Kiro + xCloud

Back up and stage sites with Kiro on xCloud

Backing up and staging sites with Kiro means asking the agent in AWS's IDE to read your xCloud backup state, take a backup before a risky change and create a staging copy of a Git site, with Kiro's own approval prompt as a second check.

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

Set up Kiro All Kiro guides

YouBack up the shop site first, then I will run the migration.

sites_backupsread-only

Agentshop.example.com is a native site and its last backup was two days ago. I will take a local backup now.

sites_backup

AgentBackup completed and stored locally. It is safe to run the migration.

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 Kiro to Back up and stage sites on xCloud?

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

1
Add xCloud to your Kiro MCP config
Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows and Linux), search for MCP and choose Kiro: Open workspace MCP config (JSON) for .kiro/settings/mcp.json, or Kiro: Open user MCP config (JSON) for ~/.kiro/settings/mcp.json. Paste this, save, and Kiro reconnects on its own. The first connection opens the xCloud approval screen in your browser, where you tick the teams and choose Read-only or Full access.
JSON
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xcloud": {
      "url": "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```
2
Choose which xCloud tools Kiro may run
Optional. autoApprove lists tools Kiro runs without asking, and disabledTools hides tools from the agent altogether. The two names here are real xCloud tools; swap in your own. Avoid the "*" wildcard in autoApprove, so Kiro's own prompt stays as a second check beside xCloud's confirmation.
JSON
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xcloud": {
      "url": "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp",
      "autoApprove": ["xcloud_docs_search", "xcloud_agent_search"],
      "disabledTools": ["sites_destroy"]
    }
  }
}
```
3
No browser sign-in? Use an API key
Create a token with the mcp:invoke scope plus the read abilities for the areas it will use (read:servers and read:sites, with read:billing and read:addons for billing and add-on tools) and the matching write: abilities if it should change things in Settings, Developers, API Tokens, export it as XCLOUD_API_TOKEN, and pass it in headers. Kiro only expands environment variables you have approved, so add XCLOUD_API_TOKEN under the Mcp Approved Env Vars setting. Never paste the token into the file or into chat.
JSON
```
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "xcloud": {
      "url": "https://app.xcloud.host/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${XCLOUD_API_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Check it worked

Then ask Kiro for the job itself, for example:

Prompt

Back up the shop site first, wait until the backup has completed, then tell me it is safe to run the migration.

In practice

How Does Backups and staging Work from Kiro?

Kiro plans work from a chat panel in the editor, so the request usually sits inside a larger task: change the checkout flow, run a schema migration, swap a plugin. Say so in the same message. Back up the shop site first, then run the migration gives Kiro the order, and it starts with reads against xCloud: matching the site name, finding out whether it is a native site or a Docker app and fetching the backup list and status. It then calls sites_backup for a native site or sites_docker_backup for a Docker app. xCloud does not stop a backup for confirmation, which makes Kiro's own tool prompt the only approval step in the chain, and that is worth deciding on purpose.

That is where autoApprove earns its place. Reads such as the backup list, status, count and settings are good candidates to approve once, so Kiro can answer when the shop last backed up without asking each time. The backup itself you can leave to Kiro's prompt, so every backup is something you saw and allowed. Kiro reports the result only after the backup has completed or failed, and for a Docker app it says first that the app stops briefly. Ask it to put a Docker app on a daily backup with 14 days kept and it shows the change before it applies it. A native site's schedule stays a dashboard setting.

For staging, give Kiro the branch. Once you approve, it asks xCloud to create a staging environment for a Laravel, Node.js, custom PHP or Lovable site and returns the URL for you to test against. The free plan cannot create one through the API, and Kiro says that is a plan limit. WordPress staging and every restore are dashboard steps, so for those Kiro answers with the path: Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups, Restore, plus the dashboard link xCloud returned for the site.

Kiro specific: Kiro merges its MCP config from several places: an agent config beats the workspace file, and the workspace file beats the user file. If you put autoApprove in .kiro/settings/mcp.json and commit it, everyone on the repository inherits it, so keep sites_backup and sites_docker_backup off a shared list. A disabledTools entry for sites_docker_backup_destroy stops the agent from deleting a Docker backup at all, which is a sensible default for this job.

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 Kiro 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 Kiro 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 Kiro 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

Back up the shop site first, wait until the backup has completed, then tell me it is safe to run the migration.

Prompt

Use xCloud to list every site's last backup and its storage location, and flag any older than a week.

Prompt

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

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.

Kiro and Backups and staging: Frequently Asked Questions

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

Should I add the backup tools to Kiro's autoApprove list?

Add the read tools, such as the backup list, status and settings, and leave the backup tools to Kiro's prompt. xCloud does not ask before a backup starts, so Kiro's prompt is then the only check, and it keeps every backup something you saw and allowed.

Can Kiro stop the agent from deleting a Docker backup?

Yes. Add the delete tool for Docker backups, sites_docker_backup_destroy, to disabledTools on the xcloud entry and Kiro hides it from the agent. Deleting a backup is irreversible, so the agent names the exact backup first if you do allow it.

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