How to Zip an Azure Website
azure, azure-web-app-service, backup, ftp, zip
Solution
Use the Kudu Console. To access it, simply go to {yoursite}.scm.azurewebsites.net. You will then be prompted for your login credentials for your Microsoft Azure Account. Once logged in, click on 'Debug Console' at the top of the web page.
Within the UI, Next to each file and folder, there is a Down Arrow icon that lets you download the item.
For files, it directly downloads the file by navigating to it.
For directories, it downloads a zip file containing the full content of the folder.
Detailed instructions can be found here: https://github.com/projectkudu/kudu/wiki/Kudu-console
Problem
I have a WordPress installation on an Azure Website (not a WebRole). I have FTP access to the site but it literally can take like an hour, which is insane because if I could just ZIP the thousands of files on the site (due to all the plugins, etc) it might take 5 seconds to run the zip. Downloading that then would be far more reliable, as its just 1 file, not 10,000 that could get messed in transfer. Traditional hosters allow you to get on their control panel and zip folders, for instance, but FTP doesn't allow this. So can I do this on an Azure website, any way, shape or how??? I've looked a bit into SFTP which seems to have some such capabilities but it doesn't seem to be implemented in Azure websites. What can I do, this whole work flow is despisable, I can't live with it, it discourages backups. This encourages one to go to a traditional shared host but I would rather not if possible.