SandyWP Cloner
Clone this WordPress site into a fresh, disposable SandyWP sandbox: database, themes, plugins and media, in one click, in the background.
Solid choice
SandyWP Cloner is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 10+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 69/100 on our health check.
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where SandyWP Cloner stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| backup | >100 |
| clone | >100 |
| migration | >100 |
| sandbox | #88 |
| staging | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews
About SandyWP Cloner
From the official readme · v4.8.4Description
SandyWP Cloner copies your live site into a throwaway SandyWP sandbox so you can test plugins, themes, updates, or hand a client a safe playground without touching production.
Click once and the plugin works in the background while you keep using your site:
- Packages your database and
wp-contentinto a single archive. - Uploads it securely to your SandyWP account (large sites use resumable, direct-to-storage uploads).
- SandyWP lays down clean WordPress core, restores your content, and rewrites URLs.
- The new sandbox URL with a one-click admin login appears right on the screen.
A live progress screen shows each step. You can close the page and come back; the clone keeps running.
You need a SandyWP account to use this plugin. Connect in one click with the Connect to SandyWP button (no token to copy), or paste a personal API token (Account → API keys) as a fallback.
Why use it
- One-click clone no manual export/import, no FTP, no database juggling.
- Runs in the background with a real-time status screen.
- Handles large sites: resumable, chunked uploads that survive flaky connections.
- Your live site is never modified only read.
Third-Party Service
This plugin sends your site’s data to SandyWP, a third-party hosting service, to create the sandbox clone. It is not functional without a SandyWP account.
- Connecting your account: clicking “Connect to SandyWP” opens SandyWP in your browser to authorize this site (an OAuth authorization-code + PKCE flow); SandyWP then returns a connection key scoped to cloning only. Your site URL is sent as part of this request. Alternatively you can paste a personal API token, which is verified against SandyWP’s identity endpoint.
- What is sent when cloning: your site’s database export and a copy of your
wp-contentfiles, plus your site URL, WordPress version, and PHP version (in a small manifest). Data is transmitted to the SandyWP URL you configure (defaulthttps://app.sandywp.com) using the connection key. - When: account data is sent when you connect; site data is sent only when you click “Clone to SandyWP”.
- Service: SandyWP https://sandywp.com
- Terms of Service: https://sandywp.com/terms
- Privacy Policy: https://sandywp.com/privacy
Installation
- Upload the plugin to
/wp-content/plugins/sandywp-cloner, or install it from the Plugins screen. - Activate it through the Plugins menu in WordPress.
- Go to Tools → SandyWP Cloner and click Connect to SandyWP approve the connection in the tab that opens, and you’re linked (no token to copy). Prefer a token? Click “Connect with an API token instead” and paste one from Account → API keys.
- Click Clone to SandyWP.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a SandyWP account?
Yes. The plugin clones your site into your SandyWP account, so you need an account and a personal API token.
Is my live site changed?
No. The plugin only reads your database and files to build the archive. Nothing on your live site is modified.
How big a site can it clone?
Large sites are supported. When your SandyWP account has object storage enabled, uploads go directly to storage in resumable parts; otherwise the plugin uploads in 5 MB chunks. Very large sites need enough free temporary disk space on your host to build the archive.
Can I make the clone smaller and faster?
Yes. Open Advanced options on the clone screen before you start. You can exclude the media library (usually the bulk of a site), post revisions, spam and trashed comments, and inactive themes and plugins. Everything is included by default; these are opt-in. Backup-plugin folders, caches, and logs are always skipped automatically.
The clone says “Queued” and never starts.
The background job runs via WP-Cron through a loopback request. If your host blocks loopback requests or disables WP-Cron without a real cron job, the task can’t start. Ask your host to allow loopback requests, or trigger WP-Cron via a system cron.
Where do the credentials go?
Your SandyWP URL and API token are stored in your site’s options so you can re-clone. You can revoke the token anytime from your SandyWP account, and deleting the plugin removes the stored values.
Changelog
Adds a Cancel button to stop a clone in progress.
4.8.4
- Fixed: sites that use MySQL database views (for example Uncanny Automator’s log views) failed to clone. The export wrote each view before the tables it reads, so the import stopped with a “Table … doesn’t exist” error and the rest of the database was never loaded. Views are now written at the end of the dump, and the source database user is no longer baked into them.
4.8.3
- Confirmed compatibility with WordPress 7.1.
4.8.2
- Failed clones now show SandyWP’s actual error message (for example, why a restore was rejected) instead of a generic “returned HTTP 402”-style code.
- Added a storage-quota check before the upload starts: a clone that would put your sandbox over its storage limit is now rejected right away, instead of failing only after the full upload finishes.
4.8.1
- The clone screen now notes that the database and files/media sizes are measured before compression, so the actual upload is usually smaller than the figures shown.
- Fixed: during the restore phase, the completed Upload step showed the live restore message (for example “Importing your database”) instead of a static caption. It now reads “Upload complete”, and the live restore step appears only under the Restore step.
4.8.0
- The Restore step now shows live progress. Large sites can spend minutes being restored on SandyWP, where the screen previously showed only a static “Restoring” label; it now displays the actual step in progress for example “Importing your database”, “Restoring files (part 4 of 12)”, “Starting WordPress container” with a real progress bar when SandyWP reports numbered steps (and an animated bar otherwise), plus a “last update Xs ago” readout so you can always tell a running restore from a stuck one. Works with older SandyWP servers too, falling back to the previous behavior.
4.7.0
- One-click Connect to SandyWP: link this site to your account without copying an API token, using a secure OAuth authorization-code + PKCE flow. SandyWP returns a connection key scoped to cloning only. Pasting a token still works as a fallback, now with instant validation as you type.
- Redesigned admin screen. Before you clone, a pre-flight manifest shows your database size, files/media size, and a rough time estimate; a “Trim the clone” panel shows the live MB saving for each thing you skip and updates the clone button (e.g. “Clone to SandyWP 53 MB, ~1 min”). While cloning, a staged Package → Upload → Restore checklist replaces the single bar, with real transfer speed and time-left during upload. Success shows a copyable sandbox URL and a one-click logged-in link; failures now map to plain-English guidance (including a “Retry without media” button when you hit a storage limit). Recent clones are listed so their URLs aren’t lost.
- Added a
SANDYWP_CLONER_BASE_URLconstant to override the API base URL (for development/staging) fromwp-config.php.
Screenshots
For developers
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FAQ
SandyWP Cloner: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 10, 2026
Is SandyWP Cloner free?
Yes. SandyWP Cloner is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is SandyWP Cloner safe to use in 2026?
SandyWP Cloner is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. It runs on 10+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 2 months ago, and scores 69/100 on our health check.
How many websites use SandyWP Cloner?
SandyWP Cloner is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 377 times since it launched in July 2026. It was downloaded 95 times in the last 30 days.
Does SandyWP Cloner work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested SandyWP Cloner up to WordPress 7.1.3, the latest release. It requires WordPress 5.8 or newer.
What PHP version does SandyWP Cloner need?
SandyWP Cloner requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was SandyWP Cloner last updated?
The latest version, 4.8.4, was released on August 25, 2026 (2 months ago).
Who makes SandyWP Cloner?
SandyWP Cloner is developed and maintained by SandyWP.
What are the best alternatives to SandyWP Cloner?
The most popular alternatives to SandyWP Cloner are All-in-One WP Migration and… (5M+ installs), UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Mi… (4M+ installs) and Jetpack (3M+ installs).
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