Clone a Site to Same or Different Server

Published · Last updated: May 2026 · 3 min read

Who this is for

Users who want to create a copy of an existing site — typically to create a staging environment, test changes, or migrate to a new server.

What Cloning Does

Cloning creates a new site that is a copy of an existing site, including:

The document root files (copied from the source site)
The database (copied from the source site's database)
The Nginx configuration (adapted for the new domain)
The environment variables (copied from the source)

The clone is created as an independent site — changes to the clone do not affect the original.

Prerequisites

The source site is running.
The server running the site has enough disk space to accommodate a second copy of the files and database.
If cloning to a different server: both the source and target servers are running with SSH connectivity.

How to Clone a Site

Open the site detail of the site you want to clone.
Click ⋮ → Clone Site, or find the Clone button in the site settings.
Fill in the clone form:

Field	Description
Subdomain	The subdomain prefix for the clone's domain (e.g., `staging` → `staging.myblog.com`). Must be lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens, 1–63 characters.
Target server	Optional — leave blank to clone to the same server. Select a different server to migrate.
DB admin credentials	Optional — only needed if the database requires elevated credentials to copy. Leave blank in most cases.

Click Clone.

CloudAIPilot generates a plan. Review and confirm if in draft mode.

What the Clone Plan Does

Creates a new database with the same schema and data as the source.
Copies the document root files to a new directory.
Creates a new Nginx vhost for the subdomain.
Updates the cloned site's configuration to use the new database name and domain.
If SSL was active on the source: SSL is not automatically issued on the clone. Issue it separately after DNS is configured.

Accessing the Cloned Site

After cloning:

The new site appears in the Sites list with the subdomain domain (e.g., staging.myblog.com).
Add a DNS A record for the subdomain pointing to the server's IP.
Issue SSL if needed — see KB-03-04: SSL Certificates.

Use Cases

Use case	How to configure
Create a staging environment	Clone to the same server with subdomain `staging`
Test a major upgrade	Clone to same server, test upgrade on clone first
Migrate to new server	Clone with a different target server
Create a copy for a new client	Clone to same or different server

What Success Looks Like

The cloned site appears in the Sites list. Visiting the subdomain domain shows the same content as the original site. Original site is completely unaffected.

Common Issues and Fixes

Issue	Likely cause	Fix
Clone plan fails at "copy database"	DB admin credentials required but not provided	Retry with DB admin credentials in the clone form.
Subdomain validation error	Contains uppercase or special characters	Use only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens.
Clone to different server fails	Target server SSH not accessible	Verify target server SSH from its overview.
Cloned site shows source site's domain in URLs	WordPress or app stores domain in DB	For WordPress, use WP-CLI `search-replace` after cloning to update domain references.