--- title: Autoscale Compatibility description: Which WP Engine products, plugins, and platform features work on Autoscale, which need extra setup, and what to use instead. url: https://developers.wpengine.com/docs/managed-hosting-platform/autoscale/compatibility/ image: https://developers.wpengine.com/og/docs/managed-hosting-platform/autoscale/compatibility.png --- # Autoscale Compatibility Autoscale runs your code from a read-only image on interchangeable pods. Anything that expects to write files into a WordPress install, or expects a single long-lived server to connect to, behaves differently here. This page lists what that means for WP Engine products, WP Engine & 3rd-party plugins, and platform features. For why the platform works this way, see [WordPress on Autoscale](https://developers.wpengine.com/docs/managed-hosting-platform/autoscale/wordpress). ## How to read this page - **Supported**: Works on Autoscale with no special configuration. - **Needs setup**: Works, but requires configuration beyond a normal install. - **Not supported**: Does not work on Autoscale today. Support may be added later. - **Not planned**: Conflicts with how Autoscale is built, so it is not expected to be supported. Where an alternative exists, it is listed. This list covers products that have been tested. It is not a complete inventory of the WordPress ecosystem. If something you rely on is not listed, contact WP Engine Support before migrating. ## WP Engine products and add-ons | Product | Status | Notes | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [Advanced Network](https://wpengine.com/support/advanced-network/) | Supported | Required. Autoscale runs on Advanced Network or Global Edge Security. | | [Global Edge Security](https://wpengine.com/support/ges/) | Supported | Available as an alternative to Advanced Network. | | [Smart Search](https://developers.wpengine.com/docs/smart-search) | Supported | | | [Advanced Custom Fields](https://developers.wpengine.com/docs/advanced-custom-fields) | Supported | Minor limitations apply. | | [WooCommerce](https://wpengine.com/support/woocommerce/) | Supported | | | [Live Cart](https://wpengine.com/support/ecommerce-solution/#toc-live-cart-for-woocommerce) | Needs setup | Cannot be enabled from the User Portal. Contact WP Engine to have it installed and configured. | | [Stripe Connect](https://wpengine.com/support/ecommerce-solution/#toc-stripe-connect) | Needs setup | Cannot be enabled from the User Portal. Contact WP Engine to have it installed and configured. | | [Dynamic Plugin Loading](https://wpengine.com/support/ecommerce-solution/#toc-dynamic-plugin-loading) | Needs setup | Cannot be enabled from the User Portal. Contact WP Engine to have it installed and configured. | | [New Relic](https://wpengine.com/support/performance-monitoring-faq/) | Supported | | | [NitroPack](https://developers.wpengine.com/docs/nitropack) | Not supported | Testing and compatibility in the works, check back soon. | | [Local](https://developers.wpengine.com/docs/local) | Needs setup | Use the [Local and GitHub workflow](https://localwp.com/help-docs/advanced/developing-with-local-and-github/). Local Connect cannot push or pull. | | [Site Monitoring](https://wpengine.com/support/site-monitoring/) | Not supported | Monitors can be created but alerts do not fire, so a failure can pass unnoticed. | | [Smart Plugin Manager](https://wpengine.com/support/smart-plugin-manager/) | Not planned | Applies updates by writing to the filesystem. Manage plugin updates in your repository instead. | | [Evercache](https://wpengine.com/evercache/) | Not planned | Autoscale does not run Varnish. Page caching happens at the Cloudflare edge. | | [Newsroom](https://developers.wpengine.com/docs/newsroom) | Not supported | Installation writes to a read-only path, and there is no workaround today. | | [Slow Query Monitor](https://wpengine.com/support/performance-insights/#toc-slow-query-monitor) | Not planned | | ## WordPress plugins from WP Engine | Plugin | Status | Notes | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [WP Engine Site Migration](https://wpengine.com/support/wp-engine-site-migration/) | Supported | Transfers the database and the uploads directory only. Code comes from your repository. | | [Better Search Replace](https://bettersearchreplace.com/docs/) | Supported | | | [WP Offload Media (Lite and Pro)](https://deliciousbrains.com/wp-offload-media/docs/) | Supported | | | [Faust.js](https://faustjs.org/docs/) | Supported | | | [WPGraphQL Content Blocks](https://github.com/wpengine/wp-graphql-content-blocks) | Supported | | | [WP Migrate Lite](https://deliciousbrains.com/wp-migrate-db-pro/docs/) | Not supported | Partially works technically, but has significant limitations on Autoscale. Prefer the WP Engine Site Migration plugin. | | [WP Offload SES](https://deliciousbrains.com/wp-offload-ses/docs/) | Not supported | Cannot reach Amazon SES from an Autoscale environment. Use an SMTP-based email plugin or your provider’s API. | ## Platform features | Feature | Status | Notes | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [SSH](https://wpengine.com/support/how-autoscale-works/#toc-ssh-for-autoscale) and WP-CLI | Supported | Commands that write outside `/wp-content/uploads/` fail. See [WordPress on Autoscale](https://developers.wpengine.com/docs/managed-hosting-platform/autoscale/wordpress). | | Push and pull between environments | Supported | Moves the database and uploads. Code moves by branch through your pipeline. | | Backups | Supported | Covers the database, the uploads directory, and the deployed image. | | SFTP | Not planned | Use your repository for code and SSH for bulk file transfers. | | [LargeFS](https://wpengine.com/support/configuring-largefs-store-transfer-unlimited-data/) | Not planned | Use [WP Offload Media](https://deliciousbrains.com/wp-offload-media/docs/) (Lite or Pro) instead, which is supported and moves large media libraries to object storage. | | [Web Rules](https://wpengine.com/support/web-rules-engine/) | Supported | Redirects, access rules, and response header rules all work, and new environments get the default rule set. | | Custom Nginx rules | Not supported | Nginx configuration cannot be edited per environment. Use Web Rules for redirects, access rules, and headers. | | Legacy DNS network | Not planned | Autoscale requires Advanced Network or Global Edge Security. | | Transferring sites between accounts | Not supported | Not currently available for Autoscale accounts. | ## Third-party plugins Most third-party plugins work without changes. Plugins that read from disk and write to the database are unaffected, and that is the majority of the ecosystem. ### Known third-party issues Not every incompatibility comes from the filesystem. Testing has found the following. | Plugin | Status | Notes | | -------------------------------- | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Beaver Builder and Beaver Themer | Needs setup | Turn on **Settings > Beaver Builder > Advanced > Frontend > Render CSS/JS assets inline**. Left off, page loads are slow and stylesheets can be served empty. | ### Unsupported behaviors Plugins that expect to write files into the install need attention, and they usually fall into one of three groups. **Page caching plugins** write a drop-in file and generate static HTML inside `wp-content`. Autoscale caches pages at the Cloudflare edge, so most of these are redundant. **Backup plugins** write archives into the install directory. Autoscale backs up the database, the uploads directory, and the deployed image, which together restore the full state of the site. **Security scanners** quarantine files, write signature databases, or update themselves in place. All three depend on behavior the read-only filesystem prevents. > **Caution** > > Some plugins write a generated file into `/wp-content/uploads/` and read it back on the same request, most often to cache generated CSS or JavaScript. Nothing blocks that write, so the plugin appears to work. But uploads is shared network storage rather than local disk, so an operation that takes a fraction of a millisecond on a single server can take hundreds of milliseconds here, on every request. Multiple pods writing the same file also overwrite each other, and the file is briefly missing while it is being rewritten, which shows up as a page served without its styles. > > Most plugins that do this offer a setting to render the generated assets inline instead of writing them to a file. Turning it on removes the file step and the problem with it. If you are unsure about a specific plugin, there are two questions to ask. Does it write outside `/wp-content/uploads/`? If so, it needs configuration or a replacement. Does it write files into uploads while serving a page? If so, look for a setting that avoids the write. > #### Related Content > > - [WordPress on Autoscale](https://developers.wpengine.com/docs/managed-hosting-platform/autoscale/wordpress) > - [Autoscale Architecture](https://developers.wpengine.com/docs/managed-hosting-platform/autoscale/architecture) > - [Autoscale Overview](https://developers.wpengine.com/docs/managed-hosting-platform/autoscale) ## Was this helpful? Thanks for the feedback! ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://developers.wpengine.com/#website","name":"WP Engine Product Documentation","url":"https://developers.wpengine.com/","description":"Resources for developing, deploying, and scaling on WP Engine.","inLanguage":"en-US","keywords":["API documentation","product documentation","headless WordPress","managed WordPress hosting"],"publisher":{"@id":"https://wpengine.com/#organization"}}]} ```