Built-In Backups Arrive in MainWP 6.4 Early Access

Product Updates

Last week brought a major step forward for MainWP 6.4: three Release Candidate builds for MainWP Dashboard, two for MainWP Child, and an important update to Team Control.

The biggest addition is Built-In Backups (beta), bringing backup scheduling, offsite storage, and site restoration directly into MainWP without requiring a separate backup plugin. The Release Candidate builds also include improvements to backup reliability, site connectivity, permissions, and everyday Dashboard workflows.

Meanwhile, Team Control 5.2 introduces significant changes to how team access and permissions are managed, giving agencies more precise control over who can access and manage their connected sites.

MainWP Core

MainWP Dashboard 6.4-rc.1 through 6.4-rc.3

The MainWP 6.4 Release Candidate builds introduce Built-In Backups (beta), allowing users to manage WordPress backups directly from their Dashboard without installing an additional backup plugin.

Users can schedule full, database-only, files-only, or incremental backups, store copies locally or with supported offsite storage providers, and restore snapshots when needed. Supported destinations include S3-compatible storage, Google Cloud Storage, Dropbox, and SFTP. Automatic retention, encryption, backup health monitoring, and optional safety backups with rollback provide additional control over backup management.

Subsequent Release Candidate builds focus heavily on improving backup reliability, including archive integrity checks, clearer failure reporting, safer storage and downloads, and better handling of interrupted or damaged backups.

Beyond backups, the updates improve several everyday workflows:

• More accurate site oversight: Connectivity charts now reflect Connected, Disconnected, and Suspended sites correctly, while site filters and totals refresh properly after synchronization or reconnection.
• Cleaner user management: CSV imports handle special characters and failed-row retries more reliably, while imported passwords are excluded from logs and downloadable error reports.
• Improved site security checks: Site Hardening now checks PHP versions against supported branches and security releases, helping users identify outdated PHP environments.
• More predictable Dashboard behavior: Improvements to REST API validation, uptime settings, site connections, and permission handling reduce friction during routine management.

Important compatibility note: MainWP Dashboard 6.4 requires PHP 8.3 or newer. Built-In Backups also requires a matching MainWP Child release. File backups and restores are not yet supported when wp-content is located outside the WordPress core directory, although database-only operations remain available.

MainWP Child 6.4-rc.1 through 6.4-rc.2

MainWP Child 6.4 introduces the child-site support needed for Built-In Backups, including backup creation, resumable transfers, and snapshot restoration.

The subsequent Release Candidate improves backup archive validation, database restoration checks, file permissions, and the handling of large or changing files during backup creation. Additional improvements help protect database credentials and temporary files during cPanel backups.

Outside backup operations, the updates address Cache Control synchronization, preserve international characters in fallback database exports, and improve compatibility with Code Snippets, branded Tools pages, and System Monitor scheduling.

Together, these changes help make the new backup functionality more dependable while improving communication and maintenance operations between the Dashboard and connected sites.

MainWP Add-ons

Team Control 5.2

Team Control 5.2 introduces an important update to role management and access permissions, particularly for agencies where multiple team members manage different clients and websites.

The update separates MainWP permissions from WordPress administrator access. Existing team roles retain their MainWP permissions but no longer automatically provide WordPress administrator privileges.

Managing team roles and users now requires an authorized Dashboard administrator, referred to as the Team Control owner. This creates a clearer distinction between managing sites and managing who has access to them.

The update also combines permissions from multiple active roles, adds more granular controls for supported MainWP features, including Built-In Backups, and introduces MainWP Abilities API and MCP support for managing team roles, users, and notes.

Important for existing Team Control users: Review your team roles and assignments after updating. Permissions from multiple active roles are now combined, which may expand access for some users. Roles that cannot be migrated safely are placed on hold until resolved.

For agencies working with multiple team members, these changes provide a more structured way to delegate responsibilities while maintaining control over access to clients and connected websites.

Documentation Updates

Built-In Backups: The expanded MainWP Built-In Backups guide covers the MainWP 6.4 Release Candidate, including scheduled and incremental backups, remote storage, encryption, retention, Backup Health, restore testing, and planning for larger networks.

Team Control 5.2: The updated Team Control guide explains restricted WordPress admin access, upgrading existing roles, recovering held roles and owner access, and managing Abilities and MCP permissions.

Keep backups accessible after migration: The Dashboard migration guide now explains how to preserve Built-In Backups archives, encryption keys, and recovery access when moving your Dashboard.

Reliable backup scheduling: Updated cron guidance explains the complete WordPress cron setup needed to keep Built-In Backups schedules, uploads, restores, and retention cleanup running.

Prepare for MainWP Dashboard 6.4: The updated System Requirements clarify PHP 8.3 or later for the Dashboard server, while MainWP Child requires PHP 7.4 or later on connected sites.

Matomo compatibility: The Matomo guide now clarifies that Integration 5.2.1 requires PHP 8.1 or later and that Matomo installations in subfolders require Integration 5.2.1 or later.

Try the builds through MainWP Early Access and share your feedback in the MainWP Discord.