The tool does one thing: it creates a child theme. What differs is why you want one. Most people come for the first reason below, so that is where this starts.
#Use one: a child theme for your edits
You do not need to find or download a child theme separately. The tool builds one here, always from the version of the theme you currently have.
When it builds, you choose which templates to copy into it. Copy the ones you intend to edit and nothing else, so future updates do not collide with files you never touched.
Edits made directly to the theme files disappear at the first update.
That is the entire reason this tool exists, and it applies to every WordPress theme rather than only to ours: an update replaces the folder, silently and completely.
Once the child theme is active, your edits live in it. The parent theme keeps updating underneath, and your changes survive because they are in a different folder.
#Use two: your own name on it
For developers and studios handing a finished site to a client, where another company's name in the themes list is not what you want them to see.
The tool replaces the name, the author, the description and the screenshot. That is exactly what the client encounters in the admin.
This is a normal practice and we deliberately do not block it.
#Where the boundary is
Renaming does not turn the theme into a separate product.
The licence stays yours and keeps working as before, and none of this grants a right to resell the theme. Updates still arrive for the parent theme rather than the child, which is precisely why the child survives them.
#Common questions
Which templates should I copy?
Only the ones you plan to edit, because an uncopied template keeps coming from the parent, and fewer copied files means fewer files that quietly go stale.
Can I create the child theme after the site is already built?
Yes, since your content and settings live in the database, though it is worth walking the site afterwards because some theme specific settings are stored per theme.
Does white labeling hide the theme from the client entirely?
It changes the name, author, description and screenshot, and anybody with file access can still see what the code actually is.
Do I still get support on a renamed theme?
Yes, the licence is unchanged and renaming has no effect on it.
The child theme will not activate
The generator writes into wp-content/themes, so that folder has to be writable and the diagnostics screen checks exactly that. If the child theme exists but the site loses its styling, the parent theme was most likely deleted, and a child cannot run without its parent installed.
#Still stuck
Open a support ticket with what the generator reported and whether the parent theme is still installed.
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