Backup failure with v. 5.6.6

  • Resolved tslarkin

    (@tslarkin)


    1 month ago

    On March 27 I updated BackWPup to version 5.6.6. On March 27 the scheduled backup failed for the first time in four years, logging the error “WARNING: File name cannot be empty.” This error message was misleading.

    I executed another backup with a detailed debug log. The tail of the log read

    [28-Mar-2026 11:50:30] Archiving Folder: …/wp-content/uploads/members/
    [28-Mar-2026 11:50:31] WARNING: File name cannot be empty.
    [28-Mar-2026 11:50:31] ERROR: Cannot create backup archive correctly. Aborting creation.

    I looked in the folder. There were no empty file names. However, there were several file names with apostrophes, for instance, AK-andrea\’s-portrait.jpg. Once I removed the apostrophes, the backup executed successfully.

    I conclude that version 5.6.6 introduced a bug which caused a failure backing up files with names that included apostrophes that had successfully been backed up for years.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
  • Plugin Support Saransh

    (@saranshwpm)

    1 month ago

    Hi @tslarkin,

    Thank you for reporting this and for sharing the detailed findings, this is really helpful.

    I appreciate you taking the time to narrow it down to filenames with apostrophes, that gives us a clear direction to look into.

    I’ll check this internally with our team and get back to you as soon as I have more information.

    Thanks again for your help and patience.

    Best regards,

    Plugin Support markonikolic

    (@markonikolic)

    3 weeks, 6 days ago

    Hi @tslarkin ,

    Thank you once again for the detailed report as it was very helpful in identifying the issue!

    We’ve confirmed the issue on our end as well. Files with apostrophes in their names cause backups to fail with the “File name cannot be empty” warning in v5.6.6 and v5.6.7.

    Interestingly, versions prior to v5.6.6 didn’t error out, but silently skipped the entire folder containing the problematic file.

    It would be great if you could check your previous backups and confirm if folders that contain problematic files were included in the backup?

    We’re actively working on a fix. In the meantime, the workaround is to rename any files containing apostrophes.

    Best Regards

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

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