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.
How to read this page
Section titled “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
Section titled “WP Engine products and add-ons”| Product | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Network | Supported | Required. Autoscale runs on Advanced Network or Global Edge Security. |
| Global Edge Security | Supported | Available as an alternative to Advanced Network. |
| Smart Search | Supported | |
| Advanced Custom Fields | Supported | Minor limitations apply. |
| WooCommerce | Supported | |
| Live Cart | Needs setup | Cannot be enabled from the User Portal. Contact WP Engine to have it installed and configured. |
| Stripe Connect | Needs setup | Cannot be enabled from the User Portal. Contact WP Engine to have it installed and configured. |
| Dynamic Plugin Loading | Needs setup | Cannot be enabled from the User Portal. Contact WP Engine to have it installed and configured. |
| New Relic | Supported | |
| NitroPack | Needs setup | Requires committing advanced-cache.php to your repository before deploying. See Install NitroPack on Autoscale. |
| Local | Needs setup | Use the Local and GitHub workflow. Local Connect cannot push or pull. |
| Site Monitoring | Not supported | Monitors can be created but alerts do not fire, so a failure can pass unnoticed. |
| Smart Plugin Manager | Not planned | Applies updates by writing to the filesystem. Manage plugin updates in your repository instead. |
| Evercache | Not planned | Autoscale does not run Varnish. Page caching happens at the Cloudflare edge. |
| Newsroom | Not supported | Installation writes to a read-only path, and there is no workaround today. |
| Slow Query Monitor | Not planned |
WordPress plugins from WP Engine
Section titled “WordPress plugins from WP Engine”| Plugin | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| WP Engine Site Migration | Supported | Transfers the database and the uploads directory only. Code comes from your repository. |
| Better Search Replace | Supported | |
| WP Offload Media (Lite and Pro) | Supported | |
| Faust.js | Supported | |
| WPGraphQL Content Blocks | Supported | |
| WP Migrate Lite | Not Supported | Partially works technically, but has significant limitations on Autoscale. Prefer the WP Engine Site Migration plugin. |
| WP Offload SES | Not supported | Cannot reach Amazon SES from an Autoscale environment. Use an SMTP-based email plugin or your provider’s API. |
Platform features
Section titled “Platform features”| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SSH and WP-CLI | Supported | Commands that write outside /wp-content/uploads/ fail. See WordPress on Autoscale. |
| 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 | Not planned | Use WP Offload Media (Lite or Pro) instead, which is supported and moves large media libraries to object storage. |
| Web Rules | 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
Section titled “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
Section titled “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
Section titled “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.
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.