Backup plans: tile and form

A backup plan defines when a backup runs, what it contains, where it goes and how many backups stay. This article explains the tile Backup plans and the form of a plan, field by field.

The tile is on the Backup page. In the Compact view the button Schedule backup brings it up, in the Extended view it is permanently on the page. The Overview page shows the same plans read-only; Manage plans leads from there to here.

The tile at a glance

1. Add plan opens the form for a new plan. In the picture the button is grey because the maximum number of plans is reached.
2. The switch shows whether the plan is active or paused. A click switches it over.
3. The first line names the name of the plan, the rhythm with the start time and the target, for example “Daily backup · Daily at 03:00 · Local folder 1”.
4. More … opens the menu of the plan.
5. Next run names day and time at which the plan starts next.
6. The last line names the time zone of the website. All times in the tile are given in this time zone.

The tile shows	Meaning
No plan yet	There is a target, but no plan. Add plan opens the form.
There is no target yet. Add one on the Targets page first.	A plan needs a target. In this situation Add plan takes you to the Targets page.
a red message and Reload	The tile did not get the plans from the server. The message names the cause, Reload tries again.

Active and paused

An active plan starts at its next run on its own. A paused plan does not start on its own: the schedule is paused. A paused plan can still be run by hand.

The row shows	Meaning	What you can do
Switch on active, below it Next run with a date	The plan runs according to the schedule.	nothing
Switch on paused, below it Paused, no backups are scheduled.	The schedule rests. This is how every new plan starts out.	Switch the plan on.
no target in the first line, below it Paused: the plan has no target. Choose a target to switch it on.	The target of the plan was removed. The plugin has paused the plan.	Choose a target in the form, save, and switch the plan on afterwards.
yellow line with a warning triangle, for example “SFTP 1: Disconnected”	The target of the plan is not usable. After the name stands the reason: not tested yet, test failed, Disconnected or, in general, not usable.	Fix the target on the Targets page, or choose another one in the form.

An active plan with a target that is not usable still runs at its scheduled time. The backup then ends with an error or a warning, which you see in the list of backups. The plan does not wait silently.

Switch on a plan

A plan can only be switched on with a usable target, that is a target whose last connection test succeeded. Otherwise the switch stays where it is:

1. The switch stays on paused.
2. The yellow line names the target that is not usable and the reason.
3. Switching on needs at least one usable target.

When switching on, the plugin recalculates the next run, from now on. A plan that was paused for weeks therefore does not start the moment you switch it on.

The next run

• All times are given in the time zone of the website, even if your browser is in another time zone.
• The plugin recalculates the next run from the rhythm every time. With the switch between summer time and winter time the time therefore does not shift. A time that does not exist in the night of the switch moves forward; the doubled hour runs once.
• A scheduled time counts as kept if, within one hour after its time, a task source triggers the website, for example a visitor or a system cron. Later it counts as missed: nothing starts, and the plan moves on to its next regular time.
• Only one job ever runs at the same time. If a plan is due while another job is running, it starts right after it.

More on this: Schedule backups automatically and Start backups on time: set up a system cron.

The tile in the Extended view

1. The second line additionally names, after the next run, the last run, what is backed up, Max. backups and the snapshot.

Detail	Meaning
Last run	Date and time of the last backup of this plan, whether started according to the schedule or by hand. Before the first run it reads no run yet.
Missed run: …	Stands after the last run if the plan missed a scheduled time after it. The missed time is named.
The last run could not start (…).	Stands instead of the last run if the plan was due and the backup could not be started. In the brackets stands a short English code for the reason. The plan moves on to its next scheduled time.
What is backed up	everything or the chosen areas.
Max. backups	The number entered in the plan.
Snapshot	Shown if the plan backs up the database as a snapshot.

The “More …” menu

1. More … opens the menu.
2. Edit opens the form with the values of the plan.
3. Run now starts a backup right away with the content and the target of this plan.
4. Delete deletes the plan after a confirmation prompt.

Run now also works for a paused plan. The backup belongs to the plan and counts as its last run. It does not shift the next scheduled run. If a job is already running, nothing starts. If the plan has no usable target, the page reports The backup could not be started: … with the reason.

The form

Add plan and Edit open the form in the tile. As long as it is open, the tile does not show the list of plans.

1. Name is your name for the plan. The field is required.
2. Rhythm defines how often the plan runs.
3. Time consists of two dropdown menus: hour and minute.
4. Backups go to is the target of the plan.
5. Save saves the plan and closes the form.
6. Cancel closes the form without saving.

Name

The plugin suggests a name, for example “Backup plan 2”. Any name with at most 100 characters that no other plan carries works; upper and lower case do not matter here. If you rename a plan, the list of backups also shows the new name for its backups.

Rhythm

The rhythm comes from a fixed list. The default is Daily. Depending on the rhythm, the form shows different fields for the time:

Rhythm	Fields for the time	How it reads in the tile
Every hour	Minute	Every hour at minute …
Every 2 hours, Every 4 hours, Every 6 hours, Every 12 hours	Minute	Every … hours at minute …
Daily	Time	Daily at …
Weekly	Weekday and Time	Weekly on … at …
Monthly	Day of the month and Time	Monthly on day … at … or Monthly on the last day at …

1. Rhythm is set to Weekly here.
2. Weekday appears only with this rhythm. The seven days from Monday to Sunday are available; the default is Monday.
3. Time applies to the chosen weekday.

• Rhythms in hours: instead of the time you choose only the Minute. The runs lie from midnight at the interval of the rhythm. Every 6 hours with minute 15 means: 00:15, 06:15, 12:15 and 18:15, plus the random offset of the plan.
• Monthly: Day of the month offers the days 1 to 28 and Last day of the month. The default is the 1st.

Time

You choose the hour from 00 to 23, the minute in steps of 15 minutes: 00, 15, 30 or 45. For a new plan the plugin suggests a random time.

To the chosen time a fixed offset of 0 to 14 minutes is added per plan. The plugin sets it at random when the plan is created and keeps it, even if you change the time. 03:15 thus becomes 03:22, for example. The reason is the load on the server: without the offset, all websites on a server that chose the same time would start in the same minute. The info symbol next to the label shows a tooltip about this.

1. When editing, the heading names the name of the plan.
2. Starts at … stands next to the time when editing and names when the saved plan really starts: its time with the offset. The text changes only after saving.
3. Save saves the changes.

If you change rhythm, day or time, the plugin recalculates the next run.

Backups go to

The dropdown menu shows your targets. The free version allows one target per plan. Only usable targets can be chosen. A target that is not usable stands grey in the list, with the addition not usable. The target the plan already has stays chosen, even if it is no longer usable in the meantime. For a new plan the first usable target is preselected.

Additional fields in the Extended view

1. What is backed up is the content of the plan: one checkbox per area.
2. Max. backups defines how many good backups stay per target.
3. Back up the database as a snapshot is a switch for the export of the database.

In the Compact view the form does not show these three fields. A new plan gets the defaults there: everything, Max. backups 7, snapshot on. For an existing plan the values stay as they are.

What is backed up

1. Database is the tables of the database that belong to this website.
2. wp-config.php is the configuration file of WordPress. The plugin backs it up; a restore never writes it back.
3. wp-content is everything in the folder wp-content that does not belong to plugins, themes, must-use plugins or uploads: language files, drop-ins, folders of other plugins.
4. WordPress core is the folders wp-admin and wp-includes and the files that WordPress brings along in the root folder.
5. Must-use plugins is the folder of the must-use plugins.
6. Plugins is the folder of the plugins.
7. Themes is the folder of the themes.
8. Uploads is the folder of the uploads.
9. Root folder is everything in the root folder of the website except WordPress itself and wp-content, for example .htaccess and robots.txt.

The default is everything. At least one checkbox must be chosen. The info symbols at wp-content and Root folder show as a tooltip what belongs to them. Exclusion rules and tables that are backed up as structure only apply to the whole website and thus to every plan. More on this: Define what gets backed up.

Max. backups

The field takes 1 to 99, the default is 7. The tooltip on the info symbol reads: How many good backups stay per target. When a new backup is complete and checked, the oldest beyond this number is deleted. Counting is done per plan and per target. Locked backups are not counted. More on this: Define how many backups are kept.

Back up the database as a snapshot

The default is on. The tooltip on the info symbol reads: All tables are read as of the same moment, even if the export takes several steps. InnoDB only. A plugin update that wants to change a table during the export waits until it is done. Because of this waiting time, the snapshot can be switched off per plan.

Saving and errors on the form

A new plan is paused after saving. Switch it on in the tile if it is to run according to the schedule. When editing, the form saves only what you changed. If the plugin rejects a value, the form stays open, and the error stands at the field:

1. This name is already in use.
2. This value is out of range.

Message	Field	What you can do
This name is already in use.	Name	Choose a name that no other plan carries.
This name is too long.	Name	Shorten the name to at most 100 characters.
This field is required.	Name, Backups go to, What is backed up	Enter a name, choose a target or choose at least one area.
This value is out of range.	Max. backups	Enter a number from 1 to 99. An empty field counts as an error.
This target is not usable yet: test its connection on the Targets page.	Backups go to	Test the target on the Targets page, or choose another one.
This target does not exist any more.	Backups go to	Choose another target.
The maximum number of plans is reached.	above the buttons	The maximum number of plans has been reached in the meantime, for example because a plan was added on the command line. Delete a plan, or change an existing one.

Limits of the free version

The free version allows two plans and one target per plan.

1. The tooltip names the maximum number: At most … plans. It appears when the mouse pointer rests on the button.
2. Add plan is grey as long as the maximum number is reached.

Delete a plan

1. Cancel closes the confirmation prompt. The plan stays.
2. Delete deletes the plan.

The confirmation prompt Delete plan names the plan: Delete the plan “…”? Backups it made stay.

• The backups of the plan stay at their targets and in the list, with the name of the plan.
• The plugin no longer deletes these backups on its own: what the plan created stays until you delete it by hand.
• If you delete all plans, the plugin creates a first plan again with the next target you add.

See also

• The “Backup” page
• Schedule backups automatically
• Define what gets backed up
• Define how many backups are kept
• Manage backup plans with WP-CLI

On the command line

WP-CLI not set up yet? How to install WP-CLI.

What the tile can do also works with WP-CLI. There you name a plan by its ID, for example plan-1, or by its name. You name the target of a plan by its ID. Here, too, a new plan is paused until you switch it on with resume.

# Show all backup plans with state and next run
wp cloneworx-backup plan list

# Create a backup plan: daily, at 03:15, to the target local-1
wp cloneworx-backup plan add --targets=local-1 --rhythm=daily --time=03:15 --name="Nachts"

# Enable the backup plan
wp cloneworx-backup plan resume "Nachts"

# Change the time and Max. backups
wp cloneworx-backup plan edit "Nachts" --time=04:30 --retention=14

# Pause the backup plan
wp cloneworx-backup plan pause "Nachts"

# Run a backup plan now
wp cloneworx-backup plan run "Daily backup"

# Delete the backup plan; its backups are kept
wp cloneworx-backup plan remove "Nachts"