Backing Up and Migrating Chat Data
Your conversations live in custom database tables – not in WordPress posts. That’s what makes the chat fast, but it has one consequence you should know about before you migrate, restore, or clean up your site: tools that only handle “content” will not carry your chat history with them.
Where the data lives
Super Speedy Chat stores everything in seven custom tables (with your site’s table prefix, usually wp_):
| Table | Contains |
|---|---|
wp_ssc_conversations | One row per conversation: status, visitor info (name, email, IP, user agent), assignment, timestamps. |
wp_ssc_participants | Who’s in each conversation (visitor, admins, bot) and their display names. |
wp_ssc_messages | Every message. |
wp_ssc_canned_responses | Your saved canned responses. |
wp_ssc_discord_threads | The mapping between conversations and Discord threads. |
wp_ssc_whatsapp_threads | The mapping between conversations and WhatsApp chats. |
wp_ssc_whatsapp_msg_map | Maps WhatsApp message IDs to conversations for reply routing. |
Settings live in three options in the standard wp_options table: ssc_options (all plugin settings), ssc_customizer (appearance), and ssc_db_version. Your license key is stored separately in superspeedy_options (shared by all Super Speedy plugins).
What’s safe and what isn’t
✅ Full-database backups carry everything. Anything that dumps the whole database – your host’s backup, mysqldump, or backup plugins in full-database mode – includes the ssc_* tables automatically, because they’re ordinary tables in the same database.
⚠️ Content exports do NOT include chat. The built-in WordPress export (Tools > Export / WXR files) only covers posts, pages and other post types – chat history, canned responses and settings are not in it. The same goes for any migration plugin configured to copy “content only” or a hand-picked list of core tables.
⚠️ Deleting the plugin erases everything. Deactivating Super Speedy Chat keeps all data. But clicking Delete on the Plugins screen runs the uninstaller, which drops its tables and removes the settings. If there’s any chance you’ll want the history later, back up first.
Assuming a WordPress content export (WXR) carries your chat is the classic trap. Because conversations live in their own tables and not in posts, a “content only” migration lands you on the new site with the plugin installed but every conversation gone. Always move the whole database, or select the ssc_* tables explicitly.
Backing up just the chat tables
A targeted dump of the chat tables (adjust the prefix and credentials):
mysqldump -u DB_USER -p DB_NAME \
wp_ssc_conversations wp_ssc_participants wp_ssc_messages \
wp_ssc_canned_responses wp_ssc_discord_threads wp_ssc_whatsapp_threads wp_ssc_whatsapp_msg_map \
> ssc-chat-backup.sqlRestore with:
mysql -u DB_USER -p DB_NAME < ssc-chat-backup.sqlMigrating to a new site or host
- Use a full-database migration (or include the
ssc_*tables explicitly if your tool lets you pick tables). All-in-one migration plugins that copy the entire database are fine. - Copy the plugin as part of your files, or reinstall and re-activate it on the new site – activation recreates the speed-boosting Ultra Ajax mu-plugin (
wp-content/mu-plugins/ssc-fast-ajax.php) automatically, so you don’t need to copymu-pluginsby hand. - Re-enter or verify your license on the new domain under the Super Speedy menu (licenses are checked per-domain – see Installing Your License, Activation and Updates).
- If you use Discord, update the companion bot’s configuration if your site URL changed, since it posts back to your site’s REST endpoint.
Two small notes on visitor continuity: visitor identity is a cookie tied to your domain, so on the same domain returning visitors resume their conversations after a migration; if the domain changes, visitors start fresh conversations (history is still in your admin). Messages are stored as plain text, so search-replace tools used during migration won’t corrupt them.
Cleaning up old conversations
There’s currently no built-in auto-purge. If you want to trim old closed conversations for GDPR or housekeeping reasons, see the retention section of the Privacy and Data Handling guide before deleting rows by hand – conversations, participants and messages reference each other by ID.
Take a targeted dump of the ssc_* tables (the mysqldump above) immediately before any hand-deletion or plugin delete. Restoring one small .sql file is trivial; reconstructing conversations from a full-site backup you took for another reason is not.
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