wpe-labs-backups

name	wpe-labs:backups
description	Create and monitor backups for WP Engine WordPress installations. Use before major changes (deployments, migrations, plugin updates) or to verify a recent backup exists. Requires WP Engine API credentials; no local tooling needed beyond curl and jq.

Create on-demand backups for WP Engine WordPress installations and monitor their progress to completion. Designed to be run before significant changes — deployments, database migrations, plugin/theme updates — and to confirm a clean backup exists before proceeding. Requires only curl and jq. Create API credentials at: **https://my.wpengine.com/api_access** → Generate credentials

Set as env vars before running:

export WPE_USERNAME="your-api-username"
export WPE_PASSWORD="your-api-password"

Or pass inline: -u "your-api-username:your-api-password"

<quick_start> Create a backup for an install:

INSTALL_ID="your-install-uuid"

curl -s -u "$WPE_USERNAME:$WPE_PASSWORD" \
  -H "User-Agent: wpe-labs-skills/backups" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X POST "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/installs/$INSTALL_ID/backups" \
  -d '{
    "description": "Pre-deployment backup",
    "notification_emails": ["[e-mail]"]
  }' | jq '{id, status}'

Check backup status:

BACKUP_ID="your-backup-uuid"

curl -s -u "$WPE_USERNAME:$WPE_PASSWORD" \
  -H "User-Agent: wpe-labs-skills/backups" \
  "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/installs/$INSTALL_ID/backups/$BACKUP_ID" | \
  jq '{id, status, description, created_at}'

</quick_start>

**Step 1: Identify the install to back up**

If you only have a site name, resolve to install_id first:

curl -s -u "$WPE_USERNAME:$WPE_PASSWORD" \
  -H "User-Agent: wpe-labs-skills/backups" \
  "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/installs" | \
  jq -r '.results[] | select(.name | test("mysite")) | "\(.id)\t\(.name)\t\(.environment)"'

---

Step 2: Create the backup

INSTALL_ID="your-install-uuid"

BACKUP=$(curl -s -u "$WPE_USERNAME:$WPE_PASSWORD" \
  -H "User-Agent: wpe-labs-skills/backups" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -X POST "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/installs/$INSTALL_ID/backups" \
  -d "{
    \"description\": \"Pre-deployment backup - $(date +%Y-%m-%d)\",
    \"notification_emails\": [\"[e-mail]\"]
  }")

BACKUP_ID=$(echo "$BACKUP" | jq -r '.id')
echo "Backup ID: $BACKUP_ID | Initial status: $(echo $BACKUP | jq -r '.status')"

---

Step 3: Poll until complete

Backup status progresses: requested → initiated → completed (or aborted)

Typical completion time: 2–10 minutes depending on install size.

while true; do
  STATUS=$(curl -s -u "$WPE_USERNAME:$WPE_PASSWORD" \
    -H "User-Agent: wpe-labs-skills/backups" \
    "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/installs/$INSTALL_ID/backups/$BACKUP_ID" | \
    jq -r '.status')
  echo "Status: $STATUS"
  [ "$STATUS" = "completed" ] || [ "$STATUS" = "aborted" ] && break
  sleep 30
done

---

Step 4: Confirm and report

curl -s -u "$WPE_USERNAME:$WPE_PASSWORD" \
  -H "User-Agent: wpe-labs-skills/backups" \
  "https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1/installs/$INSTALL_ID/backups/$BACKUP_ID" | \
  jq '{id, status, description, created_at}'

Report the backup ID and status to the user before proceeding with any destructive operation.

<api_reference> Base URL: https://api.wpengineapi.com/v1 Auth: HTTP Basic Auth with credentials from https://my.wpengine.com/api_access

Endpoint	Purpose
POST /installs/{id}/backups	Create a backup (description, notification_emails)
GET /installs/{id}/backups/{backup_id}	Get backup status

Backup status values: requested → initiated → completed | aborted

Backup request fields:

• description (string) — label shown in Portal backup history
• notification_emails (string array) — addresses to notify on completion </api_reference>

**Backup returns `aborted`** — Typically caused by a timeout on very large installs or a transient infrastructure issue. Retry; if it fails again, check Portal for any site-level alerts.

Don't know the install_id — Query GET /installs and filter by name. Never guess; a backup to the wrong install is irreversible.

Backup is taking longer than 15 minutes — Large installs with many files or a large database can exceed typical times. Continue polling; do not re-submit.

notification_emails not receiving anything — Check spam filters. The email comes from a WP Engine system address. Alternatively, poll the status endpoint directly.

Credentials fail — Regenerate at https://my.wpengine.com/api_access. Note: these are separate from your portal login credentials.

<success_criteria>

• Target install identified by name or ID
• Backup created with a meaningful description and notification email
• Backup ID captured and reported to the user
• Status polled until completed or aborted
• Final status and backup ID reported before any subsequent destructive operation </success_criteria>