Documentation / JustNow Backups
Search & replace and database tools
Safe search and replace in the database, cleanup, serialize repair and operation history.
Back up firstThese tools change the database directly. Taking a full backup before large operations is recommended.
Search & Replace
Replaces text in the database (e.g. an old domain) with other text. Text inside serialized and JSON data is updated without breaking it.
- Enter the text to search and the replacement. If you leave the replacement empty, the found text is removed.
- Turn on options if needed Pro:
- Regex: a regular expression instead of plain text (do not add delimiters;
$1,$2can be used in the replacement). - Case-insensitive: ignores upper/lower case differences.
- Include the
guidcolumn: the permanent ID of posts; leave it off unless you know what you are doing.
- Regex: a regular expression instead of plain text (do not add delimiters;
- Choose the tables (usually all stay selected) and click Simulation. Nothing changes; you see how many cells in each table would be affected.
- Choose the tables to apply to from the result and click Apply.
In the free edition simulation and apply work without a row limit. Regex, case-insensitive search and the guid column are in Pro.
Changing a domainRun
https://old-domain.com → https://new-domain.com first, then //old-domain.com → //new-domain.com if needed. If you are moving the site with JustNow you do not need this; the restore adapts addresses automatically.Database Cleanup
Deletes accumulated junk in small batches. Deleted items cannot be recovered.
| Task | What it does | Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Old revisions | Keeps the number of newest revisions you set for each post and deletes the rest (0 = all). | Free |
| Trash and auto-drafts | Permanently deletes trashed posts/pages (except media) and auto-drafts older than 7 days. | Free |
| Spam and trashed comments | Deletes comments marked as spam or moved to trash. | Pro |
| Orphaned meta | Removes unused meta rows of deleted posts and comments. | Pro |
| Expired transients | Deletes expired temporary cache entries; WordPress recreates them when needed. | Pro |
| Table optimization | Reclaims wasted space. On large sites it may lock tables briefly; run it at a low-traffic time. | Pro |
Serialize Repair Pro
Plugins store their settings in serialized form. If a faulty migration or a manual edit breaks the string lengths, WordPress cannot read the setting and it looks reset.
- Scan: reads the options and post/comment/user/term meta tables without changing anything.
- Repair: fixes the records that can be fixed safely. The old value of each record is kept for undo; records that cannot be fixed are left untouched.
Operation History and undo Pro
Search-and-replace and repair operations are logged together with the old values of the changed cells.
- Undo: returns the cells changed by the operation to their old values.
- Delete: deletes the record and its undo data; after that the operation can no longer be undone.
- Statuses: Completed, Undone, Partial (the operation was interrupted; it can still be undone).