Change WordPress Auto-Save Interval

Yes, WordPress autosaves your work. While you edit a post with unsaved changes, it saves a copy every 60 seconds by default, in both the block editor and the classic editor. If the browser crashes or the connection drops, you can restore that copy.

The AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL constant controls how often that happens. Raise it for fewer saves to the server, or lower it if losing even a minute of writing is too much.

Change the Autosave Interval

Add this line to wp-config.php, above the /* That's all, stop editing! */ line. The value is in seconds.

define( 'AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL', 120 );

This example saves every 2 minutes. It has to go above that line because WordPress sets its own default of 60 seconds right after, but only if the constant isn’t already defined.

How Autosave Works in Each Editor

Both editors read the same constant, but they send the autosave differently.

• Block editor: passes AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL to the editor settings and saves through the REST API autosaves endpoint.
• Classic editor: sends autosaves with the Heartbeat API. If you disable Heartbeat on the post edit screen to reduce server load, classic autosave stops too.

The block editor also keeps a backup in the browser’s sessionStorage every 15 seconds. That local copy is separate from AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL and never reaches the server.

Autosaves vs Revisions

An autosave isn’t a regular revision, and the rules depend on the post status and who is editing.

• Your own draft: the autosave overwrites the draft itself. No extra row is created.
• A published post, or another user’s draft: the autosave is stored in wp_posts as a revision named {post_ID}-autosave-v1. There is one per user per post, overwritten on each save.

When WordPress trims old revisions down to the WP_POST_REVISIONS limit, it never deletes autosaves. Setting WP_POST_REVISIONS to false doesn’t turn autosave off either.

Since there is at most one autosave per user per post, a longer interval barely affects database size. To control revision growth, limit the number of post revisions or disable post revisions instead.

Choosing a Value

The default of 60 seconds suits most sites. A few cases justify changing it:

• Several editors working at once on shared hosting: 120 to 300 seconds means fewer autosave writes. In the classic editor, Heartbeat requests continue on their own schedule.
• Long-form writing where every paragraph matters: 30 seconds. Each autosave replaces the previous one, so the database doesn’t grow.

For other constants worth setting in the same file, see Optimize WordPress Configuration via wp-config.php.

FAQs

Common questions about WordPress autosave: