How to change the WordPress auto-save interval

This article describes how to change the auto-save interval in WordPress.

About the WordPress auto-save feature

The WordPress auto-save feature periodically saves a draft of your post as you edit it. By default, WordPress saves a draft every 60 seconds.

However, there are situations where you may want to change this interval. For example, if you have a slow internet connection, you may want to increase the interval so your browser does not “hang” as frequently when WordPress saves a draft. Alternatively, if you want to minimize the chances of losing edits to a post, you can decrease the auto-save interval so WordPress saves them more frequently.

Changing the auto-save interval

To change the length of time that WordPress waits between automatically saving drafts, follow these steps:

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. In the Files section of the cPanel home screen, click File Manager.
3. Navigate to the directory where WordPress is installed.
   Typically, WordPress is installed in the public_html (document root) directory. However, if you installed WordPress in a subdirectory, navigate to that directory instead.
4. Right-click the wp-config.php file, and then click Edit.
5. Add the following line to the wp-config.php file. Replace X with the number of seconds you want WordPress to wait between saving drafts:

   define( 'AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL', X );

   Make sure the auto-save line above comes before the following line in the wp-config.php file, or else the setting has no effect:

   require_once(ABSPATH . 'wp-settings.php');

6. Click Save Changes.