ChatGPT dots + xCloud

Back up and stage sites with ChatGPT dots on xCloud

Backing up and staging sites with a ChatGPT dot means asking your always-on OpenAI agent to keep watch over your xCloud backups, take one before a change and set up a Git staging environment when you approve it.

Skill: xcloud:sites
Toolsets: sites
Free with every xCloud account

Set up ChatGPT dots All ChatGPT dots guides

YouWhich sites have no backup schedule? Then back up shop.example.com before I update it.

sites_backupSettingsread-only

sites_backupStatusread-only

AgentTwo of seven sites have no schedule: blog.example.com and docs.example.com. The shop has a daily schedule and its last backup completed 22 hours ago. I am starting a fresh one for the shop.

sites_backup

sites_backupStatusread-only

AgentI polled the backup status until it completed. It is stored locally. To restore it later, use Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups, Restore in the xCloud dashboard.

Last updated: October 2026. Keep a human in the loop: xCloud stops and asks before anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.

Setup

How Do You Set Up ChatGPT dots to Back up and stage sites on xCloud?

Connect ChatGPT dots once; every job on this account uses the same connection. Then ask in plain words.

1
Create the xCloud MCP plugin in ChatGPT
Plugins are shared across your dot, ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work and Codex, so you set xCloud up once. In ChatGPT on the web, turn on Developer mode under Settings, Security and login, open the Plugins page, select the plus button and create an app named xcloud with this MCP server URL and OAuth as the authentication. Sign in with xCloud, tick the teams and choose Read-only or Full access. Then open your personal Plugins page, open xcloud and select the plus button to install it; until it is installed, your dot cannot see it. If ChatGPT already has the xcloud plugin installed, skip this step. That path is for a personal account. In a Business, Enterprise or Edu workspace the controls sit under Apps instead. On Business only an admin or owner can use Developer mode: they turn it on while creating the app from Workspace settings, Apps, Create, and publish it from Workspace settings, Apps. On Enterprise and Edu an admin or owner can also toggle Developer mode under Settings, Apps, Advanced settings, and a member granted developer access under Permissions and Roles turns it on there too and can create and test the app from their own Settings, Apps, Create, but only an admin or owner can publish it. An ordinary member cannot do this, so ask an admin to publish the xcloud app; then open Settings, Plugins, select xcloud, install it if offered and choose Connect, sign in to xCloud and pick the teams and access level, and only then start at the next step.
URL
```
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
2
Check the plugin is connected for your dot
Open your dot's profile, then Customize and Plugins, and make sure xcloud is connected. The screen uses the shared ChatGPT plugin settings, so a plugin connected in ChatGPT appears here too. Then give your dot a first task that names xCloud.
Prompt
```
Using xcloud, who am I on xCloud, and which servers and sites do I have?
```
3
Add a custom rule for hosting changes
Under Customize, Custom rules, describe the action and choose Ask before taking action. Pre-approved means you asked for the action in your prompt. xCloud stops for confirmation on its own before it creates, deploys, updates, reboots or deletes anything, but a rule keeps the approval visible in your conversation and stops a scheduled task from proposing changes you did not ask for.
Prompt
```
Ask before taking action: anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots or deletes a server or site on xCloud.
```

Check it worked

Then ask ChatGPT dots for the job itself, for example:

Prompt

When was the last backup of shop.example.com, did it succeed and where is it stored? If it is more than a day old, tell me before you do anything.

In practice

How Does Backups and staging Work from ChatGPT dots?

Backups are a natural standing job for a dot, because the useful question is rarely what to do now but whether something went quiet. Ask once, in the ChatGPT desktop app, for a recurring audit: every Sunday evening, read the backup settings and the last backup of every site, and message me the sites with no schedule or a last backup that failed. Your dot reads sites_backupSettings, sites_backupStatus and sites_backups for native sites, and sites_docker_backupSettings and sites_docker_backups for Docker apps, which it tells apart from the site type. The answer says when each site was last protected and where the copy is stored.

Starting a backup is a routine action: sites_backup for a native site and sites_docker_backup for a Docker app run without an xCloud prompt. That leaves the decision to your dot's rules. If a Custom rule says Take action if pre-approved, a prompt that says back up the shop before I update it counts as your approval, and if you chose Ask before taking action, the dot waits for you in the conversation. Either way a queued backup is not a finished backup, so the dot follows the task until it reads completed or failed. A Docker app is stopped briefly while its volumes are captured, which is why you pick a quiet time and why the dot tells you before it backs up a production app.

For staging, a Git site can get a staging environment from a branch you name through sites_stagingSites_create, after you approve, on paid plans. On the free plan xCloud answers 403, which is a plan limit and not a permission. WordPress staging, restores, native schedules and storage providers are dashboard steps. When you ask your dot to restore last night's backup, the right answer from it is the path, Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups, Restore, plus the dashboard link, not an improvised workaround.

ChatGPT dots specific: A scheduled backup is a change on your server, even a routine one, so check how your dot treats it before you rely on a nightly job. OpenAI's help center says full MCP support with write actions is in beta on Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces, and Pro accounts connect MCP apps with read and fetch permissions only, so on Pro your dot can audit backups but should not be expected to start one. On any plan a task you create runs under your Custom rules, so a rule set to Ask before taking action turns a 2 a.m. backup into a question waiting for you in the morning.

What xCloud does for backups and staging

xCloud lets the agent read every site's backup state, start a backup on demand for native and Docker sites, and create a staging environment for Git sites. Restores, storage providers and WordPress staging stay in the dashboard, and the agent tells you the exact path when you ask for one.

Find the site. The agent resolves the site by name or domain, restates which one it is about to act on, and reads whether it is a native site or a Docker app, because the two use different backup operations.
Read the protection state. It reads the backup settings, status, count and recent backups. That answers whether the site has a schedule, when the last backup ran, whether it succeeded and where it is stored, before anything is changed.
Back up now. A backup starts without an approval prompt. A native site takes a local backup by default or a remote one when a storage provider is connected. A Docker app is stopped briefly while its volumes are captured, so the agent says so before it backs up a production app.
Wait for the result. xCloud queues the backup and returns straight away. The agent follows the backup task or row until it is terminal, then reports completed or failed instead of treating the queued response as done.
Stage the change. For a Git site such as Laravel, Node.js, custom PHP or Lovable, the agent creates a staging environment from the branch you name, after you approve, and gives you its URL. A WordPress staging site is a dashboard step, and the agent gives you the path.
Hand off restores and settings. If you ask to restore a backup, change a native site's schedule or add a storage provider, the agent explains that these are dashboard-only and gives the path and the site's dashboard link. It never improvises a workaround.

Reference

Backups and staging Settings and Limits on xCloud

The facts ChatGPT dots works within when it backs up and stage sites. Where a row names the dashboard, that step stays yours to take there.

Setting or limit	What applies
Native site backup	On demand through the API; the type is local (the default) or remote. A remote backup needs a storage provider with a working connection, otherwise xCloud refuses it with a 422 before anything is queued
Docker app backup	On demand through the API for Compose deploys and most one-click apps. The app is cold-stopped for a moment while volumes are captured. A remote copy goes to an S3-compatible or SFTP provider; Google Drive and pCloud are not supported for Docker apps
Reading backups	Backup list, count, status and settings are readable for every site. Docker apps also expose one backup's detail
Docker backup housekeeping	The agent can label a Docker backup with a note and delete one. Deleting is irreversible, so it names the exact backup by date and note first
Native schedule and retention	Read-only through the API. Change them in the dashboard under Site > Site Backup > Backup Settings
Docker backup settings	Writable through the API: automatic backup on or off, daily, weekly or monthly frequency, and the number of days to keep backups
Restores	Dashboard-only for every site type: Site > Site Backup > Previous Backups > Restore. A backup can also be restored to another site from the same page
Storage providers	Dashboard-only, under Integrations > Storage Provider. Backup settings return a provider's identifier and status, never its credentials
Team-wide backup policy	Applying one backup policy to many sites is dashboard-only, under Global Settings > Site Backup
Git staging	Created through the API for Git sites on paid plans. On the free plan xCloud answers 403 because it is a plan limit, not a permission
WordPress staging	Dashboard-only: xCloud answers 422 when the API is asked for it. Push and pull between staging and production also happen in the dashboard
Snapshots	Snapshots are listed per site. The server-wide snapshot list holds site snapshots, not a server image. Taking or restoring a snapshot, and a whole-server provider backup, stay in the dashboard

Rules ChatGPT dots has to follow

A backup runs without an approval prompt, but the agent says when it briefly stops a Docker app and does not trigger one on a busy production app without telling you.
A queued backup is not a finished backup: the agent reports completed or failed only after it has read the result.
Restoring a backup, changing a native site's schedule, adding a storage provider and creating WordPress staging are dashboard steps; the agent gives you the path instead of guessing an operation.
Creating a staging environment stops for your approval, and deleting a backup names the exact backup first.
Before you push staging data to production in the dashboard, take a backup of the production site so you can recover if the push goes wrong.

Example prompts

What Can You Ask ChatGPT dots to Do for Backups and staging?

Type these as written and swap in your own repository, site and server names. Reads and routine actions such as backups, cache purges, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans run straight away; creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan stops and asks first.

Prompt

When was the last backup of shop.example.com, did it succeed and where is it stored? If it is more than a day old, tell me before you do anything.

Prompt

Every Sunday at 6pm, read the backup settings of every site and Docker app on my team and message me the ones with no schedule or a failed last backup. Report only.

Prompt

Take a backup of the shop site now and wait until it is completed. Then tell me the exact dashboard path to restore it if the update I am about to run goes wrong.

Prompt

When was the last backup of the shop site, did it succeed, and where is it stored?

Prompt

Check the backup settings on every site and list the ones with no schedule.

Prompt

Take a backup of the n8n Docker app now, before I upgrade it, and tell me when it is done.

Prompt

Switch the n8n Docker app to a daily backup and keep backups for 14 days. Show me the change before you apply it.

Prompt

Create a staging environment for the API site from the feature/checkout branch and give me its URL.

Prompt

List the snapshots of the shop site and tell me which is newest.

Prompt

I need to restore the shop site to last night's backup. Tell me where to click.

ChatGPT dots and Backups and staging: Frequently Asked Questions

What people ask before they let ChatGPT dots back up and stage sites through xCloud.

Can my ChatGPT dot tell me which sites have no backups?

Yes. Ask for a recurring audit and it reads the backup settings, status and recent backups for every site and Docker app, then messages you the ones with no schedule or a failed last backup. These are reads, so they run without any approval from xCloud.

Can my dot restore a site from a backup?

No. Restores are dashboard-only for every site type, under Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups, Restore. Your dot can find the right backup, tell you its date and storage location and give you the dashboard link, and you click Restore yourself.

Can an AI agent restore a backup for me?

No. Restoring a native or Docker backup is a dashboard step, under Site > Site Backup > Previous Backups > Restore. The agent can list the backups, tell you which one is newest and completed, and give you the site's dashboard link so you can start the restore yourself.

Does the agent ask before it takes a backup?

No. A backup is a routine action, so xCloud runs it without a confirmation prompt. For a Docker app the agent tells you first that the app stops briefly while its data is captured, and it reports the result only after the backup has finished.

Can the agent change my backup schedule?

For Docker apps, yes: it can turn automatic backups on or off, set daily, weekly or monthly, and set how many days backups are kept. For native sites the schedule, retention and destination are read-only through the API, so you change them in the dashboard under Site > Site Backup > Backup Settings.

Can the agent connect my S3 bucket or other storage?

No. Storage providers are added in the dashboard, under Integrations > Storage Provider, so credentials never pass through a chat. Once a provider exists, the agent can read which one a site's backup settings point at and use it for a remote backup.

Can the agent create a staging site for WordPress?

Not through the API. xCloud answers 422 for WordPress staging, so you create it in the dashboard from the site overview. For Laravel, Node.js, custom PHP and Lovable sites the agent can create a staging environment, which needs a paid plan.

Other agents