to exclude what you don’t want overwritten and pulled. I don’t have an ETA in regards whether or when a solution would be deployed to DevKinsta, but I hope this helps. ---
**Author:** ![nicolepaton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7feea3/32.png) [@nicolepaton](https://community.kinsta.com/u/nicolepaton)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://community.kinsta.com/t/file-selection-does-not-work-deselecting-just-one-env-file-means-no-files-are-downloaded/8003/4 "2026-10-06T22:52:26Z")
Hi Vlad, Thanks so much for you assistance and for the suggested workaround. Just for anyone else reading this files my are not located at cd /mnt/c/Users/[YOUR\_WINDOWS\_USERNAME]/DevKinsta/public/[YOUR\_SITE\_NAME]/repos/[YOUR\_REPO\_NAME] as they are in WSL so I have to enter the container before I can cd to the files. Therefore the commands that work for me are: docker exec -it devkinsta\_fpm bash cd public/[YOUR\_SITE\_NAME]/repos/[YOUR\_REPO\_NAME] rsync -avzP --exclude=‘.env’ --exclude=‘web/app/uploads/’ -e “ssh -p [KINSTA\_PORT]” [KINSTA\_USERNAME]@[KINSTA\_IP\_ADDRESS]:public/ ./ Note: last one must be all one line unless you add the \ to each line. Cheers, Nicole