How to Back Up and Restore a Softaculous Installation

Softaculous can create and restore backups of individual application installations (files + database) independently of your full cPanel account backup. This is faster and more targeted for application-specific restores.


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Create a backup


  1. Log in at https://tpc-hosting.com/login and open cPanel.
  2. Under Software , click Softaculous Apps Installer.
  3. Click All Installations (grid icon in the top navigation).
  4. Find the installation you want to back up and click the Backup icon (clock/archive icon).
  5. Select what to back up:
    • Database only — faster; backs up all posts, settings, and content
    • Directory only — backs up all files (themes, plugins, uploads)
    • Full (recommended) — backs up both files and database
  1. Click Backup Installation.




Backups are stored in your home directory under softaculous_backups/ as compressed archives. You can download them from File Manager.


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Restore from a backup


  1. In the All Installations view, find the installation and click the Restore icon, or navigate to Softaculous → Backups.
  2. Select the backup file you want to restore from the list.
  3. Click Restore Installation.
  4. Confirm the restore — this will overwrite the current installation.




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Delete old backups


Softaculous backups consume disk space on your account. Go to Softaculous → Backups to view and delete backups you no longer need.


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Softaculous backup vs. cPanel account backup


  • Softaculous backup — covers a single application installation. Fast to create and restore.
  • cPanel full backup — covers your entire account: all files, all databases, all email, all settings. Use for full account restores.




For production sites, use both: Softaculous for quick pre-update snapshots, and cPanel backups (or an offsite backup service) for disaster recovery.

Updated on: 28/04/2026

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