Backup Copilot

  • Version: 0.5
  • Active installations: New
  • WordPress Version: 5.0 or higher
  • Tested up to: 5.9
  • PHP Version: 7.2 or higher
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Quickly and easily create backup points of your WordPress installation to restore, export, or transfer to another location.

Backup Copilot will guide you through your migration and WordPress transfer process.

It is a tool that will make your life easier when you need to migrate your website to another server.

It is a single-page plugin, and we tried to make it as user-friendly and simple to use as possible.

No need to set up or choose from numerous settings and options. Install and activate the plugin, go to the main page, and start using it. It will let you know about each step during the backup process and inform you when the process is done and how much it took.

Usage

First and foremost, to use Backup Copilot, you need to have all four checks with [OK] next to them.

If any of them show [Failed] you need to contact your hosting provider to either change your server permissions or, in rare cases like WPEngine server settings where they need to increase the ServerTimeout limit temporarily.

You can always contact us and use the plugin Support Tab for additional help.

Who is Backup Copilot for?

The plugin is specifically created for users that need to transfer and migrate their website to another location. However, if you are a developer, you can use it to create backup points during your development process and restore them at any time.

How do I create/export WordPress backup?

You will see that the main actions on the plugin page are Create and Export. The only major difference between the two is that when you click on Create, your backup is stored on the server, and when you click on Export, you will be prompted to download the backup.

After that, the backup point will be removed and no longer available on the server.

In addition, once you click on Advanced Options, you will see that you can Find and Replace URLs from your database. This is only available for Export action and useful if you want your database populated with a different URL for your migration.

Another field from Advanced Option is where you save .htaccess and wp-config.php files within your backup. This is used ONLY for the Create action. And this might be something you need during your development if you make any changes to these two files.

Moreover, you will see that numerous other Advanced Options will also allow you to customize your backup points’ contents.

Lastly, if you want to have your backups identified, you can easily add some notes stored as a text file within your backup directory and won’t be lost while you transfer your backups.

How do I transfer my WordPress website?

Once you have your backup exported and saved on your computer, you may go ahead and install Backup Copilot on the target destination.

After that, you can select and upload the file, which will show directly under the All Backups section after the import is completed.

How do I manage my WordPress backups?

In the last section of the plugin main page, you can see all of your backups with several action buttons used for management.

  • Restore – restore your backup point
  • Generate Full Download – generate a full archive for your backup directory and show a new action for download
  • Delete – delete all backup files
  • Download Full Backup – save a zip archive for your backup (same contents as export action) if you decide to transfer it to another location
  • Download Database – save database file only
  • Download WP Content – save a zip archive with wp-content directory (uploads/site/[id] for multisite)
  • Open Notes – see the notes you have added when creating the backup point

Hold your mouse over each icon to view the full description of the action.

Who has access to Backup Copilot?

If you are the primary and only Admin user on the site, you shouldn’t have full access to Backup Copilot.

However, if you have multiple Admin users created and want to be the only one who has access to Backup Copilot. Then, use the plugin access option at the bottom when you Add New or Edit Admin users.

This is also useful to restrict access for Admins on multisite.

Features

Some numerous actions and options are included in the free version of the plugin.

Main Actions

  • Create and Export backup point.
  • Upload and Import backup point.
  • Restore backup point at any given time.
  • Delete and remove backup point.
  • Generate full download with all the files in your backup directory.
  • Download the backup point to transfer to another location.
  • Save SQL database file.
  • Save contents archive (wp-contents or uploads/sites/[id] for multilsite).
  • Add notes to easiily differentiate your backup points.

Advanced Options

  • Save .htaccess and wp-config.php files with your backup.
  • Find and replace URLs before export.
  • Exclude media library wp-content/uploads from your backup.
  • Exclude must use plugins wp-content/mu-plugins from your backup.
  • Exclude must use plugins wp-content/plugins from your backup.
  • Include cache wp-content/cache to your backup.
  • Include 3rd-party backups to your backup.
  • Exclude/include SQL database from your backup.
  • Exclude/include wp-contents from your backup.

Advanced Options are not available for individual sites within WordPress multisite.

User Settings

Enable or disable Admin user access to Backup Copilot.

The setting is located at the bottom of each user page, either when you Add New or Edit users.

This will allow you to have single Admin-Only access for a normal WordPress setup.

OR enable/disable access to the plugin for WordPress multisite Admin users.

Backup Copilot Plus

As of yet, this plugin doesn’t have a commercial version available.

We are working on a version with a whole lot of features.

For example, three premium features we want to include:

  • Export a normal WordPress site and then import it in WordPress multisite without causing conflicts.
  • Store your backups on the cloud or in your Dropbox.com account.
  • Manage the PHP configuration variables within your WP Admin area.

Tips and Tricks

How do I create/export WordPress backup?

You will see that the main actions on the plugin page are Create and Export. The only major difference between the two is that when you click on Create, your backup is stored on the server, and when you click on Export, you will be prompted to download the backup.

After that, the backup point will be removed and no longer available on the server.

In addition, once you click on Advanced Options, you will see that you can Find and Replace URLs from your database. This is only available for Export action and useful if you want your database populated with a different URL for your migration.

Another field from Advanced Option is where you save .htaccess and wp-config.php files within your backup. This is used ONLY for the Create action. And this might be something you need during your development if you make any changes to these two files.

Moreover, you will see that numerous other Advanced Options will also allow you to customize your backup points’ contents.

Lastly, if you want to have your backups identified, you can easily add some notes stored as a text file within your backup directory and won’t be lost while you transfer your backups.

How do I transfer my WordPress website?

Once you have your backup exported and saved on your computer, you may go ahead and install Backup Copilot on the target destination.

After that, you can select and upload the file, which will show directly under the All Backups section after the import is completed.

How do I manage my WordPress backups?

In the last section of the plugin main page, you can see all of your backups with several action buttons used for management.

  • Restore – restore your backup point
  • Generate Full Download – generate a full archive for your backup directory and show a new action for download
  • Delete – delete all backup files
  • Download Full Backup – save a zip archive for your backup (same contents as export action) if you decide to transfer it to another location
  • Download Database – save database file only
  • Download WP Content – save a zip archive with wp-content directory (uploads/site/[id] for multisite)
  • Open Notes – see the notes you have added when creating the backup point

Hold your mouse over each icon to view the full description of the action.

Who has access to Backup Copilot?

If you are the primary and only Admin user on the site, you shouldn’t have full access to Backup Copilot.

However, if you have multiple Admin users created and want to be the only one who has access to Backup Copilot. Then, use the plugin access option at the bottom when you Add New or Edit Admin users.

This is also useful to restrict access for Admins on multisite.

FAQs

Use the Support Tab on this page to post your requests and questions.

All tickets are usually addressed within 24 hours.

If your request is an add-on feature, we will add it to the plugin wish-list and consider implementing it in the next major version.

Do you remove backups if I delete/deactvate the plugin?

No, all backups are kept on the server. Only a delete backup action will remove the files.

For example, if you have created some backups and decide to deactivate and delete the plugin, and then at some point you install it again, you will have all access to all previously created backups.

Why do you change the PHP configurations?

We need to ensure the backups created, exported, and imported aren’t corrupted.

These configurations are removed from all files once the plugin is deactivated.

Are there any limitations?

Yes, you cannot create backups over 500MB, and when it comes to server restrictions, you need to have all four checks [OK] at the bottom of the page.

In addition, some managed WordPress hosting providers like WPEngine have Server Timeout limits (e.g., 60sec) for admin-ajax.php which may cause corrupted backup files.

We have tested, and depending on the server load, it works most of the time for sites up to 500MB. However, a few times, we got corrupted backups for sites that were less than 500MB just because the server killed our backup process.

Do you store anything in the database?

No, for normal WordPress sites.

Yes, for multisite, but only a boolean with each backup unique ID. This is deleted/removed a not affect any backup actions.

Does it support WordPress multisite?

Yes, there is full WordPress multisite support.

  • Super Admin can create full backups from the main site, exactly as it works on normal WordPress setup.
  • Admins can create backups for their individuals sites, however, the backup WILL only have the site specific database tables and uploads/sites/id directory.
  • All Advanced Options are for Admins and to allow access to Backup Copilot Admin need to have User can have access to Backup Copilot enabled.

Where are my backups located?

They are hidden and located in .bkps a folder inside the root WordPress directory.

This is how most servers are configured by default, and you need to turn dot file visibility manually the same way you do for .htaccess.

Who has access to the plugin pages?

Only Administrators and Super Administrators have access to the Backup Copilot pages.

However, we have added a feature that will allow you to limit the access to the plugin for a single Admin-Only for websites with multiple Admin accounts.

To do that, when you add a new Admin, you will see that you can select if they can access Backup Copilot.

This field can also be turned on/off when you edit Admin user profiles.

Do you offer additional support if I encounter any issues?

Yes, you can get in touch with us by using the contact form on this website.

Screenshots

In the screenshots below, we highlight the primary way to use and access the plugin within WordPress.

Regular WordPress Setup

There are many actions and options for our plugin that you can see in the screenshots below.

WordPress Multisite

You can also use the Backup Copilot plugin in WordPress multisite setup.