Back up WordPress to Filebase

A WordPress backup is two pieces: the files (the WP install plus uploads) and the database (one MySQL database).

All-in-one cron job

/usr/local/bin/wp-backup.sh

#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail

WP_DIR="/var/www/html"
BUCKET="my-wp-backups"
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)

export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID="$FILEBASE_KEY"
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY="$FILEBASE_SECRET"

# Read DB credentials from wp-config.php
DB_NAME=$(grep DB_NAME "$WP_DIR/wp-config.php" | cut -d "'" -f 4)
DB_USER=$(grep DB_USER "$WP_DIR/wp-config.php" | cut -d "'" -f 4)
DB_PASS=$(grep DB_PASSWORD "$WP_DIR/wp-config.php" | cut -d "'" -f 4)
DB_HOST=$(grep DB_HOST "$WP_DIR/wp-config.php" | cut -d "'" -f 4)

# Database dump
mysqldump --single-transaction --quick \
  -h "$DB_HOST" -u "$DB_USER" -p"$DB_PASS" "$DB_NAME" \
  | gzip -9 \
  | aws --endpoint https://s3.filebase.io s3 cp - \
      "s3://${BUCKET}/db/${DB_NAME}-${DATE}.sql.gz"

# Files (incremental sync — only changed/new files transfer)
aws --endpoint https://s3.filebase.io s3 sync "$WP_DIR" \
  "s3://${BUCKET}/files/${DATE}/" \
  --exclude "wp-config.php" \
  --exclude ".htaccess"

# wp-config.php and .htaccess separately, encrypted via age
age --recipient "$(cat /etc/age.pub)" "$WP_DIR/wp-config.php" \
  | aws --endpoint https://s3.filebase.io s3 cp - \
      "s3://${BUCKET}/secrets/${DATE}/wp-config.php.age"

Excluding wp-config.php from the bulk file sync keeps DB credentials out of the broad bucket. Encrypt them separately with age.

Schedule with cron

0 4 * * * www-data /usr/local/bin/wp-backup.sh >> /var/log/wp-backup.log 2>&1

WP-side plugin alternative

If you'd rather not write shell scripts, UpdraftPlus, BackWPup, or Duplicator all support S3-compatible destinations. Configure them with:

Field	Value
S3 endpoint	https://s3.filebase.io
Region	auto
Access key	Your Filebase access key
Secret key	Your Filebase secret key
Bucket	Your Filebase bucket

Most plugins have a "Use Path-Style URLs" toggle — turn it on.

Restore

For a manual restore:

1. Pull the latest database dump:

   aws --endpoint https://s3.filebase.io s3 cp \
     s3://my-wp-backups/db/wordpress-20260501.sql.gz - | gunzip > restore.sql
   mysql -u root -p wordpress < restore.sql

2. Pull the latest files:

   aws --endpoint https://s3.filebase.io s3 sync \
     s3://my-wp-backups/files/20260501-040000/ /var/www/html/

3. Decrypt and restore the secrets:

   aws --endpoint https://s3.filebase.io s3 cp \
     s3://my-wp-backups/secrets/20260501-040000/wp-config.php.age - \
     | age --decrypt --identity /etc/age.key > /var/www/html/wp-config.php

What's next

• MySQL backup
• restic — for general server backups
• JetBackup — cPanel-integrated alternative