The “Backup” page

On the Backup page you start backups, set up backup plans and see all backups of your website. This article explains the page from top to bottom: every tile, every column and every entry in the menu.

The page at a glance

1. Backup is the menu item of the page, in the WordPress menu under cloneworx.
2. The tile Backup names what was backed up last and where to, the last run and the next backup.
3. Back up now starts a backup right away according to one of your backup plans.
4. Schedule backup brings up the tile Backup plans. The button exists only in the Compact view.
5. Backups is the list of all backups, the newest first.
6. More … opens the menu of a backup with all actions.
7. Show more appends up to seven further backups to the list.
8. Extended switches to the view with all details. The choice applies to all pages of the plugin.

Messages about an action appear below the tile Backup. A green message closes by itself, yellow and red ones stay. More on this: Progress, messages and log.

As long as the page is open, it reads the state anew every 60 seconds. If a backup starts according to the schedule during that time, the page shows its progress.

The “Backup” tile

1. The first line names what the last finished backup backed up and to which target it went, for example “Database, Files, WordPress core → SFTP 1”. As long as there is no backup, it says No backup yet.
2. Last run names time, size and duration of this backup. If it did not go smoothly, the status follows: With warnings or Failed. For a failed backup the size is missing.
3. Next backup names the earliest next run of all active plans. Without an active plan it says not scheduled yet.
4. Back up now is the highlighted button as soon as a plan is active.
5. Schedule backup is highlighted as long as no plan is active.

An aborted backup does not change the first two lines: they keep showing the last backup that ended complete, with warnings or with an error.

A time of today, yesterday or tomorrow is given in words in this tile, for example “today, 12:11” or “tomorrow, 03:00”. In the lists the full date is always given.

What “Back up now” does

The page checks the situation in the order of the table:

Situation	What happens
No target is usable.	Nothing starts. The page reports in yellow No usable target yet. Set one up on the Targets page. and takes you to the Targets page.
There is no plan.	Nothing starts. The page reports in yellow No plan yet. Create a plan first. and brings up the tile Backup plans.
There is one plan.	The backup of this plan starts right away.
There are several plans.	The dialog window Which plan? shows one button per plan with the name of the plan. A click starts the backup of this plan.
The target of the plan that is to run is not usable.	Nothing starts. The page reports in red The backup could not be started: … with the reason, for example The plan has no usable target. Show log in the message opens the general log.

The plan may be paused: only the schedule is paused. The backup belongs to the plan that started it. Step by step: Create a backup right now.

Progress and aborting

1. The first line now names what the running backup is backing up and to which target.
2. The progress display names the phase, the number of entries, the amount and the remaining time.
3. Abort backup stops the backup at the next step.
4. Back up now is blocked as long as a job is running.

• The line appears for every backup, even if the schedule or the command line started it.
• You can close the page: the backup keeps running. When you come back, the page shows its state again.
• After Abort backup the tile reads Abort requested; the backup stops at the next step. The backup then removes what it has already transferred to the targets.
• Only one job ever runs at the same time. A check and the deletion of a backup are jobs too and show their progress here.

At the end the result stands as a message below the tile:

• green Backup complete.
• yellow Backup complete with warnings. After it stand the number and kind of warnings.
• yellow Backup aborted.
• red Backup failed. After it stands the reason. What to do then: When a backup fails or ends with warnings.

In every yellow and red message after a backup, Log opens the log of this backup.

After every good backup the plugin deletes at its targets the backups that go beyond Max. backups and cleans up leftovers of aborted jobs. The lines Deleting outdated backups and Cleaning up leftovers appear only if something is really deleted. Afterwards the page reports, for example, One old backup deleted.

The “Backup plans” tile

1. Schedule backup brings up the tile Backup plans below the tile Backup.
2. Dismiss hides the tile again. Your plans stay as they are.

The tile shows for each plan a switch, the name, the rhythm, the target and the next run. Here you create plans, switch them on, edit and delete them. In the Extended view the tile is permanently on the page. Every field is explained in Backup plans: tile and form.

The list of backups

1. Date names day and time of the backup. The small triangle shows: the list is sorted by this column.
2. Size is the size of the backup. For a failed or aborted backup a dash stands there.
3. Targets names the targets of the backup by their names.
4. Type shows Full for a good backup, otherwise the status: Failed, Aborted or Running.
5. More … opens the menu of the backup.
6. Show more appends up to seven further rows.

The date of a row names the end of the backup, for a running backup the start. For an imported backup it names the time of the import; the row is sorted by the start of the original backup. More on this: Import a backup from a file.

The list shows seven backups. Show more exists only as long as there are further backups. If more than seven rows are in the list, Show less leads back to the first seven. Before the first backup the tile reads No backups yet.

If the list is too narrow for all columns, the column Plan gives way first, then the column Size. If that is still not enough, the list can be scrolled sideways in its tile.

Sorting

A click on the heading of a column sorts the list by this column. A second click on the same heading reverses the order; the triangle shows the direction.

• The default is Date, the newest backup first.
• The first click on another column sorts in ascending order. Only Date begins with the newest backup.
• All backups are sorted, not only the rows that are currently visible.
• Targets and Plan sort by the names that are in the list.
• Type sorts by the status, in this order: running, complete, with warnings, failed, aborted.

The symbols in the list

1. A green dot means: the backup is complete.
2. A green tick in front of the date means: the last check found the backup readable and complete.
3. A yellow dot means: the backup is complete with warnings.
4. A lock in front of the date means: the backup is locked.
5. A red dot means: the backup failed.
6. A red cross in front of the date means: the last check found the backup damaged or incomplete.
7. A grey dot means: the backup was aborted.

• The dot describes how the backup went. Tick and cross describe the result of the last check. A row can therefore carry a green dot and a red cross.
• If the backup is stored at several targets, the symbol shows the worst result of the last checks.
• A running backup carries a spinning ring instead of the dot. With the default, the newest backup first, it is the first row of the list. In the column Size a dash stands for it.
• Lock, tick and cross show a tooltip when the mouse pointer rests on them or you reach them with the keyboard. The lock reads: Locked: this backup is never deleted automatically and is not counted for “Max. backups”. It can only be deleted by hand after “Unlock backup”. The tick and the cross say when the check was made: Checked on …: readable and complete. or Check on …: damaged or incomplete.

The “More …” menu

1. Restore leads to the Restore page. There you restore a backup.
2. Check backup reads the backup at every target where it is stored, the way a restore would read it. Nothing is written back.
3. Lock backup protects the backup from deletion. For a locked backup the entry is called Unlock backup.
4. Download hands over the backup as one tar file. The entry exists only if the backup is stored completely at a local target.
5. Log opens the dialog window Log with the log of this backup.
6. Delete backup deletes the backup, after a confirmation prompt, at every target where it is stored.

Which entries the menu shows depends on the backup:

Backup	Entries in the menu
The backup is running.	Log
Good backup, complete at at least one target	Restore, Check backup, Lock backup or Unlock backup, Download for a local copy, Log, Delete backup
Good backup, no longer complete at any target, damaged at at least one	Check backup, Log, Delete backup
Failed or aborted	Log, Delete entry

A good backup is a backup that is complete or complete with warnings. The menu is the same in both views and on the Overview page.

• Checking runs as a job, with progress and Abort check in the tile Backup. The result stands as a message below the tile and as a symbol in front of the date. More on this: Check a backup.
• Locking takes effect immediately, without a confirmation dialog. A locked backup is never deleted automatically and is not counted for Max. backups. More on this: Protect a backup from deletion.
• Downloading starts the download in the browser; the page stays. A backup that is stored only at a remote target you fetch with your own access to that target, for example with an FTP program. More on this: Download a backup.
• The log is kept for as many days as set on the Settings page. After that, the dialog window says that there is no log for this backup any more. More on this: Read the log.

If a job is already running, the page does not start a second one. After Check backup or the deletion of a backup it then reports in red A job is already running.

Delete a backup

Delete backup asks first. The confirmation prompt names the date of the backup and its targets.

1. The text names which backup is deleted and at which target.
2. Cancel closes the confirmation prompt. The backup stays.
3. Delete deletes the backup at every target where it is stored.

If the backup is the last good backup at one of its targets, the confirmation prompt warns in red:

1. Attention! This is the last good backup of this website at this target. After it there is none.
2. Delete stays allowed.

Confirmation prompt	When	What happens
Delete backup?	The backup is stored at at least one target.	After Delete a job deletes the files at every target. Meanwhile the tile Backup reads Deleting backup. At the end the page reports Backup deleted.
Delete backup? with a red warning	At one target of the backup no other good backup would remain. If this applies to several targets, the warning names them.	As above. Afterwards you have no good backup at this target any more.
Delete backup? with This backup is locked. Unlock it first; then it can be deleted.	The backup is locked.	The confirmation prompt offers only Cancel. Choose Unlock backup in the menu first.
Delete entry?	The backup failed or was aborted: nothing is stored at any target.	After Delete the row disappears from the list immediately. The page reports Entry removed.

If the deletion fails, the page reports The backup could not be deleted. See the log. The log of the backup is kept as long as logs are kept. Step by step: Delete a backup.

The Extended view

1. In this view Next backup is followed by the name of the plan as well. Here the tile has only the button Back up now.
2. Backup plans is permanently on the page. Every row additionally names the last run, what is backed up, Max. backups and the snapshot.
3. Three filters narrow down the list: by plan, by target and by status.
4. Hide details is the tooltip on the arrow: the arrow collapses the list.
5. Plan is an additional column with the plan that started the backup. For a backup without a plan it reads manual.
6. Targets and space is an additional tile. When the page is opened, the tile is collapsed.
7. Compact switches back.

The list Backups and the tile Targets and space can be folded in this view: a click on the title row or on the arrow folds them open and closed again. The arrow always shows the state that comes next. The list is unfolded when you open the page.

The filters of the list

Filter	Choices
Plan	All, each of your plans with its name, manual for backups without a plan
Target	All, every target with its name, including a removed one
Status	All, Running, Complete, With warnings, Failed, Aborted

The filters apply together: the list shows what matches all three. If no backup matches, it reads No backups match the filter.

The “Targets and space” tile

1. Hide details is the tooltip on the arrow: the arrow collapses the tile again.
2. The name of the target. The tile shows every configured target in one row; it does not show removed targets.
3. The number of good backups stored at this target. Locked backups are counted here.
4. The space these backups take at the target.
5. The free space at the target. The tile knows it only for local folders; otherwise a dash stands there.
6. For each backup plan the number of backups in relation to Max. backups, for example “Daily backup 7 / 7”. manual stands for backups without a plan. If the plan no longer exists, a dash stands after the slash.

• The number per plan counts the way the plugin counts when deleting old backups: only backups that are stored completely at this target, and no locked ones. This number can therefore be smaller than the number of backups at the target.
• The tile recalculates after every job, after locking, after unlocking and after deleting an entry.
• If the tile is too narrow for all columns, the numbers per plan give way first, then the free space, and last the used space. If that is still not enough, the table can be scrolled sideways in the tile.

The same tile also stands in the Extended view on the Targets page. How the plugin counts and when it deletes is explained in Define how many backups are kept.

See also

• Backup plans: tile and form
• Create a backup right now
• Progress, messages and log
• When a backup fails or ends with warnings
• Create and manage backups with WP-CLI

On the command line

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

What this page can do also works with WP-CLI. There you name a backup by its job name; backup list shows it at the start of every line. Filters and sorting of the list do not exist on the command line: backup list always shows the newest backups first, 20 by default, up to 100 with --limit.

# Show the state of the website and the latest backup
wp cloneworx-backup status

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

# Show the 50 most recent backups
wp cloneworx-backup backup list --limit=50

# Check a backup
wp cloneworx-backup backup check <Job>

# Lock a backup
wp cloneworx-backup backup lock <Job>

# Unlock the backup
wp cloneworx-backup backup unlock <Job>

# Write a backup to the server as a tar file
wp cloneworx-backup backup download <Job> --to=/pfad/backup.tar

# Delete a backup everywhere after the confirmation prompt
wp cloneworx-backup backup delete <Job>

# Show what exceeds “Max. backups”
wp cloneworx-backup retention list