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Download and delete backups

Download and delete backups
You can find all existing backup archives, except for the ones with the backup destination Email, on the BackWPup → Backups page. Over here, you can download and delete the backup archives, without going to the actual backup destination.
Choose a destination from the drop down next to the button Change destination, to select all available archives for this destination. The links for download and deletion of the archive appear below the archive name when you hover over a row with your mouse.
BackWPup → Backups page

How do I upgrade BackWPup Free to BackWPup Pro?

How do I upgrade BackWPup Free to BackWPup Pro?
You want to install BackWPup Pro but have the free version already running in your WordPress installation? To keep the settings of the free version, please follow this guide to upgrade to the Pro version.
This tutorial can be applied only for BackWPup free version equal or higher than 3.8.0 . So if your current free version is lower than 3.8.0 first perform an upgrade on your site. If instead you do not want to perform such upgrade, you can stop reading this tutorial and refer instead to How do I upgrade BackWPup Free (version lower than 3.8.0) to BackWPup Pro?
BackWPup Pro can be purchased at BackWPup.com. The plugin zip file is available in your account after the purchase.

Login to your WordPress installation and go to BackWPup → Settings

Keep BackWPup data option
If the checkbox option Keep BackWPup data stored in the database after uninstall is not selected, select it and then press the Save Changes button
Now go to Plugins → Installed Plugins.

Deactivate and uninstall BackWPup.
Buy BackWPup Pro and download the zip file to your computer.
Proceed installing and activating the new plugin via WordPress. For further support you can also refer to How to install BackWPup Pro and activate your licence
Finally enter your licence data on the license tab settings page (BackWPup Pro → Settings) to receive automatic updates and get support if needed.
Enter your Master API Key and Product Id to activate your licence

How to convert bzip2 file to zip file

How to convert bzip2 file to zip file
Previous versions of BackWPup were shipped with support for bzip2 (bz2), a common algorithm used to compress files and directories. This means that in previous versions it was possible to create bz2 backup archives. In this documentation we want to explain how to convert bzip2 to zip file to make a restore with BackWPup.
The reason why the bz2 format is not anymore supported is because even if php supports this algorithm, its implementation doesn』t give the possibility to decompress large backup archives in a manner that allows us to extract the archive by chunk. So it is not possible to open the archive, extract the files and then open again the archive and extract other files. Everytime we open the archive we must read it from the beginning.
Hence we stopped to support such a format.
For this and other reasons we discourage you to use bz2 compression.
Convert bzip2 file to zip before restoring the backup
Anyway, if you have created a backup using bz2 with a previous plugin version you must convert it to .zip or .tar.gz or .gz before you start to restore it.
We suggest you to convert to .zip that is the most supported algorithm unless you don』t have ZipArchive in your server. In that case a .tar.gz could be the best solution.
To convert the bz2 file into a zip one you can use an application such as 7zip for windows or a service like cloudconvert. If you are running macOs or a linux you can take advantage of the built in support of these systems.
After you have converted the backup go to BackWPup → Restore page within the WordPress backend and upload the file.
The restore will take care of the rest.
If you need more help on this topic, don』t hesitate to contact us on wordpress.org for free support or on backwpup.com/support if you bought the Pro version.

How can I renew my BackWPup licence?

How can I renew my BackWPup licence?
If you have purchased BackWPup Pro via backwpup.de or backwpup.com, you don』t have to do anything for the licence renewal. At the purchase a subscription is created, which automatically renews your licence so you don』t have to take care of this every year.
Of course, you may cancel your subscription at any time at the end of the billing period in your account.
You can find an overview of your orders and subscriptions on the My Account page with a link to a detailed view.
If you have any questions regarding the licences or subscriptions, please contact us via our contact form. After the purchase, you can open a support ticket at the support site.

How to migrate your site with BackWPup

How to migrate your site with BackWPup
Starting from version 3.9.0, BackWPup extends the restore feature: it is now possible to restore your site to a new URL, hence is possible to easily migrate your site with BackWPup.
In this tutorial we are going to show how to perform a migration to a new URL with BackWPup. Let』s check it out!

Table of Contents

Create the back up archiveInstall the standalone Restore appMigrate your site to the new URLMigrate your site to the new URL through the plugin
1. Create the back up archive
The first step to perform is to create a back up archive of your site through BackWPup Pro.
There are several ways to perform this action, in fact with BackWPup is possible to create a back up of your system defining different settings and also creating the archive using several destinations. For our example here we just need a full back up, no matter which destination we want to use.
So you can refer to the following tutorial: Create a WordPress full backup: Database and files
After the full back up is performed you can download the backup archive in your local computer and proceed then with the next step.
2. Install the standalone Restore app
The migration feature can be performed in the new server via the standard BackWPup plugin or using the Standalone Restore App, which is also provided in the BackWPup package.
In this example we will use the Standalone App, because a site migration usually is performed from a source site to a new 「clean」 server. So, for more information on how to install the Standalone App you can refer to Install BackWPup Restore stand-alone App
If the App is in place, is now the time to perform the actual migration. Proceed further in the next section.
3. Migrate your site to the new URL
With the Standalone App, first we upload the back up archive package created as described in the above sections, then we can select the restore strategy. In our case we select the full option.
After that, in step 3, we need to fill the Database Connection parameters: these refers to the database in the remote server, hence the database has to be previously created. If you already have a WordPress installation set in the remote server these info are also available in the wp-config.php file.
Database connection settings
After filling the credentials click on the TEST CONNECTION button in order to check that the connection can be established. Finally click on the CONTINUE button to proceed further.
Migrate URL option
In the step 4 the migration option is available. If we do not select that option the back up archive package will be restored on the remote server referencing the URL value of the source server.
Since we want instead to perform a migration we need to select the migration option, as shown in the picture below.
Migrate URL option selected, source (Old) and remote (New) URL are shown
When the Migrate URL is selected the Old URL and New URL values are shown. The first one is read from the back up archive, while the second one from the server where the site will be migrated.
Click on the CONTINUE button in order to confirm the settings.
Ready to migrate
At this point everything is set. The restore process now can be activated clicking on the START button, as shown in the picture above.
The process will set up the same WordPress installation stored in the uploaded archive back up, but every occurrence of the Old URL will be properly replaced with the one specified as the New URL.
Let』s start the process.
Migration successfully completed
When the migration is successfully completed a message is shown, as reported in the above picture.
Follow the clean up instruction and the try to access with your browser to the New URL to check that the migration has been properly performed.
4. Migrate your site to the new URL through the plugin
As said, the migration can be performed not only through the Standalone Restore App, but also using the standard plugin. As an example we provide a brief description of the main migration steps, to show how they are rendered in the plugin.
In order to perform a migration we follow the usual restore process that is described in How do I use the BackWPup Restore feature?
When the database connection is successfully tested, the page with the migration option is shown
Migration option in BackWPup back end settings
Here, after enabling the option, the Old URL and New URL fields are provided. As before the default values for such URL are automatically detected, but the new URL can be also edited.
Old URL and New URL in BackWPup back end settings
Finally, click on CONTINUE to complete the migration process as described before.

How to restore a WordPress backup?

How to restore a WordPress backup?
In this guide, we will introduce you to various ways how to restore your WordPress website in an emergency with a previously created WordPress backup.

Table of Contents

Restore a WordPress Backup with BackWPup Pro – NEWManually restore a WordPress BackupThe content of the backup archiveRestore the WordPress database from a backupRestore the WordPress files with FileZilla from a backup
1. Restore a WordPress Backup with BackWPup Pro – NEW
Since version 3.5, BackWPup PRO helps you to restore the website backups you made with our backup plugin. The restore feature is integrated in BackWPup PRO which means you can start the restore process in your WordPress backend directly. To do this, you simply need a backup which was created with BackWPup. In case your website is destroyed completely and you don』t have access to your backend anymore, you can use the restore standalone app which you get as PRO user.
In our BackWPup restore documentation you can read how the restore with BackWPup works in detail.
2. Manually restore a WordPress Backup
Besides that, there are some tools to restore your WordPress website from a backup.
Here we explain how to restore the database with phpMyAdmin and Adminer and how to restore the files with the FTP program Filezilla.
Please note: For this tutorial we use a complete WordPress backup created with BackWPup, as all needed files are contained. This is the preferred method for beginners.
Advanced users can also use partial backups. For example, not backing up plugins or themes as they are available in the WordPress.org repositories or stored locally on your computer. You can save some space with this method. This means it can be that you don』t have all the files we are mentioning here.
Under BackWPup Pro → Add new job, tab General, we check all job tasks and choose Backup to folder as job destination. The WordPress backup will be stored on the server in your WordPress installation.
Check all job tasks
2.1. The content of the backup archive
Before you start, get the backup archive that you created with BackWPup. Unzip the
archive and take a look at the contents. You will see:

the database of your WordPress as .sql file. The file may be zipped, depending on the settings of the backup job.
the file SiteName.pluginlist..txt – the list of all installed plugins. This is helpful if you don』t backup the plugin files, so you can easily add the plugins to your WordPress again and don』t forget any.
the file SiteName.wordpress..xml – the backup of the WordPress contents (blog posts, pages, products, etc.) in the XML format. Via the WordPress Importer you can restore the contents. In the admin area, this is located under Tools → Import.
the file manifest.json – in the future, this file will be used for the automatic restore. You can ignore this file for now.
the file backwpup_readme.txt – this file contains important information. You should read it before doing a restore.
the files of your backed up WordPress installation – these need to be copied into the folder of your WordPress installation. See the part Restore the files with FileZilla. All other files mentioned above should not be copied to your server.

2.2. Restore the WordPress database from a backup
with phpMyAdmin
phpMyAdmin is a web application which you can use to administrate MySQL databases via a browser. It is offered by many web hosts. You don』t need any MySQL skills to work with it, as the tool has a WYSIWYG interface. If you want to restore a database, follow these steps:

Log in to phpMyAdmin.
In the sidebar you can see all current databases. Choose the one you wish to restore. You can find the name of the database of your WordPress in the wp-config.php file, which is located in the main directory of WordPress. Search for the line define('DB_NAME', 'your_database_name_here');
If there are any tables in the database that are also in the database backup, they will be overwritten.
Log in to phpMyAdmin
Go to Import.
Go to Import.
Select the database .sql file of the BackWPup backup from your computer. It may be a zipped file if it is not a .sql file. phpMyAdmin should automatically set the encoding and database format settings (see screenshot above). The format should match the ending of the database file, it should be SQL. You can check the encoding by opening the unzipped database file in a text editor. Find the line /*!40101 SET NAMES ... */;
Click the OK button and wait until you get the message that the import was successful.

Some providers only allow importing databases up to a specific size. You』ll get an error message if you try to import a bigger file. Please contact your host or try to import the database with the plugin Adminer, which is described in the following section.
with Adminer
Adminer is similar to phpMyAdmin, it is a free tool you can download here. Upload it to the main folder of your WordPress installation. Adminer comes with just one php file, feel free to rename it to adminer.php for easier use.

Open the uploaded Adminer file, for example yourdomain.com/adminer.php in your browser. You』ll see a form where you need to fill in the database credentials. You can find these in the wp-config.php file of your WordPress or you can get them from your host.
Log in with the credentials. You』ll now get a screen similar to phpMyAdmin. The workflow is also similar to phpMyAdmin.
If there are any tables in the database which are also in the database backup file, these will be overwritten by the import.
Go to Import.
Go to Import Adminer
Select the database .sql file of the BackWPup backup from your computer. It may be a zipped file if it is not a .sql file. Once you selected the file, click on Execute. Instead of uploading the file via Adminer, you can upload it via FTP in the same folder of the adminer.php file. Rename the database backup file to adminer.sql.gz. With a click on Run file the import of this file is started.
Run file the import
Wait until you get the message that the import was successful.

If your host does not allow the use of Adminer, you can give the plugin Adminer for WordPress a try. You can install it via the WordPress admin area and access it via the menü Ari Adminer.
2.3. Restore the WordPress files with FileZilla from a backup
Please note: For restoring the WordPress files with FileZilla, it is not relevant where you have saved your backup to. It can be Amazon, Google Drive, on a FTP server or any other destination: get the backup archive from there and unzip it to get the WordPress files (see section Contents of the backup archive) before you continue with the tutorial.
Restoring the WordPress files is simply copying the files from your backup to the folder of your WordPress installation via a FTP client like FileZilla. Follow these steps:

Install the FTP client FileZilla on your computer if you don』t have such a program. You can find the download here. You don』t need to download the FileZilla Server, only the client.
Get the credentials for your FTP access. If you don』t know them, please contact your host.
In FileZilla, go to File → Site Manager, add a New Site and add your credentials.
To open a connection to your web server, click on Connect.
After the successful connection, you can see the files on your computer on the left and the files on your web server on the right.
On the left side, navigate to the folder of your BackWPup backup. On the right side, navigate to the folder of your WordPress installation.
Select all files on the left side that you want to upload.
Please note: Only upload the WordPress files, NOT: the database, the file SiteName.pluginlist..txt, the file SiteName.wordpress..xml, the file manifest.json and the file backwpup_readme.txt.

With a right click on the selection a context menu opens, where you can start the upload. It can take up to a few minutes, depending on how big the files are. You can see the progress and possible errors in the bottom area of the FileZilla window.

Please note: Files, which are not backed up by BackWPup (depending on your settings), need to be uploaded additionally. Missing plugins and themes can be re-added via the WordPress backend afterwards. If you chose the option for excluding thumbnails in backups, you need to regenerate them again. For this, you can use the plugin Regenerate Thumbnails.

How to exclude files and directories

How to exclude files and directories
BackWPup let you exclude some files and folders in the back up process through is settings page. We recently implemented new hooks to let you manage and extends these setting via code. Here follows a brief tutorial on how to achieve that result.

Table of Contents

Jobs files settings pageAdd folders to exclude in Backup content folder listAdd folders to exclude in other settings listsExclude files and folders
Jobs files settings page
If you create a new Job going to BackWPup->New Job and then select the Files tab, you land into the Folders to backup settings section.
Excluding files and folders settings page
From here you can exclude some folders and some file of your installations from the back up process.
But now you can also extend some of that options through new filter hooks.
Besides you can alternatively set an option using a filter, instead of managing it in the back end.
Let』s have a look to every hooks.
Add folders to exclude in Backup content folder list
The hook backwpup_content_exclude_dirs let you add directories in the list of the ones that you wish to exclude from the back up process in your wp-content WordPress directory.
Suppose you have the folders named as just-a-folder and another-folder in your WordPress wp-content directory. If you want to add these folders in the in Backup content folder exclude list, you can implement the following filter:
add_filter(
'backwpup_content_exclude_dirs',
function ($directories) {
array_push(
$directories,
'just-a-folder',
'another-folder'
);
return $directories;
}
);
Here below you can see how the filter affects the Backup content folder exclude list, the new folder are added as an option.
Folders added in the in Backup content folder exclude list
Add folders to exclude in other settings lists
Similarly as described in the previous section, if you need to add new directories to be excluded from the back up in your job settings lists, you can create your own filter.  You can achieve that using the hooks listed here below:
backwpup_plugins_exclude_dirs
This hook let you extend the Backup plugins list. It lets you add the folders you want to exclude in your WordPress wp-content/plugins directory.
backwpup_themes_exclude_dirs
This hook let you extend the Backup themes list. It lets you add the folders you want to exclude in your WordPress wp-content/themes directory
backwpup_upload_exclude_dirs
This hook let you extend the Backup upload folder list. It lets you add the folders you want to exclude in your WordPress wp-content/upload directory
Exclude files and folders
If you need to exclude any folder or file from the WordPress root directory in your server you can use the Exclude files/folders from backup text area in the GUI: just add the folders and the file extensions you want to exclude separated by comma.
But if you want to achieve the same result using a filter this is again possible via the hook backwpup_file_exclude .
Here below we provide an implementation example that let you add two file extensions (.pdf and .epub) in the list of files you want to exclude from the back up.
add_filter(
'backwpup_file_exclude',
function ($fileExtensions) {
return $fileExtensions . ',.pdf,.epub';
}
);
Then, if we head to our back end settings, we can see how these two extensions have been properly set in the Exclude files/folders from backup text area, as shown below.
Exclude folders and/or file extensions

What does BackWPup do?

What does BackWPup do?
To save your site from a crash, you should back up your WordPress website regularly. There are many reasons for data loss, for example when your website is hacked or you deleted content accidentally. In this case you need to recover your website before these things happened – a backup previously done before can help you with that.
There are many tools, that can create backups and restore them. For databases, you can use phpMyAdmin or the WordPress plugin Adminer. For files, you can use the FTP program FileZilla.
You need some experience on these things. It also takes you some time to get everything together and you will not do it regularly. You don』t need to struggle with all that, as there are automated solutions, like BackWPup! After a one time setup, backups are done regularly by the WordPress system and you can sleep well at night.

Table of Contents

Automated Backup for WordPress with BackWPupBackWPup Pro Features
1. Automated Backup for WordPress with BackWPup
The backup plugin BackWPup can be used to save your complete installation including /wp-content/ and push them to an external Backup Service, like Dropbox, S3, FTP and many more, see list below. With a single backup .zip file you are able to easily restore an installation.
BackWPup is available as a free version as well as a paid Pro version.
Please note: the free version offers not the same support as the BackWPup Pro Version. With our Pro version, you get first-class support and more features. A comparison of the free and Pro version can be found at the article 「What is the difference between BackWPup Free and BackWPup Pro」 in our documentation.
2. BackWPup Pro Features
An overview of the most important features of BackWPup:

Database Backup (needs mysqli)
WordPress XML Export
Generate a file with installed plugins
Optimize Database
Check and repair Database
File backup
Backups in zip, tar, tar.gz format (needs gz, ZipArchive)
Store backup to directory
Store backup to FTP server (needs ftp)
Store backup to Dropbox (needs curl)
Store backup to S3 services (needs PHP 5.6, needs curl)
Store backup to Microsoft Azure (Blob) (needs PHP 5.6, curl)
Store backup to RackSpaceCloud (needs PHP 5.6, curl)
Store backup to SugarSync (needs curl)
PRO: Store backup to Amazon Glacier (needs PHP 5.6, curl)
PRO: Store backup to Google Drive (needs PHP 5.6, curl)
PRO: Store backup to HiDrive (needs PHP 5.6, curl)
PRO: Store backup to OneDrive (needs PHP 5.6, curl)
PRO: Complete Automatic Restore (needs PHP 5.6, curl)
PRO: Standalone App for Emergency Restore (needs PHP 5.6, curl)
PRO: Encrypt Backup Archives (needs PHP 5.6, curl)
PRO: Restore Encrypted Backups (needs PHP 5.6, curl)
Send logs and backups by email
Multi-site support only as network admin
Pro version and support available – BackWPup Pro

Remember: The most expensive backup is the one you never did! And please test your backups!

Starting a backup job – immediately or scheduled

Starting a backup job – immediately or scheduled
Backup jobs can be started either immediately or scheduled. You can choose between five different ways a job can be executed.

Table of Contents

Immediate (manual) Execution of a Backup JobExecute a Scheduled Backup Job
1. Immediate (manual) Execution of a Backup Job
In your WordPress admin area, you can find a list of all created backup jobs under BackWPup → Jobs. The table has the following columns: Job Name, Type, Destinations, Next Run, Last Run. Here you can not only see when your backups are going to start, but also start them manually if needed.

Hover your mouse over a job name. Under the name, a new line of links will appear.
Click on Run now to start the backup job immediately.

Immediate (manual) Execution of a Backup Job
2. Execute a Scheduled Backup Job
The scheduling of backup jobs can be set while creating a new job or by editing an existing job (see screenshot above, link Edit). The settings for scheduling are under the Schedule tab.
Execute a Scheduled Backup Job
Here can you find five ways to get a scheduled job started:

Manually only – Choosing this option, the backup job will not be scheduled. Instead, you have to start it yourself manually as described above under 「Immediate (manual) Execution of a Backup Job」. At BackWPup  → Jobs the Next Run column will be set to Inactive.
With WordPress Cron – The WordPress Cron offers processes to be run automatically and scheduled. With BackWPup you can use the WordPress Cron to schedule the backup jobs. If you choose this option, more settings will be shown on the page where you can set the desired time of execution: monthly, weekly, daily, hourly or individually under advanced. At BackWPup  → Jobs the Next Run column will be set to the date and time you chose.

WordPress Cron to schedule the backup jobs

With EasyCron.com – This is an external Cron server. If you encounter problems with the WordPress Cron, you can choose this as a replacement. You need an API key of EasyCron.com, which you can enter under BackWPup → Settings, in the API Keys tab.
With a link – Copy the link that is displayed under this option, paste it into the address bar of a new browser window and hit enter. You will only see a blank page but BackWPup is working in the background and executes the backup job. This way can be also used for starting a job from another application.
Use WP-CLI from the commandline – WP-CLI is a command line tool for WordPress, which is popular among developers. Backup jobs can be started with the command wp backwpup start .

For beginners we usually recommend the option 「with WordPress Cron」. A manual execution can be used after the creation to test if everything is working. All other options are more for advanced users.
In rare cases, jobs which are running with WordPress Cron may not work correctly. If you encounter this, please have a look at 「My backup jobs don』t seem to run as scheduled「.

cURL error 28: Connection timed out after 5000 milliseconds

cURL error 28: Connection timed out after 5000 milliseconds
BackWPup license activation attempt could lead to this error message:
cURL error 28: Connection timed out after 5000 milliseconds
This problem is very rare and usually related to conflicts between your hosting provider and our licensing server. If you experience this error, it will not be possible for you to activate your product license.
We are working on a solution, but currently a fix is not available.
Alternatively, you can just use BackWPup Pro without activating the license. This does not prevent the plugin from working as expected, and when a new version release is available, you can download it in your My Account section and manually update your previous installation.
If you have doubts or need support for the manual update you can always contact our premium support here.
Instead, if you want a refund, consider that this is always granted within 30 days from the first purchase date, as reported in our policy.