Auto-detecting applications on a server
Scan a connected server for WordPress, Laravel, Craft CMS, and Ghost, and create matched File + Database jobs in one click.
Once a server is connected over SSH, VPS Snaps can scan it for known application platforms and, where the config format allows it, read the database credentials directly — no copying host/username/password by hand.
Where it looks
The scan checks common web-root conventions: /var/www, /home/*/public_html, /home/*/htdocs, Cloudways' /home/master/applications/*/public_html, Forge's /home/forge/*, and /srv/www. It isn't tied to any one hosting panel — a manually-configured server works the same way.
What gets detected automatically
- WordPress — database credentials from wp-config.php
- Laravel — database credentials from .env, identified by a sibling artisan file
- Craft CMS — database credentials from .env (both the CRAFT_DB_* names used in v4/v5 and the unprefixed names used in v3), identified by a sibling craft file
- Ghost — database credentials from config.production.json
What doesn't
Anything else — TYPO3, a custom PHP app, a static site — still gets detected as a file-backup candidate, since its config format isn't one we parse reliably. You'll see it listed with an "Unknown app type" badge and no automatic Database job; add one manually with the credentials from wherever that app stores them.
Running it
From a server's detail page, click "Detect applications." Pick a storage destination, then click "Create backup jobs" next to each app you want covered — that creates a File job for the app's directory (with sensible excludes like vendor and node_modules already applied) and, where credentials were found, a Database job alongside it.
The created jobs are ordinary backup jobs afterward — edit their schedule, retention, or notifications from the Backup Jobs list like any other.