1. Installation & Updates

Installation (First Time Setup)

1. Download the plugin.
2. Navigate to your WordPress Admin Dashboard.
3. Go to Plugins > Add New.
4. Click Upload Plugin.
5. Choose the WP_Optimal_State_PRO_X-X-X.zip file and click Install Now.
6. Once installed, click Activate Plugin.
7. The plugin will automatically create required directories and settings files.
8. Look for "Optimal State" in your admin menu.

Upgrading from FREE to PRO Version

1. In the plugin interface, go to Section 1 and download your database backups (they download as .sql.gz files).
2. Go to Section 9 (Settings Export & Import) and click Export Settings to download your .json settings file.
3. Go to Plugins > Add Plugin, then Upload Plugin.
4. Choose WP_Optimal_State_PRO_X-X-X.zip and click Install Now.
5. Click Replace current with uploaded when prompted.
6. Visit the plugin admin panel to confirm backups and settings are intact.
7. If settings weren't preserved, go to Section 9 and import the .json file from step 2.

Updating the PRO Version

Option 1: Via Dashboard (Recommended)

1. Download your database backups from Section 1.
2. Export settings from Section 9 (.json file).
3. Go to Plugins > Add Plugin > Upload Plugin.
4. Choose the new version ZIP file and click Install Now.
5. Click Replace current with uploaded.
6. Verify backups and settings are intact. If not, import the .json file.

Option 2: Via FTP

1. Unzip the new plugin ZIP file on your computer to get the optistate folder.
2. Open your FTP client and navigate to wp-content/plugins/.
3. Upload the optistate folder, choosing to replace/overwrite existing files.
4. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and verify the new version number.
5. Confirm backups and settings are intact in the plugin interface.

2. Core Engine Architecture

WP Optimal State PRO utilizes a custom Asynchronous Process Manager to handle resource-intensive tasks without timing out.

• Process Store: The plugin creates a custom table {prefix}optistate_processes to persist the state of long-running operations (like backups or restores). This allows tasks to span across multiple PHP requests.
• Chunked Execution: Large tasks are broken down into small "chunks." The worker logic (e.g., run_manual_backup_chunk_worker) processes a batch of rows or tables, saves the state, and schedules the next chunk via WordPress Cron (wp_schedule_single_event).
• Adaptive Resource Usage: The engine dynamically adjusts batch sizes based on PHP memory_limit and execution time to prevent server crashes.

3. Database Backup Logic

Backups are performed using a high-performance PHP streaming method that ensures compatibility across shared hosting environments where mysqldump or SELECT INTO OUTFILE might be restricted.

Backup Methodology:

• Real-Time Gzip: Data is streamed directly through gzopen/gzwrite, creating .sql.gz files on the fly. This minimizes disk I/O and storage usage.
• Metadata Tracking: File details (size, timestamp, database name) are stored in the {prefix}optistate_backup_metadata table to verify integrity later.
• Retention Policy: The "Max Backups" setting is enforced automatically. When the limit is reached, the oldest files and their metadata are pruned.
• Exclusions: The plugin automatically excludes its own process tables and temporary restore tables (optistate_old_...) to prevent backup bloat.

4. Atomic Restore & Safety Protocol

Restoring a database is a critical operation. WP Optimal State PRO uses a "Verify, Import, Swap" methodology to ensure zero data loss if a failure occurs.

The Restoration Flow:

1. Safety Backup: Before any changes are made, a "SAFETY-RESTORE" backup of the live site is automatically created.
2. Shadow Import: The backup file is imported into temporary tables (prefixed with optistate_temp_). The live site remains fully functional during this phase.
3. Validation: The engine verifies that critical tables (_posts, _users, _options) exist and contain data in the temporary set.
4. Atomic Swap: Using the SQL RENAME TABLE command, live tables are instantly swapped with the temporary tables. The old live tables are renamed to optistate_old_....
5. Instant Rollback: If an error occurs during the swap, the engine attempts to immediately rename the optistate_old_ tables back to live status.

5. Database Optimization Engine

The optimization suite goes beyond simple cleanup, focusing on structural health and query performance.

Cleaning Operations:

Safe batch deletions are performed for:

• Revisions & Drafts: Cleans old post revisions and auto-drafts.
• Transient Options: Removes expired _transient_ entries from the options table.
• Orphaned Data: Identifies and removes PostMeta, CommentMeta, and Term Relationships where the parent ID no longer exists.
• Spam & Trash: Clears spam comments and trashed items.

Table & Autoload Optimization:

• Defragmentation: Runs OPTIMIZE TABLE to reclaim "Data Free" (overhead) space in InnoDB/MyISAM tables.
• Autoload Manager: Scans for large options loaded on every page (autoload='yes'). It intelligently disables autoload for heavy, non-essential data (like old plugin logs) to reduce Time To First Byte (TTFB).
• WP-CLI Support: If detected, optimizations run via native MySQL commands for greater speed.

6. Server-Side Page Caching

The caching engine generates static HTML files stored in /wp-content/uploads/optistate/page-cache/. Requests are served via PHP bypass logic hooked into muplugins_loaded or early `plugins_loaded`.

Smart Features:

• Cache Preloading: Parses your XML sitemap (from Yoast, RankMath, etc.) and warms up the cache in the background.
• Cookie Banner Detection: Intelligently serves fresh pages to users who haven't accepted cookies, or serves cached pages if a known consent cookie (e.g., cookieyes-consent) is present.
• Mobile Caching: Optionally creates separate cache files for mobile user agents to support mobile-specific themes.
• Intelligent Purge: Automatically clears cache for:
  • The updated post/page.
  • The homepage and blog feed.
  • Associated category and tag archives.

7. Performance & Hardening Features

Fine-tune WordPress behavior to reduce server load and "noise".

Available Toggles:

• Heartbeat API: Modify the interval to 120s or disable it entirely to reduce CPU usage on the admin dashboard.
• Post Revisions: Limit the number of revisions stored (e.g., keep last 5) via dynamic WP_POST_REVISIONS definition handling.
• Auto-Empty Trash: Change the default 30-day retention for trash items.
• XML-RPC: Completely disable XML-RPC to prevent brute-force attacks and pingback spam.
• Disable Emojis: Removes the wp-emoji-release.min.js script to save bandwidth.
• Header Cleanup: Removes wlwmanifest, rsd_link, shortlink, and WP Version tags to reduce page weight and obscure WP version info.

8. Security Mechanisms

Security is built into every layer of the plugin's operation.

• Restore Firewall: Uploaded SQL files are scanned for malicious patterns (e.g., eval(), base64_decode(), <?php) before processing. This prevents SQL injection via backup files.
• File Protection: All storage directories (backups, logs, cache, temp) are secured with .htaccess rules blocking PHP execution and directory browsing.
• User Access Control: You can restrict plugin access to specific Administrator accounts to prevent unauthorized usage.
• Capability Checks: All AJAX actions are protected by Nonces and manage_options capability checks.

9. Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues during backup or restore operations:

• Check Permissions: Ensure /wp-content/uploads/ is writable (chmod 755).
• Loopback Requests: The background processor relies on WP Cron. Ensure your site can make HTTP requests to itself (check for Basic Auth or firewall blocks).
• Memory Limit: For very large sites (>1GB DB), consider increasing PHP `memory_limit` to 256MB or higher in your wp-config.php.
• Nginx Users: Since .htaccess is not supported, manual configuration is required for Browser Caching features.

10. Free vs. Pro Version

Detailed comparison of the free versus pro plugin versions.