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Backing up and restoring a site

SuperSpace backs up every site automatically on a schedule, but you can also take your own backup at any time — for example, right before you update a plugin or theme. This guide shows how to take an on-demand backup, restore a site from any backup, and download a backup archive to your computer, all from the dashboard.

Each site is made up of one or more volumes (for example, your WordPress files and your database), and backups are managed per volume. You'll see a card for each volume on the Backups page.

Automatic vs. manual backups

Scheduled backups run on their own and are marked with a calendar icon (Automatic scheduled backup). Backups you take yourself are marked with a person icon (Manual on-demand backup). Both appear in the same list and can be restored or downloaded the same way. For how scheduling and retention work, see Backups.

Before you start

  • Permission to edit the site (view-only access can't take, restore, delete, or download backups).
  • You may be asked to re-enter your password (confirm your identity) before a backup, restore, or download action — these are protected actions.
  • Backups aren't available on trial accounts. If your account is still on a trial, you'll be prompted to finish setting up your account first.

Find the Backups page

  1. In the left sidebar, open My Sites and select the site you want to back up.

  2. In the site's left sidebar, open the My Site dropdown and choose Backups.

  3. You'll land on the Backup & Volume Management page. Each volume shows a card with its Current Data Usage, Backup Count, Backup Usage, and Backup Schedule, followed by a list of that volume's backups.

Take an on-demand backup

  1. On the volume's card, click Take Backup.

  2. In the New Backup for {volume} dialog (for example, New Backup for wordpress), optionally type a label in the Name this backup field so you can recognize it later (for example, before plugin update). Leaving it blank is fine.

  3. Click Take Backup to start.

The backup runs in the background. You'll see an Operation In Progress message, and the new backup appears in the volume's backup list once it finishes. It's marked with the person icon (Manual on-demand backup) and shows the name you gave it.

Creating a backup is asynchronous and returns 202:

curl -X PATCH \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUPERSPACE_TOKEN" \
  -H "X-Auth-Account: $ACCOUNT_ID" \
  -d "name=before plugin update" \
  https://control.superspace.nl/api/sites/$SITE_ID/backups/$VOLUME_ID

Get the volume IDs from GET /api/sites/$SITE_ID/backups, then poll the site's tasks until the job completes. See Sites API for the full request and response shapes.

Restore a site from a backup

Restoring replaces the current contents of a volume with the contents of the backup you choose.

Restoring overwrites your current data

When you restore, all existing data in that volume is overwritten with the backup. Anything created or changed since that backup was taken will be lost. If you're unsure, take a fresh backup first so you can return to the current state.

  1. On the Backups page, find the backup you want in the volume's list.

  2. Click the ⋮ (more actions) menu at the end of that backup's row, then choose Restore.

  3. Read the confirmation dialog — it names the backup and its date and warns that the volume will be overwritten — then click Restore to confirm.

The restore runs in the background and shows an Operation In Progress message. Your site will reflect the restored data once it finishes.

Restoring is asynchronous and returns 202:

curl -X PATCH \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUPERSPACE_TOKEN" \
  -H "X-Auth-Account: $ACCOUNT_ID" \
  -d "backup_id=$BACKUP_ID" \
  https://control.superspace.nl/api/sites/$SITE_ID/restores/$VOLUME_ID

Then poll the site's tasks until the restore completes. See Sites API.

Download a backup archive

You can download a copy of any backup to keep off-platform. SuperSpace prepares the archive in the background and gives you a temporary, time-limited download link.

  1. On the Backups page, find the backup you want and click Request download in its row (it reads Request again if you've downloaded that backup before).

  2. The button changes to Preparing… while SuperSpace builds the archive. Only one download per volume is prepared at a time, so other backups on the same volume are briefly unavailable until it's done.

  3. When the archive is ready, SuperSpace emails you, and the row shows a Download link (with the file size next to it). Click it to download. The link is temporary — if it expires, click Request again to generate a fresh one.

Tip

If preparing seems to stall, a Still preparing — refresh option appears after a short wait so you can reload the page and check again. If preparation fails, the row shows Download failed with a Try again button.

Preparing an export is asynchronous. Request it with POST, which returns 202:

curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUPERSPACE_TOKEN" \
  -H "X-Auth-Account: $ACCOUNT_ID" \
  -d "backup_id=$BACKUP_ID" \
  https://control.superspace.nl/api/sites/$SITE_ID/backups/$VOLUME_ID/export

Then poll the status endpoint until the export is ready:

curl \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUPERSPACE_TOKEN" \
  -H "X-Auth-Account: $ACCOUNT_ID" \
  "https://control.superspace.nl/api/sites/$SITE_ID/backups/$VOLUME_ID/export?backup_id=$BACKUP_ID"

The response includes a status (none, in_progress, ready, expired, or failed). When the status is ready, the body also includes a short-lived presigned download url, an expires_at timestamp, and the archive size in bytes. Both endpoints require the sites:write scope. See Sites API for the full request and response shapes.

Delete a backup

  1. On the Backups page, open the ⋮ (more actions) menu for the backup you want to remove, then choose Delete.

  2. Confirm in the dialog by clicking Delete Backup. The backup is removed in the background.

Warning

Deleting a backup is permanent — once it's gone, you can't restore or download from it.

Next steps

  • Learn how scheduling and retention work in Backups
  • Take a manual backup before any major plugin, theme, or core update
  • Keep an off-platform copy of important backups by downloading the archive