How do I import a database into my Faaaster site?

The site's Tools tab, Backup & migration section, offers Import DB. You choose your file from your computer and upload it directly: no need to go through SFTP.

Importing

1. Open the site, Tools tab.
2. Backup & migration section, Import DB row.
3. Click Import to open the window.
4. Click Choose a .sql / .sql.gz file and select your dump.
5. Click Upload and import.

The window's Logs field shows the import log, which lets you follow its progress and understand any failure.

Accepted formats

.sql, .gz and .sql.gz files, up to 5 GB.

Compress your dump. A .sql.gz file uploads much faster than a raw .sql, and the import decompresses it automatically.

⚠️ The import overwrites the existing database. Create a backup first, from the Backups tab.

After the import: rewriting URLs

This is the step Faaaster doesn't do for you, and the one that makes most migrations fail.

A WordPress database stores the site's address hard-coded, in the settings and in the content of the pages. If your dump comes from another site, everything still points to the old address: broken images, redirect loops, unable to log in to the admin.

Faaaster clears the caches after the import, but doesn't touch the content of your database — it can't guess which strings need to be replaced.

The rewrite takes a single command, over SSH:

wp search-replace 'https://old-domain.com' 'https://new-domain.com' --all-tables --precise

Always do a dry run first. Add --dry-run to the command: WP-CLI tells you how many replacements it would make, without changing anything.

Also think of the variants present in your database: http:// and https://, with and without www. Each one needs its own pass.

If you're not comfortable with the command line

The Better Search Replace plugin, installed from the WordPress admin, does the same thing with a form — and also offers a dry run.

👉 How do I connect via SSH and SFTP? · How do I use WP-CLI? · How do I back up and restore a site?

Updated on: 10/03/2026