diff --git a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/BackupEngine.php b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/BackupEngine.php
index 5f7950c..9550b97 100644
--- a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/BackupEngine.php
+++ b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/BackupEngine.php
@@ -166,13 +166,13 @@ class BackupEngine
 						continue;
 					}
 
-					// Sanitize configuration.php — replace credentials with
-					// placeholders so backups are safe to store or transfer.
-					// MokoRestore prompts for these values during restore.
+					// Store configuration.php as .bak with credentials stripped.
+					// The restore process rebuilds a fresh configuration.php
+					// from user input + non-sensitive values from the .bak.
 					if ($relativePath === 'configuration.php') {
 						$sanitized = self::sanitizeConfiguration($fullPath);
-						$archiver->addFromString($relativePath, $sanitized);
-						$this->log('configuration.php sanitized (credentials replaced with placeholders)');
+						$archiver->addFromString('configuration.php.bak', $sanitized);
+						$this->log('configuration.php saved as .bak (credentials stripped)');
 					} else {
 						$archiver->addFile($fullPath, $relativePath);
 					}
diff --git a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/FileRestorer.php b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/FileRestorer.php
index 57e99d4..5ffbbc3 100644
--- a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/FileRestorer.php
+++ b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/FileRestorer.php
@@ -22,10 +22,11 @@ class FileRestorer
 
 	/**
 	 * Files that should never be overwritten during restore.
-	 * configuration.php is handled separately by the RestoreEngine.
+	 * configuration.php is rebuilt from .bak + user input by RestoreEngine.
 	 */
 	private const SKIP_FILES = [
 		'configuration.php',
+		'configuration.php.bak',
 		'.htaccess',
 		'web.config',
 	];
diff --git a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/MokoRestore.php b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/MokoRestore.php
index 044b931..44809cb 100644
--- a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/MokoRestore.php
+++ b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/MokoRestore.php
@@ -258,10 +258,14 @@ function actionExtract(array $data): array
     $count = $zip->numFiles;
     $zip->close();
 
-    // Try to read existing configuration.php for pre-filling.
-    // Sanitized backups contain [SANITIZED:field] placeholders — skip those.
+    // Pre-fill from configuration.php.bak (sanitized backup) or
+    // configuration.php (legacy/unsanitized backup). Skip [SANITIZED:] values.
     $existingConfig = [];
-    $configFile = RESTORE_DIR . '/configuration.php';
+    $configFile = RESTORE_DIR . '/configuration.php.bak';
+
+    if (!is_file($configFile)) {
+        $configFile = RESTORE_DIR . '/configuration.php';
+    }
 
     if (is_file($configFile)) {
         $content = file_get_contents($configFile);
@@ -278,7 +282,6 @@ function actionExtract(array $data): array
 
         foreach ($fieldMap as $phpField => $configKey) {
             if (preg_match('/\$' . preg_quote($phpField, '/') . '\s*=\s*\'([^\']*)\'/', $content, $m)) {
-                // Skip sanitized placeholder values
                 if (strpos($m[1], '[SANITIZED:') === false) {
                     $existingConfig[$configKey] = $m[1];
                 }
@@ -396,12 +399,18 @@ function actionConfig(array $data): array
     $tmpPath  = RESTORE_DIR . '/tmp';
     $logPath  = RESTORE_DIR . '/administrator/logs';
 
-    $configFile = RESTORE_DIR . '/configuration.php';
+    $configPath = RESTORE_DIR . '/configuration.php';
+    $bakPath    = RESTORE_DIR . '/configuration.php.bak';
 
-    if (is_file($configFile)) {
-        // Update existing configuration.php
-        $config = file_get_contents($configFile);
+    // Use .bak as the base template (preserves non-sensitive settings like
+    // debug, cache, SEF, editor, etc.). Fall back to existing config
+    // for legacy/unsanitized backups, or build from scratch if neither exists.
+    $basePath = is_file($bakPath) ? $bakPath : (is_file($configPath) ? $configPath : null);
 
+    if ($basePath !== null) {
+        $config = file_get_contents($basePath);
+
+        // Replace all credential and server-specific fields with user input
         $replacements = [
             '/\$host\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'     => "\$host = '{$host}'",
             '/\$db\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'       => "\$db = '{$dbName}'",
@@ -418,24 +427,32 @@ function actionConfig(array $data): array
             $replacements['/\$live_site\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$live_site = '{$livesite}'";
         }
 
-        // Replace SMTP credentials (only if provided — leave existing values if blank)
-        if ($smtpHost !== '') {
-            $replacements['/\$smtphost\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$smtphost = '{$smtpHost}'";
-        }
-        if ($smtpUser !== '') {
-            $replacements['/\$smtpuser\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$smtpuser = '" . addcslashes($smtpUser, "'\\") . "'";
-        }
-        if ($smtpPass !== '') {
-            $replacements['/\$smtppass\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$smtppass = '" . addcslashes($smtpPass, "'\\") . "'";
-        }
+        // SMTP — always replace (clears sanitized placeholders even if blank)
+        $replacements['/\$smtphost\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$smtphost = '" . addcslashes($smtpHost, "'\\") . "'";
+        $replacements['/\$smtpuser\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$smtpuser = '" . addcslashes($smtpUser, "'\\") . "'";
+        $replacements['/\$smtppass\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$smtppass = '" . addcslashes($smtpPass, "'\\") . "'";
+
+        // Clear remaining sanitized placeholders (proxy, Redis, DB TLS)
+        $replacements['/\$proxy_user\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$proxy_user = ''";
+        $replacements['/\$proxy_pass\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$proxy_pass = ''";
+        $replacements['/\$redis_server_auth\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$redis_server_auth = ''";
+        $replacements['/\$session_redis_server_auth\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$session_redis_server_auth = ''";
+        $replacements['/\$dbsslkey\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$dbsslkey = ''";
+        $replacements['/\$dbsslcert\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$dbsslcert = ''";
+        $replacements['/\$dbsslca\s*=\s*\'[^\']*\'/'] = "\$dbsslca = ''";
 
         foreach ($replacements as $pattern => $replacement) {
             $config = preg_replace($pattern, $replacement, $config);
         }
 
-        file_put_contents($configFile, $config);
+        file_put_contents($configPath, $config);
 
-        return ['success' => true, 'message' => 'configuration.php updated with new settings and fresh secret'];
+        // Remove .bak after successful rebuild
+        if (is_file($bakPath)) {
+            @unlink($bakPath);
+        }
+
+        return ['success' => true, 'message' => 'Joomla configuration rebuilt with fresh credentials and secret'];
     }
 
     // Create new configuration.php from scratch
diff --git a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/SteppedBackupEngine.php b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/SteppedBackupEngine.php
index 2470708..819285d 100644
--- a/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/SteppedBackupEngine.php
+++ b/source/packages/com_mokosuitebackup/src/Engine/SteppedBackupEngine.php
@@ -281,10 +281,10 @@ class SteppedBackupEngine
 				continue;
 			}
 
-			// Sanitize Joomla config — replace credentials with placeholders
+			// Store config as .bak with credentials stripped — restore rebuilds it
 			if (basename($relativePath) === 'configuration.php' && dirname($relativePath) === '.') {
 				$sanitized = BackupEngine::sanitizeConfiguration($fullPath);
-				$zip->addFromString($relativePath, $sanitized);
+				$zip->addFromString('configuration.php.bak', $sanitized);
 			} else {
 				$zip->addFile($fullPath, $relativePath);
 			}