Create and restore PostgreSQL backups

Backup

To back up only the database, create a dump file using the pg_dump tool.

$ pg_dump -U postgres DATABASE_NAME > backup.sql

This operation could take some time depending on the database size.

NOTE: The steps previously described will only back up the data contained inside your databases. There may be other files that you should take into account when performing a full backup, such as files that may have been uploaded to your application. Refer to your application’s documentation for more details.

Restore

Once you have the backup file, you can restore it with a command like the one below:

$ psql -U postgres DATABASE_NAME < backup.sql

If you want to restore the database and the database schema does not exist, it is necessary to first follow the steps described below. As a side note, the value for the BITNAMI_USER_PASSWORD placeholder is included in the application credentials or, if the credentials were defined by the user, it is the same as the application password.

$ psql -U postgres
drop database DATABASE_NAME;
create database DATABASE_NAME;
create user USER_NAME;
alter role USER_NAME with password 'BITNAMI_USER_PASSWORD';
grant all privileges on database DATABASE_NAME to USER_NAME;
alter database DATABASE_NAME owner to USER_NAME;
$ psql -U postgres DATABASE_NAME < backup.sql