Guide How to Restore a Site From a CloudPanel Backup (Files and Database) - Printable Version +- AdminsForum (https://adminsforum.com) +-- Forum: Free & open-source control panels (https://adminsforum.com/Forum-free-open-source-control-panels) +--- Forum: CloudPanel (https://adminsforum.com/Forum-cloudpanel) +---- Forum: CloudPanel Guides & Tutorials (https://adminsforum.com/Forum-cloudpanel-guides-tutorials) +----- Forum: CloudPanel Backups & Migration Guides (https://adminsforum.com/Forum-cloudpanel-backups-migration-guides) +----- Thread: Guide How to Restore a Site From a CloudPanel Backup (Files and Database) (/Thread-guide-how-to-restore-a-site-from-a-cloudpanel-backup-files-and-database)

How to Restore a Site From a CloudPanel Backup (Files and Database) - JAY - 10-23-2026 How to restore a site from a CloudPanel backup (files and database) A backup is only worth something if you can restore it. This guide walks through restoring a CloudPanel site, step by step: getting the backup file, putting the files back and importing the database. If your backups aren't being created at all, start with CloudPanel backups not running. What a CloudPanel backup contains CloudPanel's remote backups (set up under Admin Area > Backups) contain each site's vhost and its entire home directory, except the Code:Copy .ssh , Code:Copy logs and Code:Copy tmp folders. They're stored with your chosen provider (S3, Wasabi, DigitalOcean Spaces, Dropbox, Google Drive, Hetzner Storage Box, SFTP or a custom Rclone remote). Before you start Back up the current state first, even if it's broken. If the restore goes wrong, you can return to where you started: Code:Copy tar -czf /root/before-restore-$(date +%F).tar.gz /home/siteuser/htdocs/example.com Put the site into maintenance mode or warn visitors if it's live. Know the database name and user (site > Databases). Step 1: Get the backup file Download the backup for the right date from your storage provider (for example the Dropbox Code:Copy Apps/CloudPanel/ folder, your S3 bucket, or your SFTP server). You need the site's Code:Copy backup.tar file. Step 2: Upload it to the site's tmp folder Under 2 GB: open the site's File Manager, go to the Code:Copy tmp folder and upload Code:Copy backup.tar . Over 2 GB: upload it with SFTP as the site user into Code:Copy ~/tmp/ . See CloudPanel SSH, SFTP, FTP and File Manager. Step 3: Extract it as the site user Log in over SSH as the site user (not root, so file ownership stays correct): Code:Copy cd ~/tmp tar xf backup.tar ls -la Look around the extracted folders until you find the site files ( Code:Copy htdocs/example.com ) and any database dump files ( Code:Copy *.sql or Code:Copy *.sql.gz ). Step 4: Restore the files You can restore everything, or just what you need (for example one deleted folder). To replace the whole site: Code:Copy rsync -a --delete ~/tmp/PATH-TO/htdocs/example.com/ ~/htdocs/example.com/ Replace Code:Copy PATH-TO with the path you found in Step 3. The trailing slashes matter. Leave out Code:Copy --delete if you only want to add back missing files without removing newer ones. Step 5: Restore the database If you found a database dump, import it as root with clpctl: Code:Copy clpctl db:import --databaseName=my_database --file=/home/siteuser/tmp/PATH-TO/my_database.sql.gz Both Code:Copy .sql and Code:Copy .sql.gz work. The import replaces the current tables with the ones from the backup. No dump in the backup? Look for database dumps elsewhere in the site user's home folder ( Code:Copy ls -R ~ | grep -E '\.sql(\.gz)?$' ). If there are none, start making them: a nightly cron job (the site user can run it) with Code:Copy clpctl db:export --databaseName=my_database --file=/home/siteuser/db-backups/my_database.sql.gz keeps a fresh dump in the site's home folder, so every future backup includes your database. See clpctl cheat sheet. Step 6: Check and clean up Fix ownership in case anything was copied as root: Code:Copy chown -R siteuser:siteuser /home/siteuser/htdocs/example.com Purge the Varnish cache for the site. Test the home page, a login, a form and the admin area. Delete the extracted files and backup.tar from Code:Copy ~/tmp . They take space and contain your database. Test restores before you need them The best time to learn this is on a quiet day. Restore a recent backup to a test subdomain once a month. If it works there, it'll work when it matters. Sources: CloudPanel: remote backups · CloudPanel: clpctl db:import More CloudPanel troubleshooting Installation failed: common install errors Can't log in: port 8443, password and 2FA Site shows 403 Forbidden or 404 Too many redirects or mixed content after SSL PHP extension missing / enable ionCube WordPress asks for FTP or can't update plugins Varnish showing old pages or breaking logins SSH or SFTP login fails Node.js app shows 502 or keeps restarting Site hacked: find malware and clean up clpctl errors: not found, wrong user, quoting Applies to CloudPanel v2 on Ubuntu and Debian, October 2026. In the commands, replace Code:Copy example.com with your domain and Code:Copy siteuser with your site's user name (shown on the site's Settings page).