Claude + xCloud

Back up and stage sites with Claude on xCloud

Backing up and staging sites with Claude means chatting with Anthropic's assistant on the web or in Claude Desktop, through the xCloud connector you added, to see which sites are protected, start a backup and ask for a staging copy without opening the dashboard.

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

Set up Claude All Claude guides

YouWhich of my sites have no backup schedule? Then back up the shop.

sites_backupSettingsread-only

AgentTwo of seven sites have no schedule: blog.example.com and docs.example.com. The shop is on a daily schedule, last backup 23 hours ago, completed. Do you want a fresh one anyway?

YouYes, the shop.

sites_backup

AgentStarted. I checked it again and the backup is completed, stored locally. To restore it you would use Site > Site Backup > Previous Backups > Restore in the 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 Claude to Back up and stage sites on xCloud?

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

1
Add xCloud as a custom connector
In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, and choose Add custom connector. Name it xcloud, paste this URL as the remote MCP server URL and finish the setup. Claude shows the xCloud sign-in page; choose the teams and Read-only or Full access.
URL
```
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```
2
Check the connection
Start a new chat, check that the xcloud connector is enabled for it, and ask this. Claude calls xCloud and names your account and the teams you approved.
Prompt
```
Who am I on xCloud?
```
3
On Team or Enterprise, add it as an owner
Members cannot add custom connectors on a Team plan. An Owner or Primary Owner adds it under Organization settings, then Connectors, with the same URL. On Enterprise, a custom role with Manage access to Libraries can add it too.
URL
```
https://app.xcloud.host/mcp
```

Check it worked

Then ask Claude for the job itself, for example:

Prompt

Which of my sites have no backup schedule? Show me a table with the last backup time and whether it succeeded.

In practice

How Does Backups and staging Work from Claude?

In a chat the question usually starts from worry rather than from code. You are about to let a developer push a change, or you simply cannot remember whether the shop was ever backed up, and you open Claude and ask in a full sentence. With the xcloud connector enabled for the chat, Claude looks up your sites, works out which are native sites and which are Docker apps, and reads each one's backup settings, status and recent backups. It then answers in plain language, often as a small table: site, schedule, last backup, result and storage. Asking it to list every site that has no backup schedule is a one-message audit that would otherwise take a trip through each site's settings page.

Starting a backup is the same conversation. Say take a backup of the shop site before the update on Friday, and Claude calls the backup operation for that site type. xCloud treats a backup as a routine action, so it starts without an approval prompt, and Claude tells you that a Docker app is stopped briefly while its data is captured. It then reports completed or failed only after it has read the result, so you are not left with a promise that a job was queued. One chat-specific detail: a backup changes something on your account, so it needs the Full access you can choose on the xCloud approval screen. A connector approved as Read-only can still answer every question about backup state, and Claude will tell you to reconnect with Full access if you ask it to start one.

Staging and restores show where a chat differs from a coding agent. Claude has no repository open, so for a Git site such as Laravel, Node.js, custom PHP or Lovable you name the branch yourself, Claude restates which site and branch it is about to use, and you approve the creation in the chat before it goes ahead. Creating staging needs a paid plan, and Claude passes along the plan limit if xCloud refuses. For a restore, a native schedule change, a storage provider or a WordPress staging site, Claude does not attempt a workaround. It gives you the dashboard path and the site link, for example Site > Site Backup > Previous Backups > Restore, and you click through yourself.

Claude specific: Claude connects to xCloud from Anthropic's cloud, and the connector follows your Claude account across the web app, Claude Desktop and Cowork. On the Free plan you can add only one custom connector in total, so xCloud may take your only slot. If Claude says it cannot start a backup, check which access level you approved: Read-only answers questions but cannot take a backup.

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 Claude 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 Claude 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 Claude 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

Which of my sites have no backup schedule? Show me a table with the last backup time and whether it succeeded.

Prompt

Please take a backup of shop.example.com now, because a developer is deploying a change this afternoon. Tell me when it has finished.

Prompt

I need a staging copy of the API site from the feature/checkout branch. Tell me what you will create before you do it.

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.

Claude and Backups and staging: Frequently Asked Questions

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

Can Claude start a backup if I only approved Read-only access?

No. Read-only access lets Claude read backup settings, status and recent backups, but starting a backup changes your account. Reconnect the xcloud connector and approve Full access if you want Claude to take one.

How do I restore a backup that Claude found for me?

You restore it in the xCloud dashboard, not in the chat. Claude can tell you which backup is newest and completed, then give you the path Site > Site Backup > Previous Backups > Restore and the site's dashboard link.

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