Restoring with the Jetpack Backup Plugin

Looking for restore instructions for the Jetpack plugin? See our article about Restoring with Jetpack Backup.

Restore a backup from the Jetpack Cloud with just a few clicks. 

Note: We are currently in a public beta with this plugin. We have tested it rigorously, but as it is a beta release, it is possible that you could encounter some issues while using it.

Jetpack Backup is available in the WordPress.org Plugin Repository. You can install the plugin using these instructions. Backups and restores will be available via the plugin by purchasing a Jetpack Backup plan.

There are 3 different ways to restore your site:

• Restore your site to a particular event (if your plan includes real-time backups)
• Restore your site to a particular day
• Download a backup and restore manually

Before You Restore

In order to restore with Jetpack Backup, you will need to have server credentials added to your Settings.

Restore Your Site to a Particular Event

Note: This method requires a ‘Real-time’ backup solution.

1. Go to https://cloud.jetpack.com. 
2. Open your Activity Log.
3. Use the filters to search by Date range and/or Activity type to find the event you’d like to restore.

4. Click the Actions button, then click Restore to this point to open the Restore Site dialog box.

5. Uncheck any boxes in the prompt that you don’t want to restore. If you want to restore everything, leave all boxes checked and click Confirm Restore.

6. Your restore to the specific point in time you have selected will begin. A progress bar will appear on the screen. You will also receive an email when your site has been fully restored.

7. When the restore has completed, you’ll see a confirmation message.

8. Click View your website to see your site restored to the event that you selected.

Restore Your Site to a Particular Day

1. Go to https://cloud.jetpack.com. 
2. Open the Backup section and you’ll see the latest backup for your site. (Or the scheduled time of your next backup if a backup has not yet completed today). Use the pagination at the top of the page to navigate to the backup you would like to restore to, or you can use the date filter to choose the date range you would like to look at.

3. When you find the day you want, click Restore to this point to restore to the latest backup point for that day.

4. On the next screen, uncheck any items that you do not wish to restore, then click Confirm restore. 

5. Your restore to the specific day you have selected will begin. A progress bar will appear on the screen. You will also receive an email when your site has been fully restored.

6. When the restore has completed, you’ll see a confirmation message. 

7. Click View your website to see your site restored to the day that you selected.

Download a Backup

1. Go to https://cloud.jetpack.com. 
2. Open your Activity Log.
3. Use the filters to search by Date Range and/or Activity Type.

4. Find the backup or event (event restores are for real-time plans only) that you’d like to use. 

5. Click Actions, and choose Download backup.

6. On the next screen, uncheck any items that you do not wish to include in your downloaded backup, then click Create downloadable file.

7. Jetpack backup will begin assembling your backup download. A progress bar will appear on the screen. You will also receive an email when your file is ready.

8. When the download is complete, you’ll see a confirmation message. To download your file, click Download file (XX MB). A link to the downloadable file will also be emailed to you.

9. Once you have downloaded the backup, you can use that to restore the site manually if you wish.

FAQs

Can I restore even if my site is down or has a fatal error?

Yes! Because Jetpack’s restore system operates separately from the Jetpack plugin itself, you can still restore to a prior event even when your site is down. 

Important: if your site is down, you’ll see “This site cannot be accessed” in WordPress.com. DO NOT click the Disconnect link there, or you will not be able to access your site’s activity log, and so will not be able to perform a restore.

Does restoring with Jetpack Backup delete files from my server?

No. When we restore your site, we don’t delete files. Files with the same name will be overwritten, but uniquely-named files are not removed. We only delete our helper files, which we add to the site during the restore process.

However, it is important to note that your site’s database is completely replaced with the database from the backup you’re restoring from. So, any posts or pages you’ve added since the date of the restore point would be lost. You should make an export of this content before using our restore feature, then you can import it back to your site after the restore.

How long does it take to restore?

This depends on many factors, such as the size of your site and the type of server credentials you’ve added to Jetpack. Generally, SFTP and SSH credentials provide a faster connection.

You can check the restore progress by going to Cloud.Jetpack.com → Switch Site  → Backup. You should also receive an email once the restore has finished.

Get Support

Have questions? Feel free to contact support for more personalized assistance.