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Understanding WPvivid Restore Behavior: Why New Plugins and Themes Remain After a Restore

27 threads Sep 16, 2025

Content

If you use the 'Migration, Backup, Staging – WPvivid Backup & Migration' plugin for testing, you may have encountered a specific behavior: after restoring a backup, plugins and themes installed after the backup was created are still present on your site, albeit deactivated. This article explains why this happens and clarifies the plugin's intended functionality.

Why This Happens

This is not a bug but the plugin's designed behavior for its standard restore process. The primary purpose of the WPvivid plugin's restore function is to return your WordPress database and core files (like those in wp-content/uploads) to the state they were in at the time of the backup. It is not designed to perform a complete, destructive overwrite of the entire wp-content directory.

During a restore, the plugin focuses on:

  • Replacing the database with the backed-up version.
  • Overwriting existing files (e.g., if you modified a theme file after the backup, the old version is restored).
  • It does not automatically delete files that were not present in the original backup archive. This is a safety feature to prevent accidental data loss.

Therefore, any new plugin or theme folders added to the wp-content/plugins or wp-content/themes directories after the backup point will remain on the server after a restore. They are deactivated because their database entries, which activate them, are not present in the restored database.

Common Solutions and Workarounds

For users who require a completely clean testing environment, here are the most common approaches based on community discussions.

1. Manual Cleanup (Recommended for Testing)

The most straightforward method is to manually delete the unwanted plugins and themes via your WordPress dashboard before initiating the restore.

  1. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
  2. Select and delete any plugins that were installed after your backup point.
  3. Navigate to Appearance > Themes and delete any new themes.
  4. Proceed with your standard WPvivid restore operation.

This ensures your file system matches the clean state of your database after the restore.

2. Consider Your Backup Strategy

If you frequently need to return to a pristine state for testing, consider taking a new backup immediately after you have your ideal "base" setup configured with all desired themes and plugins. This way, every subsequent restore will bring you back to that clean baseline without extra files.

3. Understanding the Free Version's Scope

It's important to note that the ability to selectively restore or exclude specific components (like only the database or only certain file types) is a feature often associated with the Pro version of the plugin, as indicated in several support threads. The free version's restore functionality is designed for full-site recovery on the original server.

Key Takeaways

  • Expected Behavior: The WPvivid plugin's restore function is not a full disk image restore. It prioritizes data safety by not deleting files that were added after the backup was created.
  • For Testing Environments: A quick manual cleanup of plugins and themes before restoring is the most effective way to maintain a clean slate.
  • Plugin Purpose: This behavior highlights that the plugin is primarily engineered for reliable backup and recovery of a live site, where accidentally deleting new files could be catastrophic.

By understanding this design choice, you can better integrate WPvivid into your workflow, whether for managing a live site or setting up a testing environment.

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