Restore Command (restore)

Source: pgBackRest Command Docs: restore

The restore command automatically defaults to selecting the latest backup from the first repository where backups exist (see Quick Start - Restore a Backup). The order in which the repositories are checked is dictated by the pgbackrest.conf (e.g. repo1 will be checked before repo2). To select from a specific repository, the --repo option can be passed (e.g. --repo=1). The --set option can be passed if a backup other than the latest is desired.

When PITR of --type=time or --type=lsn is specified, then the target time or target lsn must be specified with the --target option. If a backup is not specified via the --set option, then the configured repositories will be checked, in order, for a backup that contains the requested time or lsn. If no matching backup is found, the latest backup from the first repository containing backups will be used for --type=time while no backup will be selected for --type=lsn. For other types of PITR, e.g. xid, the --set option must be provided if the target is prior to the latest backup. See Point-in-Time Recovery for more details and examples.

Replication slots are not included per recommendation of PostgreSQL. See Backing Up The Data Directory in the PostgreSQL documentation for more information.

Command Options

Archive Mode Option (--archive-mode)

Preserve or disable archiving on restored cluster.

This option allows archiving to be preserved or disabled on a restored cluster. This is useful when the cluster must be promoted to do some work but is not intended to become the new primary. In this case it is not a good idea to push WAL from the cluster into the repository.

The following modes are supported:

• off - disable archiving by setting archive_mode=off.
• preserve - preserve current archive_mode setting.

NOTE: This option is not available on PostgreSQL < 12.

default: preserve
example: --archive-mode=off

Exclude Database Option (--db-exclude)

Restore excluding the specified databases.

Databases excluded will be restored as sparse, zeroed files to save space but still allow PostgreSQL to perform recovery. After recovery, those databases will not be accessible but can be removed with the drop database command. The --db-exclude option can be passed multiple times to specify more than one database to exclude.

When used in combination with the --db-include option, --db-exclude will only apply to standard system databases (template0, template1, and postgres).

example: --db-exclude=db_main

Include Database Option (--db-include)

Restore only specified databases.

This feature allows only selected databases to be restored. Databases not specifically included will be restored as sparse, zeroed files to save space but still allow PostgreSQL to perform recovery. After recovery, the databases that were not included will not be accessible but can be removed with the drop database command.

NOTE: built-in databases (template0, template1, and postgres) are always restored unless specifically excluded.

The --db-include option can be passed multiple times to specify more than one database to include.

See Restore Selected Databases for additional information and caveats.

example: --db-include=db_main

Force Option (--force)

Force a restore.

By itself this option forces the PostgreSQL data and tablespace paths to be completely overwritten. In combination with --delta a timestamp/size delta will be performed instead of using checksums.

default: n
example: --force

Link All Option (--link-all)

Restore all symlinks.

By default symlinked directories and files are restored as normal directories and files in $PGDATA. This is because it may not be safe to restore symlinks to their original destinations on a system other than where the original backup was performed. This option restores all the symlinks just as they were on the original system where the backup was performed.

default: n
example: --link-all

Link Map Option (--link-map)

Modify the destination of a symlink.

Allows the destination file or path of a symlink to be changed on restore. This is useful for restoring to systems that have a different storage layout than the original system where the backup was generated.

example: --link-map=pg_xlog=/data/xlog

Recovery Option Option (--recovery-option)

Set an option in postgresql.auto.conf or recovery.conf.

See Server Configuration for details on postgresql.auto.conf or recovery.conf options (be sure to select your PostgreSQL version). This option can be used multiple times.

For PostgreSQL >= 12, options will be written into postgresql.auto.conf. For all other versions, options will be written into recovery.conf.

NOTE: The restore_command option will be automatically generated but can be overridden with this option. Be careful about specifying your own restore_command as pgBackRest is designed to handle this for you. Target Recovery options (recovery_target_name, recovery_target_time, etc.) are generated automatically by pgBackRest and should not be set with this option.

Since pgBackRest does not start PostgreSQL after writing the postgresql.auto.conf or recovery.conf file, it is always possible to edit/check postgresql.auto.conf or recovery.conf before manually restarting.

example: --recovery-option=primary_conninfo=db.mydomain.com

Set Option (--set)

Backup set to restore.

The backup set to be restored. latest will restore the latest backup, otherwise provide the name of the backup to restore.

default: latest
example: --set=20150131-153358F_20150131-153401I

Tablespace Map Option (--tablespace-map)

Restore a tablespace into the specified directory.

Moves a tablespace to a new location during the restore. This is useful when tablespace locations are not the same on a replica, or an upgraded system has different mount points.

Tablespace locations are not stored in pg_tablespace so moving tablespaces can be done with impunity. However, moving a tablespace to the data_directory is not recommended and may cause problems. For more information on moving tablespaces http://www.databasesoup.com/2013/11/moving-tablespaces.html is a good resource.

example: --tablespace-map=ts_01=/db/ts_01

Map All Tablespaces Option (--tablespace-map-all)

Restore all tablespaces into the specified directory.

Tablespaces are restored into their original locations by default. This behavior can be modified for each tablespace with the tablespace-map option, but it is sometimes preferable to remap all tablespaces to a new directory all at once. This is particularly useful for development or staging systems that may not have the same storage layout as the original system where the backup was generated.

The path specified will be the parent path used to create all the tablespaces in the backup.

CAUTION:

Tablespaces created after the backup started will not be mapped. Make a new backup after a tablespace is created if tablespace mapping is required.

example: --tablespace-map-all=/data/tablespace

Target Option (--target)

Recovery target.

Defines the recovery target when --type is lsn, name, xid, or time. If the target is prior to the latest backup and --type is not time or lsn, then use the --set option to specify the backup set.

example: --target=2015-01-30 14:15:11 EST

Target Action Option (--target-action)

Action to take when recovery target is reached.

When hot_standby=on, the default since PostgreSQL 10, this option consistently controls what the cluster does when the target is reached or there is no more WAL in the archive.

When hot_standby=off in PostgreSQL >= 12, pause acts like shutdown. When hot_standby=off in PostgreSQL < 12, pause acts like promote.

The following actions are supported:

• pause - pause when recovery target is reached.
• promote - promote and switch timeline when recovery target is reached.
• shutdown - shutdown server when recovery target is reached. (PostgreSQL >= 9.5)

default: pause
example: --target-action=promote

Target Exclusive Option (--target-exclusive)

Stop just before the recovery target is reached.

Defines whether recovery to the target would be exclusive (the default is inclusive) and is only valid when --type is lsn, time or xid. For example, using --target-exclusive would exclude the contents of transaction 1007 when --type=xid and --target=1007. See the recovery_target_inclusive option in the PostgreSQL docs for more information.

default: n
example: --no-target-exclusive

Target Timeline Option (--target-timeline)

Recover along a timeline.

See recovery_target_timeline in the PostgreSQL docs for more information.

example: --target-timeline=3

Type Option (--type)

Recovery type.

The following recovery types are supported:

• default - recover to the end of the archive stream.
• immediate - recover only until the database becomes consistent.
• lsn - recover to the LSN (Log Sequence Number) specified in --target. This option is only supported on PostgreSQL >= 10.
• name - recover the restore point specified in --target.
• xid - recover to the transaction id specified in --target.
• time - recover to the time specified in --target.
• preserve - preserve the existing postgresql.auto.conf or recovery.conf file.
• standby - add standby_mode=on to the postgresql.auto.conf or recovery.conf file so cluster will start in standby mode.
• none - no postgresql.auto.conf or recovery.conf file is written so PostgreSQL will attempt to achieve consistency using WAL segments present in pg_xlog/pg_wal. Provide the required WAL segments or use the archive-copy setting to include them with the backup.

WARNING:

Recovery type=none should be avoided because the timeline will not be incremented at the end of recovery. This can lead to, for example, PostgreSQL attempting to archive duplicate WAL, which will be rejected, and may cause the disk to fill up and result in a PostgreSQL panic. In addition, tools like pg_rewind may not work correctly or may cause corruption.

Note that the default restore type for offline backups is none since Point-in-Time-Recovery is not possible if wal_level=minimal. If type is set explicitly then it will be honored since Point-in-Time-Recovery is possible from offline backups as long as wal_level > minimal.

default: default
example: --type=xid

General Options

Buffer Size Option (--buffer-size)

Buffer size for I/O operations.

Buffer size used for copy, compress, encrypt, and other operations. The number of buffers used depends on options and each operation may use additional memory, e.g. gz compression may use an additional 256KiB of memory.

Allowed values are 16KiB, 32KiB, 64KiB, 128KiB, 256KiB, 512KiB, 1MiB, 2MiB, 4MiB, 8MiB, and 16MiB.

default: 1MiB
example: --buffer-size=2MiB

pgBackRest Command Option (--cmd)

pgBackRest command.

pgBackRest may generate a command string, e.g. when the restore command generates the restore_command setting. The command used to run the pgBackRest process will be used in this case unless the cmd option is provided.

CAUTION:

Wrapping the pgBackRest command may cause unpredictable behavior and is not recommended.

default: [path of executed pgbackrest binary]
example: --cmd=/var/lib/pgsql/bin/pgbackrest_wrapper.sh

SSH Client Command Option (--cmd-ssh)

SSH client command.

Use a specific SSH client command when an alternate is desired or the ssh command is not in $PATH.

default: ssh
example: --cmd-ssh=/usr/bin/ssh

Network Compress Level Option (--compress-level-network)

Network compression level.

Sets the network compression level when compress-type=none and the command is not run on the same host as the repository. Compression is used to reduce network traffic. When compress-type does not equal none the compress-level-network setting is ignored and compress-level is used instead so that the file is only compressed once.

default: 1
allowed: [-5, 12]
example: --compress-level-network=1

Config Option (--config)

pgBackRest configuration file.

Use this option to specify a different configuration file than the default.

default: CFGOPTDEF_CONFIG_PATH "/" PROJECT_CONFIG_FILE
example: --config=/conf/pgbackrest/pgbackrest.conf

Config Include Path Option (--config-include-path)

Path to additional pgBackRest configuration files.

Configuration files existing in the specified location with extension .conf will be concatenated with the pgBackRest configuration file, resulting in one configuration file.

default: CFGOPTDEF_CONFIG_PATH "/" PROJECT_CONFIG_INCLUDE_PATH
example: --config-include-path=/conf/pgbackrest/conf.d

Config Path Option (--config-path)

Base path of pgBackRest configuration files.

This setting is used to override the default base path setting for the --config and --config-include-path options unless they are explicitly set on the command-line.

For example, passing only --config-path=/conf/pgbackrest results in the --config default being set to /conf/pgbackrest/pgbackrest.conf and the --config-include-path default being set to /conf/pgbackrest/conf.d.

default: CFGOPTDEF_CONFIG_PATH
example: --config-path=/conf/pgbackrest

Delta Option (--delta)

Restore or backup using checksums.

During a restore, by default the PostgreSQL data and tablespace directories are expected to be present but empty. This option performs a delta restore using checksums.

During a backup, this option will use checksums instead of the timestamps to determine if files will be copied.

default: n
example: --delta

I/O Timeout Option (--io-timeout)

I/O timeout.

Timeout, in seconds, used for connections and read/write operations.

Note that the entire read/write operation does not need to complete within this timeout but some progress must be made, even if it is only a single byte.

default: 1m
allowed: [100ms, 1h]
example: --io-timeout=120

Lock Path Option (--lock-path)

Path where lock files are stored.

The lock path provides a location for pgBackRest to create lock files to prevent conflicting operations from being run concurrently.

default: /tmp/pgbackrest
example: --lock-path=/backup/db/lock

Neutral Umask Option (--neutral-umask)

Use a neutral umask.

Sets the umask to 0000 so modes in the repository are created in a sensible way. The default directory mode is 0750 and default file mode is 0640. The lock and log directories set the directory and file mode to 0770 and 0660 respectively.

To use the executing user’s umask instead specify neutral-umask=n in the config file or --no-neutral-umask on the command line.

default: y
example: --no-neutral-umask

Set Process Priority Option (--priority)

Set process priority.

Defines how much priority (i.e. niceness) will be given to the process by the kernel scheduler. Positive values decrease priority and negative values increase priority. In most case processes do not have permission to increase their priority.

allowed: [-20, 19]
example: --priority=19

Process Maximum Option (--process-max)

Max processes to use for compress/transfer.

Each process will perform compression and transfer to make the command run faster, but don’t set process-max so high that it impacts database performance.

default: 1
allowed: [1, 999]
example: --process-max=4

Protocol Timeout Option (--protocol-timeout)

Protocol timeout.

Sets the timeout, in seconds, that the local or remote process will wait for a new message to be received on the protocol layer. This prevents processes from waiting indefinitely for a message.

NOTE: The protocol-timeout option must be greater than the db-timeout option.

default: 31m
allowed: [100ms, 7d]
example: --protocol-timeout=630

Keep Alive Option (--sck-keep-alive)

Keep-alive enable.

Enables keep-alive messages on socket connections.

default: y
example: --no-sck-keep-alive

Stanza Option (--stanza)

Defines the stanza.

A stanza is the configuration for a PostgreSQL database cluster that defines where it is located, how it will be backed up, archiving options, etc. Most db servers will only have one PostgreSQL database cluster and therefore one stanza, whereas backup servers will have a stanza for every database cluster that needs to be backed up.

It is tempting to name the stanza after the primary cluster but a better name describes the databases contained in the cluster. Because the stanza name will be used for the primary and all replicas it is more appropriate to choose a name that describes the actual function of the cluster, such as app or dw, rather than the local cluster name, such as main or prod.

example: --stanza=main

Keep Alive Count Option (--tcp-keep-alive-count)

Keep-alive count.

Specifies the number of TCP keep-alive messages that can be lost before the connection is considered dead.

This option is available on systems that support the TCP_KEEPCNT socket option.

allowed: [1, 32]
example: --tcp-keep-alive-count=3

Keep Alive Idle Option (--tcp-keep-alive-idle)

Keep-alive idle time.

Specifies the amount of time (in seconds) with no network activity after which the operating system should send a TCP keep-alive message.

This option is available on systems that support the TCP_KEEPIDLE socket option.

allowed: [1, 3600]
example: --tcp-keep-alive-idle=60

Keep Alive Interval Option (--tcp-keep-alive-interval)

Keep-alive interval time.

Specifies the amount of time (in seconds) after which a TCP keep-alive message that has not been acknowledged should be retransmitted.

This option is available on systems that support the TCP_KEEPINTVL socket option.

allowed: [1, 900]
example: --tcp-keep-alive-interval=30

TLSv1.2 cipher suites Option (--tls-cipher-12)

Allowed TLSv1.2 cipher suites.

All TLS connections between the pgBackRest client and server are encrypted. By default, connections to objects stores (e.g. S3) are also encrypted.

NOTE: The absolute minimum security level for any transport connection is TLSv1.2.

The accepted cipher suites can be adjusted if need arises. The example is reasonable choice unless you have specific security requirements. If unset (the default), the default of the underlying OpenSSL library applies.

example: --tls-cipher-12=HIGH:MEDIUM:+3DES:!aNULL

TLSv1.3 cipher suites Option (--tls-cipher-13)

Allowed TLSv1.3 cipher suites.

All TLS connections between the pgBackRest client and server are encrypted. By default, connections to objects stores (e.g. S3) are also encrypted.

NOTE: The absolute minimum security level for any transport connection is TLSv1.2.

The accepted cipher suites can be adjusted if need arises. If unset (the default), the default of the underlying OpenSSL library applies.

example: --tls-cipher-13=TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256

Log Options

Console Log Level Option (--log-level-console)

Level for console logging.

The following log levels are supported:

• off - No logging at all (not recommended)
• error - Log only errors
• warn - Log warnings and errors
• info - Log info, warnings, and errors
• detail - Log detail, info, warnings, and errors
• debug - Log debug, detail, info, warnings, and errors
• trace - Log trace (very verbose debugging), debug, info, warnings, and errors

default: warn
example: --log-level-console=error

File Log Level Option (--log-level-file)

Level for file logging.

The following log levels are supported:

• off - No logging at all (not recommended)
• error - Log only errors
• warn - Log warnings and errors
• info - Log info, warnings, and errors
• detail - Log detail, info, warnings, and errors
• debug - Log debug, detail, info, warnings, and errors
• trace - Log trace (very verbose debugging), debug, info, warnings, and errors

default: info
example: --log-level-file=debug

Std Error Log Level Option (--log-level-stderr)

Level for stderr logging.

Specifies which log levels will output to stderr rather than stdout (specified by log-level-console). The timestamp and process will not be output to stderr.

The following log levels are supported:

• off - No logging at all (not recommended)
• error - Log only errors
• warn - Log warnings and errors
• info - Log info, warnings, and errors
• detail - Log detail, info, warnings, and errors
• debug - Log debug, detail, info, warnings, and errors
• trace - Log trace (very verbose debugging), debug, info, warnings, and errors

default: off
example: --log-level-stderr=error

Log Path Option (--log-path)

Path where log files are stored.

The log path provides a location for pgBackRest to store log files. Note that if log-level-file=off then no log path is required.

default: /var/log/pgbackrest
example: --log-path=/backup/db/log

Log Subprocesses Option (--log-subprocess)

Enable logging in subprocesses.

Enable file logging for any subprocesses created by this process using the log level specified by log-level-file.

default: n
example: --log-subprocess

Log Timestamp Option (--log-timestamp)

Enable timestamp in logging.

Enables the timestamp in console and file logging. This option is disabled in special situations such as generating documentation.

default: y
example: --no-log-timestamp

Maintainer Options

Force PostgreSQL Version Option (--pg-version-force)

Force PostgreSQL version.

The specified PostgreSQL version will be used instead of the version automatically detected by reading pg_control or WAL headers. This is mainly useful for PostgreSQL forks or development versions where those values are different from the release version. The version reported by PostgreSQL via server_version_num must match the forced version.

WARNING:

Be cautious when using this option because pg_control and WAL headers will still be read with the expected format for the specified version, i.e. the format from the official open-source version of PostgreSQL. If the fork or development version changes the format of the fields that pgBackRest depends on it will lead to unexpected behavior. In general, this option will only work as expected if the fork adds all custom struct members after the standard PostgreSQL members.

example: --pg-version-force=15

Repository Options

Set Repository Option (--repo)

Set repository.

Set the repository for a command to operate on.

For example, this option may be used to perform a restore from a specific repository, rather than letting pgBackRest choose.

allowed: [1, 256]
example: --repo=1

Azure Repository Container Option (--repo-azure-container)

Azure repository container.

Azure container used to store the repository.

pgBackRest repositories can be stored in the container root by setting repo-path=/ but it is usually best to specify a prefix, such as /repo, so logs and other Azure-generated content can also be stored in the container.

example: --repo1-azure-container=pg-backup

Azure Repository Key Type Option (--repo-azure-key-type)

Azure repository key type.

The following types are supported for authorization:

• shared - Shared key
• sas - Shared access signature
• auto - Automatically authorize using Azure managed identities

default: shared
example: --repo1-azure-key-type=sas

Azure Repository URI Style Option (--repo-azure-uri-style)

Azure URI Style.

The following URI styles are supported:

• host - Connect to account.endpoint host.
• path - Connect to endpoint host and prepend account to URIs.

default: host
example: --repo1-azure-uri-style=path

Repository Cipher Type Option (--repo-cipher-type)

Cipher used to encrypt the repository.

The following cipher types are supported:

• none - The repository is not encrypted
• aes-256-cbc - Advanced Encryption Standard with 256 bit key length

Note that encryption is always performed client-side even if the repository type (e.g. S3) supports encryption.

default: none
example: --repo1-cipher-type=aes-256-cbc

GCS Repository Bucket Option (--repo-gcs-bucket)

GCS repository bucket.

GCS bucket used to store the repository.

pgBackRest repositories can be stored in the bucket root by setting repo-path=/ but it is usually best to specify a prefix, such as /repo, so logs and other GCS-generated content can also be stored in the bucket.

example: --repo1-gcs-bucket=/pg-backup

GCS Repository Endpoint Option (--repo-gcs-endpoint)

GCS repository endpoint.

Endpoint used to connect to the storage service. May be updated to use a local GCS server or alternate endpoint.

default: storage.googleapis.com
example: --repo1-gcs-endpoint=localhost

GCS Repository Key Type Option (--repo-gcs-key-type)

GCS repository key type.

The following types are supported for authorization:

• auto - Authorize using the instance service account.
• service - Service account from locally stored key.
• token - For local testing, e.g. fakegcs.

When repo-gcs-key-type=service the credentials will be reloaded when the authentication token is renewed.

default: service
example: --repo1-gcs-key-type=auto

GCS Repository Project ID Option (--repo-gcs-user-project)

GCS project ID.

GCS project ID used to determine request billing.

example: --repo1-gcs-user-project=my-project

Repository Host Option (--repo-host)

Repository host when operating remotely.

When backing up and archiving to a locally mounted filesystem this setting is not required.

example: --repo1-host=repo1.domain.com

Deprecated Name: backup-host

Repository Host Certificate Authority File Option (--repo-host-ca-file)

Repository host certificate authority file.

Use a CA file other than the system default for connecting to the repository host.

example: --repo1-host-ca-file=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt

Repository Host Certificate Authority Path Option (--repo-host-ca-path)

Repository host certificate authority path.

Use a CA path other than the system default for connecting to the repository host.

example: --repo1-host-ca-path=/etc/pki/tls/certs

Repository Host Certificate File Option (--repo-host-cert-file)

Repository host certificate file.

Sent to repository host to prove client identity.

example: --repo1-host-cert-file=/path/to/client.crt

Repository Host Command Option (--repo-host-cmd)

Repository host pgBackRest command.

Required only if the path to the pgBackRest command is different on the local and repository hosts. If not defined, the repository host command will be set the same as the local command.

default: [path of executed pgbackrest binary]
example: --repo1-host-cmd=/usr/lib/backrest/bin/pgbackrest

Deprecated Name: backup-cmd

Repository Host Configuration Option (--repo-host-config)

pgBackRest repository host configuration file.

Sets the location of the configuration file on the repository host. This is only required if the repository host configuration file is in a different location than the local configuration file.

default: CFGOPTDEF_CONFIG_PATH "/" PROJECT_CONFIG_FILE
example: --repo1-host-config=/conf/pgbackrest/pgbackrest.conf

Deprecated Name: backup-config

Repository Host Configuration Include Path Option (--repo-host-config-include-path)

pgBackRest repository host configuration include path.

Sets the location of the configuration include path on the repository host. This is only required if the repository host configuration include path is in a different location than the local configuration include path.

default: CFGOPTDEF_CONFIG_PATH "/" PROJECT_CONFIG_INCLUDE_PATH
example: --repo1-host-config-include-path=/conf/pgbackrest/conf.d

Repository Host Configuration Path Option (--repo-host-config-path)

pgBackRest repository host configuration path.

Sets the location of the configuration path on the repository host. This is only required if the repository host configuration path is in a different location than the local configuration path.

default: CFGOPTDEF_CONFIG_PATH
example: --repo1-host-config-path=/conf/pgbackrest

Repository Host Key File Option (--repo-host-key-file)

Repository host key file.

Proves client certificate was sent by owner.

example: --repo1-host-key-file=/path/to/client.key

Repository Host Port Option (--repo-host-port)

Repository host port when repo-host is set.

Use this option to specify a non-default port for the repository host protocol.

NOTE: When repo-host-type=ssh there is no default for repo-host-port. In this case the port will be whatever is configured for the command specified by cmd-ssh.

default (depending on repo-host-type):
   tls - 8432

allowed: [0, 65535]
example: --repo1-host-port=25

Deprecated Name: backup-ssh-port

Repository Host Protocol Type Option (--repo-host-type)

Repository host protocol type.

The following protocol types are supported:

• ssh - Secure Shell.
• tls - pgBackRest TLS server.

default: ssh
example: --repo1-host-type=tls

Repository Host User Option (--repo-host-user)

Repository host user when repo-host is set.

Defines the user that will be used for operations on the repository host. Preferably this is not the postgres user but rather some other user like pgbackrest. If PostgreSQL runs on the repository host the postgres user can be placed in the pgbackrest group so it has read permissions on the repository without being able to damage the contents accidentally.

default: pgbackrest
example: --repo1-host-user=repo-user

Deprecated Name: backup-user

Repository Path Option (--repo-path)

Path where backups and archive are stored.

The repository is where pgBackRest stores backups and archives WAL segments.

It may be difficult to estimate in advance how much space you’ll need. The best thing to do is take some backups then record the size of different types of backups (full/incr/diff) and measure the amount of WAL generated per day. This will give you a general idea of how much space you’ll need, though of course requirements will likely change over time as your database evolves.

default: /var/lib/pgbackrest
example: --repo1-path=/backup/db/backrest

S3 Repository Bucket Option (--repo-s3-bucket)

S3 repository bucket.

S3 bucket used to store the repository.

pgBackRest repositories can be stored in the bucket root by setting repo-path=/ but it is usually best to specify a prefix, such as /repo, so logs and other AWS generated content can also be stored in the bucket.

example: --repo1-s3-bucket=pg-backup

S3 Repository Endpoint Option (--repo-s3-endpoint)

S3 repository endpoint.

The AWS endpoint should be valid for the selected region.

For custom/test configurations the repo-storage-ca-file, repo-storage-ca-path, repo-storage-host, repo-storage-port, and repo-storage-verify-tls options may be useful.

example: --repo1-s3-endpoint=s3.amazonaws.com

S3 Repository Key Type Option (--repo-s3-key-type)

S3 repository key type.

The following types are supported:

• shared - Shared keys
• auto - Automatically retrieve temporary credentials
• web-id - Automatically retrieve web identity credentials

default: shared
example: --repo1-s3-key-type=auto

S3 Repository KMS Key ID Option (--repo-s3-kms-key-id)

S3 repository KMS key.

Enables S3 server-side encryption using the specified AWS key management service key.

example: --repo1-s3-kms-key-id=bceb4f13-6939-4be3-910d-df54dee817b7

S3 Repository Region Option (--repo-s3-region)

S3 repository region.

The AWS region where the bucket was created.

example: --repo1-s3-region=us-east-1

S3 Repository Requestor Pays Option (--repo-s3-requester-pays)

S3 repository requester pays.

Enables S3 requester pays.

default: n
example: --no-repo1-s3-requester-pays

S3 Repository Role Option (--repo-s3-role)

S3 repository role.

The AWS role name (not the full ARN) used to retrieve temporary credentials when repo-s3-key-type=auto.

example: --repo1-s3-role=authrole

S3 Repository URI Style Option (--repo-s3-uri-style)

S3 URI Style.

The following URI styles are supported:

• host - Connect to bucket.endpoint host.
• path - Connect to endpoint host and prepend bucket to URIs.

default: host
example: --repo1-s3-uri-style=path

SFTP Repository Host Option (--repo-sftp-host)

SFTP repository host.

The SFTP host containing the repository.

example: --repo1-sftp-host=sftprepo.domain

SFTP Repository Host Fingerprint Option (--repo-sftp-host-fingerprint)

SFTP repository host fingerprint.

SFTP repository host fingerprint generation should match the repo-sftp-host-key-hash-type. Generate the fingerprint via awk '{print $2}' ssh_host_xxx_key.pub | base64 -d | (md5sum or sha1sum) -b. The ssh host keys are normally found in the /etc/ssh directory.

example: --repo1-sftp-host-fingerprint=f84e172dfead7aeeeae6c1fdfb5aa8cf

SFTP Host Key Check Type Option (--repo-sftp-host-key-check-type)

SFTP host key check type.

The following SFTP host key check types are supported:

• strict - pgBackRest will never automatically add host keys to the ~/.ssh/known_hosts file, and refuses to connect to hosts whose host key has changed or is not found in the known hosts files. This option forces the user to manually add all new hosts.
• accept-new - pgBackRest will automatically add new host keys to the user’s known hosts file, but will not permit connections to hosts with changed host keys.
• fingerprint - pgBackRest will check the host key against the fingerprint specified by the repo-sftp-host-fingerprint option.
• none - no host key checking will be performed.

default: strict
example: --repo1-sftp-host-key-check-type=accept-new

SFTP Repository Host Key Hash Type Option (--repo-sftp-host-key-hash-type)

SFTP repository host key hash type.

SFTP repository host key hash type. Declares the hash type to be used to compute the digest of the remote system’s host key on SSH startup. Newer versions of libssh2 support sha256 in addition to md5 and sha1.

example: --repo1-sftp-host-key-hash-type=sha256

SFTP Repository Host Port Option (--repo-sftp-host-port)

SFTP repository host port.

SFTP repository host port.

default: 22
allowed: [1, 65535]
example: --repo1-sftp-host-port=22

SFTP Repository Host User Option (--repo-sftp-host-user)

SFTP repository host user.

User on the host used to store the repository.

example: --repo1-sftp-host-user=pg-backup

SFTP Known Hosts File Option (--repo-sftp-known-host)

SFTP known hosts file.

A known hosts file to search for an SFTP host match during authentication. When unspecified, pgBackRest will default to searching ~/.ssh/known_hosts, ~/.ssh/known_hosts2, /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts, and /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts2. If configured with one or more file paths, pgBackRest will search those for a match. File paths must be full or leading tilde paths. The repo-sftp-known-host option can be passed multiple times to specify more than one known hosts file to search. To utilize known hosts file checking repo-sftp-host-fingerprint must not be specified. See also repo-sftp-host-check-type option.

example: --repo1-sftp-known-host=/home/postgres/.ssh/known_hosts

SFTP Repository Private Key File Option (--repo-sftp-private-key-file)

SFTP private key file.

SFTP private key file used for authentication.

example: --repo1-sftp-private-key-file=~/.ssh/id_ed25519

SFTP Repository Public Key File Option (--repo-sftp-public-key-file)

SFTP public key file.

SFTP public key file used for authentication. Optional if compiled against OpenSSL, required if compiled against a different library.

example: --repo1-sftp-public-key-file=~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Repository Storage CA File Option (--repo-storage-ca-file)

Repository storage CA file.

Use a CA file other than the system default for storage (e.g. S3, Azure) certificates.

example: --repo1-storage-ca-file=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt

Deprecated Names: repo-azure-ca-file, repo-s3-ca-file

Repository Storage TLS CA Path Option (--repo-storage-ca-path)

Repository storage CA path.

Use a CA path other than the system default for storage (e.g. S3, Azure) certificates.

example: --repo1-storage-ca-path=/etc/pki/tls/certs

Deprecated Names: repo-azure-ca-path, repo-s3-ca-path

Repository Storage Host Option (--repo-storage-host)

Repository storage host.

Connect to a host other than the storage (e.g. S3, Azure) endpoint. This is typically used for testing.

example: --repo1-storage-host=127.0.0.1

Deprecated Names: repo-azure-host, repo-s3-host

Repository Storage Port Option (--repo-storage-port)

Repository storage port.

Port to use when connecting to the storage (e.g. S3, Azure) endpoint (or host if specified).

default: 443
allowed: [1, 65535]
example: --repo1-storage-port=9000

Deprecated Names: repo-azure-port, repo-s3-port

Repository Storage Tag Option (--repo-storage-tag)

Repository storage tag(s).

Specify tags that will be added to objects when the repository is an object store (e.g. S3). The option can be repeated to add multiple tags.

There is no provision in pgBackRest to modify these tags so be sure to set them correctly before running stanza-create to ensure uniform tags across the entire repository.

example: --repo1-storage-tag=key1=value1

Repository Storage Upload Chunk Size Option (--repo-storage-upload-chunk-size)

Repository storage upload chunk size.

Object stores such as S3 allow files to be uploaded in chunks when the file is too large to be stored in memory. Even if the file can be stored in memory, it is more memory efficient to limit the amount of memory used for uploads.

A larger chunk size will generally lead to better performance because it will minimize upload requests and allow more files to be uploaded in a single request rather than in chunks. The disadvantage is that memory usage will be higher and because the chunk buffer must be allocated per process, larger process-max values will lead to more memory being consumed overall.

Note that valid chunk sizes vary by storage type and by platform. For example, AWS S3 has a minimum chunk size of 5MiB. Terminology for chunk size varies by storage type, so when searching min/max values use “part size” for AWS S3, “chunk size” for GCS, and “block size” for Azure.

If a file is larger than 1GiB (the maximum size PostgreSQL will create by default) then the chunk size will be increased incrementally up to the maximum allowed in order to complete the file upload.

default (depending on repo-type):
   azure - 4MiB
   gcs - 4MiB
   s3 - 5MiB

allow range (depending on repo-type):
   azure - [4MiB, 1GiB]
   gcs - [4MiB, 1GiB]
   s3 - [5MiB, 1GiB]

example: --repo1-storage-upload-chunk-size=16MiB

Repository Storage Certificate Verify Option (--repo-storage-verify-tls)

Repository storage certificate verify.

This option provides the ability to enable/disable verification of the storage (e.g. S3, Azure) server TLS certificate. Disabling should only be used for testing or other scenarios where a certificate has been self-signed.

default: y
example: --no-repo1-storage-verify-tls

Deprecated Names: repo-azure-verify-tls, repo-s3-verify-ssl, repo-s3-verify-tls

Target Time for Repository Option (--repo-target-time)

Target time for repository.

The target time defines the time that commands use to read a repository on versioned storage. This allows the command to read the repository as it was at a point-in-time in order to recover data that has been deleted or corrupted by user accident or malware.

Versioned storage is supported by S3, GCS, and Azure but is generally not enabled by default. In addition to enabling versioning, it may be useful to enable object locking for S3 and soft delete for GCS or Azure.

When the repo-target-time option is specified then the repo option must also be provided. It is likely that not all repository types will support versioning and in general it makes sense to target a single repository for recovery.

Note that comparisons to the storage timestamp are <= the timestamp provided and milliseconds are truncated from the timestamp when provided.

example: --repo-target-time=2024-08-08 12:12:12+00

Repository Type Option (--repo-type)

Type of storage used for the repository.

The following repository types are supported:

• azure - Azure Blob Storage Service
• cifs - Like posix, but disables links and directory fsyncs
• gcs - Google Cloud Storage
• posix - Posix-compliant file systems
• s3 - AWS Simple Storage Service
• sftp - Secure File Transfer Protocol

When an NFS mount is used as a posix repository, the same rules apply to pgBackRest as described in the PostgreSQL documentation: Creating a Database Cluster - File Systems.

default: posix
example: --repo1-type=cifs

Stanza Options

PostgreSQL Path Option (--pg-path)

PostgreSQL data directory.

This should be the same as the data_directory reported by PostgreSQL. Even though this value can be read from various places, it is prudent to set it in case those resources are not available during a restore or offline backup scenario.

The pg-path option is tested against the value reported by PostgreSQL on every online backup so it should always be current.

example: --pg1-path=/data/db

Deprecated Name: db-path