How to block WP Time Capsule
Operated by WP Time Capsule. Our plugin WPTimeCapsule is installed in more 30000 WordPress sites. When our backup servers send requests to trigger the backup on the WordPress sites, it is being blocked
How it identifies itself
WP Time Capsule API/1.0 ( https://cron.wptimecapsule.com/; https://service.wptimecapsule.com/ )
nginx
In the server block, then reload.
# In the server block. 403 rather than 444: a closed connection tells the
# operator nothing, and an agent that gets a status code can log it.
if ($http_user_agent ~* "(WP Time Capsule API/)") {
return 403;
}
Apache
In .htaccess or the vhost.
BrowserMatchNoCase "WP Time Capsule API/" bad_bot
<RequireAll>
Require all granted
Require not env bad_bot
</RequireAll>
Cloudflare
Security → WAF → Custom rules.
# Security → WAF → Custom rules, action: Block (http.user_agent contains "WP Time Capsule API/")
WordPress
A child theme's functions.php, or a small plugin.
// functions.php of a child theme, or a small plugin. Runs before WordPress
// builds the page, so a blocked agent costs one PHP process and no queries.
add_action('init', function () {
$agent = $_SERVER['HTTP_USER_AGENT'] ?? '';
foreach (['WP Time Capsule API/'] as $needle) {
if (stripos($agent, $needle) !== false) {
status_header(403);
exit('Blocked: WP Time Capsule');
}
}
});
A rule on the user agent is a rule on a string it chose
The server rules match on a header the requester sets, which stops the agent that says who it is and not the one that copies somebody else's name. Botscope verifies identity against DNS and published address ranges, records which check decided each request, and shows you the ones that lied.