Break Glass Access for WordPress
Documentation
Everything you need to set up and use Break Glass Access. From installation and first settings to making and restoring a full backup.
★★★★★ Trusted by web managers · recommended by KVWB
What Break-Glass Access does
Sometimes you can no longer reach your web manager. Or you are stuck with an administrator who no longer cooperates. In those moments you want to be able to secure your own website — even without that administrator.
With Break-Glass Access you do it yourself. You make a full backup of your entire website: all files and the database. You then hold that backup yourself. A (new) web manager can use it to restore your site on another server.
You are never stuck again with a vanished or unreachable administrator. The life-saving core — the emergency backup — always works, for free, even without an account or licence.
Can no longer reach your administrator and need to secure your website? Request a code. You can then make a full backup with your own rights.
The code will be sent to: editor@yoursite.com
The admin screen at a glance
The web manager sets Break-Glass Access up once, under Settings → Break-Glass Access. At the top sits the readiness bar: one calm line that immediately tells you whether everything is ready for an emergency, with the four basic checks next to it.
Below that are four numbered steps: who, delivery, times and notifications. On the right, a sidebar with the readiness and (Pro) the self-test. We go through the individual parts one by one.
Emergency user
Choose who may make an emergency backup. That user keeps their own role and only receives this one right.
Readiness
The readiness bar and the dots in the sidebar tell you at a glance whether the emergency button really works. So you are not caught out at the moment it matters.
How it works — in 3 steps
For the emergency user it is simple. Three steps, with no technical choices.
Request code
You request an emergency code with one button. You receive a 6-digit code, by email to your own address by default.
Enter code
You enter the code. If it is correct, the emergency window opens. In the free version that window lasts 4 hours.
Make the backup
You make a full backup and download your whole site as one file. You give that to your (new) web manager.
Before you press the button, you already see which email address the code goes to. No guesswork at the tense moment.
Setting the emergency user
The administrator chooses who may make an emergency backup. That is usually the customer, for example an editor. You pick the person from a list; administrators are not in it.
The emergency user never becomes an administrator — not even temporarily. They make the backup with their own role. So no one quietly gets more rights than needed.
Emergency users
Choose who may make an emergency backup. Each user keeps their own role and only receives this one right.
With Pro up to 5 emergency users — with emergency-passport fields (phone and private email) per person.
Receiving the code
When an emergency is requested, the emergency user receives a 6-digit code. By default it goes by email, to their own account address. You see in advance which address the code goes to.
If your own site cannot send email
Sometimes a website cannot send email itself. Then the Break-Glass Access service delivers the code as a safety net. This safety net is on by default, but you can switch it off.
With Pro: SMS and an extra address
With Pro the code can also be sent by SMS to a fixed number. That is extra secure: the code does not end up in a mailbox. You can also add an extra email address, so you never miss the code.
Verification
The code always goes to addresses set in advance. The emergency user cannot change them.
The safe basis: the code goes to the user’s own account address.
Works even when the mailbox is unreachable.
If this site can no longer send email itself, the Break-Glass Access service delivers the code for you. So an emergency email always arrives.
In an emergency the regular administrator may be exactly the party you need protection from. That is why code delivery must not be blockable. Leaving the safety net on ensures the code still arrives — even if the site email is broken.
The plugin never asks for or stores your email passwords. They would otherwise end up in the database — and so in the backups. Email not working? Then an SMTP plugin or this safety net is the safe route.
Making and keeping the backup
After you enter the code, the emergency window opens. Now you make a full backup with one button.
Your backup is ready.
Download your entire website as one file.
⬇ Download everything as one zipA backup is powerful. Whoever has the file can log in to a restored site. So store and share your backup carefully — only with a web manager you trust.
Backup tool: UpdraftPlus
Break-Glass Access uses the free and well-known plugin UpdraftPlus to make the backup. It runs on millions of sites and is reliable.
Backup tool (UpdraftPlus)
The emergency backup uses the free version of UpdraftPlus. Recommended: install it now and do not wait for an emergency.
Safe by design
Break-Glass Access is security-sensitive software. That is why safety is built in, as a ground rule. These are the most important choices:
The emergency user makes the backup with their own role — not even temporarily admin.
The emergency window is limited (4 hours free). After that, access closes automatically.
Every step goes into the log: request, backup and ending.
The administrator receives an email when emergency access starts and when the backup is made, and can then contact the client.
Outside an active emergency window you cannot fetch backups.
| When | Event | User |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 14:22 | Emergency code requested | Jane Editor |
| Jul 2, 14:24 | Backup created | Jane Editor |
| Jul 2, 14:39 | Session ended | Jane Editor |
| Jul 1, 09:10 | Admin notified | Administrator |
Readiness & self-test
In the sidebar you see the readiness: emergency users, mail delivery, UpdraftPlus, HTTPS and disk space. A teal dot means: ready. So you know in advance whether the emergency button really works.
With Pro you can run a self-test. It checks in one click all the points needed for a real emergency.
Readiness
Free and Pro
The free version does the real work: you can fully secure your site. Pro adds extra safety and convenience. The life-saving core — the emergency backup — always works, even without Pro.
“—” means: not in this version. A teal check means: included.
Good to know
Break-Glass Access puts a lot of power in the hands of the emergency user: they can download your whole site. So a few clear agreements.
Secure the emergency account well. Whoever makes the emergency backup downloads your entire website. Give the emergency user a strong password and turn on two-factor login (2FA). This is the biggest real risk — and easy to cover.
