Some WordPress hosts use symlinks (symbolic links) – pointers that make one path stand in for another, often for shared plugins, a relocated wp-content, or “current release” deploy setups. Backvera understands symlinks and handles them safely in both backups and restores. Here is what to expect.
In a backup
Backvera captures symlinks intelligently rather than blindly copying everything they point at:
- A symlink to a file, a broken link, or a symlink to a folder that stays inside your site is saved as a link – Backvera records where it points, without duplicating the target’s files (they are already in the backup).
- A symlink to a folder that points outside your site – for example
wp-contentlinked to a shared volume – is followed, so its contents are backed up as normal files. That is the only way to protect data that lives outside your site directory.
Backvera also records each link’s own permissions and guards against symlink loops, so a backup never gets stuck or balloons by copying the same files twice.
Restoring to the same site
When you restore in place – back onto the same site – every symlink is recreated exactly as it was captured: the link and the path it points to. A link is only skipped (without failing the restore) if a real folder now sits where the link should go, or the host cannot create symlinks at all (as on some Windows setups). See restore your site to an earlier point in time.
Restoring to a new location, cloning, or staging
On a different destination – a clone, a new host, or a staging site – a symlink that points outside your site usually cannot be recreated safely, because the place it pointed to may not exist on the new server. So Backvera skips those links by default and lists them, so you can decide what to do with each one:
- Remap it – give the link a new target that makes sense on the destination – and Backvera creates it for you.
- Leave it skipped – the link is simply not created on the destination.
Symlinks that point inside your site are recreated automatically – only the ones that escape your site need a decision. You will find these controls where you would expect them:
- Restore or clone: after the restore runs, a panel lists the skipped symlinks with an editable target for each – fill in the targets you want and Backvera creates them. See clone or migrate a site.
- Staging: before the stage is built, a panel lists the escaping links, pre-filled with their original targets, so you can point them at a location inside the stage. See spin up a staging site.
In a downloaded ZIP
Symlinks are not included in a downloaded ZIP. A symlink has no file contents of its own – it only points elsewhere – so it is left out of the archive. If you need the linked data, download the folder the link points to (when that folder is inside your site), or restore the snapshot, where links are handled as described above.
Seeing the symlinks in a snapshot
Open the site’s Files tab and pick a snapshot: symlinks show with a link icon and the path they point to (for example uploads -> /mnt/shared/uploads). When you start a restore, Backvera also flags whether the snapshot contains symlinks, and which of them point outside your site so you can remap them. See browse the files and database in a backup.
Still need help? Email our team at [email protected].