SnapShots

SnapShots saves the current state of a WordPress development site so you can restore it in one click. Each snapshot can include the database and the uploads folder. Create, search, restore, and delete snapshots from the admin bar, from Tools → Snapshots, or with WP-CLI.

Use it while you build and test on a local or development site. A restore replaces the current database and, when files were saved, the uploads directory. Plugins, themes, and WordPress core stay as they are. Snapshots are stored on the same server. This is not an off-site backup.

Create and restore a snapshot

• Name each snapshot from the admin bar. The prompt suggests the current snapshot name, or the site title when none is current.
• Search the admin bar list by name. Press Ctrl+S to open the menu and focus search. Press Enter to restore the first match.
• Store the current admin URL and return there after restore, including URL fragments.
• Stay logged in as the same user after a restore started from the admin screen.
• Keep a limited number of copies of the same name. Two copies are kept by default; older ones are removed.
• Confirm before a restore or delete.

Tools screen and settings

Tools → Snapshots lists every snapshot with its name, created time, last used time, and saved location. Select several rows and delete them together.

Settings → Snapshots controls where snapshots are saved, how many copies to keep, whether uploads and the return URL are included, which database tables to leave out, and whether the list is sorted by last used or by created date. The Plugins screen and the admin bar both link to that settings page.

A PHP constant in wp-config.php overrides the matching setting. Each option can also be changed with the snapshots_{option} filter, for example snapshots_max_shots.

What a snapshot includes

• A database export (dump.sql) of the site tables, except tables you exclude.
• The uploads directory as data.zip, when Save Files is enabled. It is enabled by default.
• A manifest with the name, created time, last used time, and the optional return URL.

On restore, tables that use this site’s database prefix and are not in the snapshot are dropped. If the home URL inside the snapshot differs from the current home URL, WP-CLI runs a search-replace to the current URL.

Zip files are written with PHP’s ZipArchive class, or with PclZip when ZipArchive is unavailable.

WP-CLI

SnapShots adds a wp snapshot command. From the shell:

wp snapshot backup "Before the experiment" --files
wp snapshot restore before-the-experiment
wp snapshot list
wp snapshot delete before-the-experiment

backup accepts `--files` to include uploads, `--location=<path>` to store a return URL such as `wp-admin/plugins.php`, and `--exclude_tables=<tables>` as a comma-separated list.

restore and `delete` accept the snapshot name, its slug, or a folder id such as `before-the-experiment_1587039434`. When you pass a name, the latest copy of that name is used.

Settings reference

These options are on Settings → Snapshots. The matching constant in wp-config.php overrides the saved value.

• Snapshots folder (SNAPSHOTS_FOLDER): wp-content/.snapshots
• CLI allow root (SNAPSHOTS_CLI_ALLOW_ROOT): false
• Max shots (SNAPSHOTS_MAX_SHOTS): 2
• PHP path (SNAPSHOTS_PHP_PATH): empty, so the server PATH is used
• Save files (SNAPSHOTS_SAVE_FILES): true
• Save location (SNAPSHOTS_SAVE_LOCATION): true
• Exclude tables (SNAPSHOTS_EXCLUDE_TABLES): empty

• List order (SNAPSHOTS_LIST_ORDER): last_used (or created)

  SNAPSHOTS_PHP_PATH is a directory. Do not include the php binary in that path.

  SNAPSHOTS_CLI_PATH is also a directory, and it is not a field on the settings screen. Set it in wp-config.php to the folder that contains the wp binary. Do not include wp itself.

  define( ‘SNAPSHOTS_CLI_PATH’, ‘/usr/local/bin’ );
  define( ‘SNAPSHOTS_PHP_PATH’, ‘/usr/local/bin’ );
  define( ‘SNAPSHOTS_FOLDER’, WP_CONTENT_DIR . ‘/.snapshots’ );
  define( ‘SNAPSHOTS_MAX_SHOTS’, 2 );
  define( ‘SNAPSHOTS_LIST_ORDER’, ‘last_used’ );

  add_filter( ‘snapshots_max_shots’, function ( $value ) {
  return 5;
  } );

1. Install WP-CLI 2.2 or newer and make sure PHP can run external programs with exec.
2. Upload the snapshots folder to /wp-content/plugins/, or install the plugin from the Plugins screen.
3. Activate SnapShots. Activation stops with an error when exec, PHP, or WP-CLI is missing.
4. In wp-config.php, set SNAPSHOTS_CLI_PATH to the directory that contains the wp binary.
5. In the admin bar, choose “Click here to create your first Snapshot!” and give it a name.
6. Restore that snapshot from the admin bar or from Tools → Snapshots, then confirm.
7. A restore drops database tables with this site’s prefix that are not in the snapshot, and replaces the uploads folder when the snapshot includes files.

1. 

   Minimal dropdown UI of SnapShots in the admin bar.

3.0.0

• fixed: command injection through unescaped snapshot names and locations in the create, restore, and delete actions
• fixed: create, restore, and delete links now require a valid nonce, blocking cross-site request forgery
• fixed: the return location after creating a snapshot stays on this site without doubling subdirectory paths
• fixed: snapshot storage folders now contain .htaccess and index.php files so database dumps are not downloadable from the web on Apache
• fixed: install steps use the folder name snapshots
• fixed: missing PHP, WP-CLI, or exec shows a notice instead of a full-screen error
• added: Tools → Snapshots to restore and delete snapshots, including more than one at a time
• added: Settings → Snapshots for the folder, copy limit, uploads, return URL, excluded tables, and sort order
• added: settings links on the Plugins screen and in the admin bar
• changed: snapshots are sorted by last use, and the Tools list shows that time

2.8.2

• changed: no change to creating, restoring, or deleting snapshots

2.8.1

• fixed: a failed command shows which command failed
• added: SNAPSHOTS_PHP_PATH when the php binary is not on PATH

2.8.0

• fixed: the page you return to after restore keeps its #fragment
• changed: the current snapshot name is stored in the database, not in the browser
• changed: tested with PHP 8.3

2.7.0

• fixed: errors from the wp command are included in the output
• added: Ctrl+S opens the snapshot menu, and typing focuses the search field
• changed: tested with WordPress 6.1

2.6.0

• fixed: snapshots whose names include numbers show in the list
• added: a search box in the admin bar menu

2.5.0

• changed: the name prompt suggests the snapshot you last restored

2.4

• changed: requires PHP 7.0 or newer

2.3

• changed: database export, import, and URL replacement run through WP-CLI

2.2

• added: uploads are zipped with PclZip when ZipArchive is missing
• added: restore updates the home URL when it does not match the snapshot

2.1

• changed: a long list scrolls in the admin bar, and the date is in the tooltip

2.0

• changed: each snapshot is stored in its own folder, so older flat files are not listed
• added: delete a snapshot from the admin bar or with wp snapshot delete

1.0

• added: save and restore the database and uploads from the admin bar