vps

Backing Up WordPress Files with rclone to Cloud Storage

Configure rclone to sync WordPress files and database backups to Cloudflare R2 or Google Drive. Automate with cron so offsite backups happen without thinking about them.

Published
· 2 min read · Steven Doan ·
rclonebackupcloudflare-r2google-drivewordpressvpsautomation
Terminal showing rclone sync command uploading WordPress backup files to cloud storage

Install rclone

sudo dnf install rclone -y

Cloudflare R2 has no egress fees — you pay only for storage, not downloads. The free tier (10GB) covers most personal backup needs.

In Cloudflare dashboard:

  1. R2 Object Storage → Create bucket → name it wp-backups
  2. Manage R2 API Tokens → Create API Token with Object Read & Write permissions
  3. Note the Access Key ID, Secret Access Key, and the endpoint URL (format: https://ACCOUNT_ID.r2.cloudflarestorage.com)

Configure rclone:

rclone config

Follow the prompts:

n  (new remote)
Name: r2
Storage type: s3
Provider: Cloudflare
Access Key ID: [your key]
Secret Access Key: [your secret]
Endpoint: https://ACCOUNT_ID.r2.cloudflarestorage.com
Leave other settings as default

Test the connection:

rclone ls r2:wp-backups
# Should return empty list (bucket exists but is empty)

Configure Google Drive (Alternative)

Google Drive is simpler to set up and free up to 15GB:

rclone config
n  (new remote)
Name: gdrive
Storage type: drive (Google Drive)

rclone will open a browser for OAuth authentication. Follow the prompts. After authentication, create a backup folder:

rclone mkdir gdrive:wp-backups

Create the Files Backup Script

sudo nano /usr/local/bin/wp-files-backup.sh
#!/bin/bash

# WordPress Files Backup — uploads to cloud storage with rclone
# Backs up: database backups directory + wp-content/uploads

REMOTE="r2:wp-backups"   # Change to gdrive:wp-backups for Google Drive
LOG="/var/log/wp-backup.log"
DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)

echo "$(date): Starting files backup" >> $LOG

# Upload database backups offsite
rclone sync /var/backups/wordpress/db/ \
    ${REMOTE}/db/ \
    --log-file=$LOG \
    --log-level INFO

# Upload wp-content/uploads for each site
# Add one line per WordPress site
rclone sync /var/www/yourdomain.com/wp-content/uploads/ \
    ${REMOTE}/uploads/yourdomain.com/ \
    --log-file=$LOG \
    --log-level INFO

echo "$(date): Files backup complete" >> $LOG

Make executable:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/wp-files-backup.sh

Test Manually First

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

Check the log:

tail -20 /var/log/wp-backup.log

Verify files appeared in cloud storage:

# For R2
rclone ls r2:wp-backups/db/

# For Google Drive
rclone ls gdrive:wp-backups/db/

Add to Cron

sudo crontab -e

The complete backup cron schedule:

# Daily database backup at 2:00 AM
0 2 * * * /usr/local/bin/wp-db-backup.sh

# Daily offsite sync at 3:00 AM (after DB backup completes)
0 3 * * * /usr/local/bin/wp-files-backup.sh

The one-hour gap ensures the database backup finishes before the sync tries to upload it.

Monitor Backup Health

# Check recent backup activity
tail -50 /var/log/wp-backup.log

# Verify latest DB backup exists and is recent
ls -lt /var/backups/wordpress/db/ | head -5

# Check remote storage size
rclone size r2:wp-backups

Check this once a week. If the log shows errors or the most recent backup is more than 24 hours old, something needs attention.