pig pgbackrest

Manage pgBackRest backup and PITR with pig pgbackrest subcommand

The pig pgbackrest command (alias pig pb) manages pgBackRest backup and point-in-time recovery (PITR). It wraps common pgbackrest operations for simplified backup management. All commands execute as database superuser (default postgres).

Command Overview

Information Query:

Command	Description	Implementation
`pb info`	Show backup repository info	`pgbackrest info`
`pb ls`	List backup sets	`pgbackrest info`
`pb ls repo`	List configured repos	Parse pgbackrest.conf
`pb ls stanza`	List all stanzas	Parse pgbackrest.conf

Backup & Restore:

Command	Description	Implementation
`pb backup`	Create backup	`pgbackrest backup`
`pb restore`	Restore from backup (PITR)	`pgbackrest restore`
`pb expire`	Clean up expired backups	`pgbackrest expire`

Stanza Management:

Command	Description	Implementation
`pb create`	Create stanza (first-time setup)	`pgbackrest stanza-create`
`pb upgrade`	Upgrade stanza (after PG major upgrade)	`pgbackrest stanza-upgrade`
`pb delete`	Delete stanza (dangerous!)	`pgbackrest stanza-delete`

Control Commands:

Command	Alias	Description	Implementation
`pb check`		Verify backup repository integrity	`pgbackrest check`
`pb start`		Enable pgBackRest operations	`pgbackrest start`
`pb stop`		Disable pgBackRest operations	`pgbackrest stop`
`pb log`	`l, lg`	View logs	`tail/cat` log files

Quick Start

# View backup info
pig pb info                          # Show all backup info
pig pb info -o json                  # JSON format output
pig pb ls                            # List all backups
pig pb ls repo                       # List configured repos
pig pb ls stanza                     # List all stanzas

# Create backup (must run on primary)
pig pb backup                        # Auto mode: full if none, else incr
pig pb backup full                   # Full backup
pig pb backup diff                   # Differential backup
pig pb backup incr                   # Incremental backup

# Restore (PITR)
pig pb restore                       # Restore to latest (end of WAL)
pig pb restore -I                    # Restore to backup consistency point
pig pb restore -t "2025-01-01 12:00:00+08"  # Restore to specific time
pig pb restore -n savepoint          # Restore to named restore point

# Stanza management
pig pb create                        # Initialize stanza
pig pb upgrade                       # Upgrade stanza after PG major upgrade
pig pb check                         # Verify repository integrity

# Cleanup
pig pb expire                        # Clean up per retention policy
pig pb expire --dry-run              # Dry run mode

Global Options

These options apply to all pig pb subcommands:

Option	Short	Description
`--stanza`	`-s`	pgBackRest stanza name (auto-detected)
`--config`	`-c`	Config file path
`--repo`	`-r`	Repository number (multi-repo scenario)
`--dbsu`	`-U`	Database superuser (default: `$PIG_DBSU` or `postgres`)

Stanza Auto-Detection:

If -s not specified, pig auto-detects stanza name from config file:

Read config file (default /etc/pgbackrest/pgbackrest.conf)
Find sections not starting with [global*]
Use first stanza found

If config has multiple stanzas, a warning is issued and first one is used. Explicitly specify --stanza in this case.

Multi-Repo Support:

pgBackRest supports multiple repositories (repo1, repo2, etc.). Use -r to specify target repo:

pig pb backup -r 1                   # Backup to repo1
pig pb backup -r 2                   # Backup to repo2
pig pb info -r 2                     # View repo2 backup info

Information Commands

pb info

Show detailed backup repository info including all backup sets and WAL archive status.

pig pb info                          # Show all backup info
pig pb info -o json                  # JSON format output
pig pb info --set 20250101-120000F   # Show specific backup set details

Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--output`	`-o`	Output format: text, json
`--set`		Show specific backup set details

pb ls

List resources in backup repository.

pig pb ls                            # List all backups (default)
pig pb ls backup                     # List all backups (explicit)
pig pb ls repo                       # List configured repos
pig pb ls stanza                     # List all stanzas
pig pb ls cluster                    # Alias for stanza

Types:

Type	Description	Data Source
backup	List all backup sets (default)	pgbackrest info
repo	List configured repos	Parse pgbackrest.conf
stanza	List all stanzas	Parse pgbackrest.conf

Backup Commands

pb backup

Create physical backup. Backups can only run on primary instance.

pig pb backup                        # Auto mode
pig pb backup full                   # Full backup
pig pb backup diff                   # Differential backup
pig pb backup incr                   # Incremental backup
pig pb backup --force                # Skip primary role check

Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--force`	`-f`	Skip primary role check

Backup Types:

Type	Description
(empty)	Auto mode: full if no backup exists, else incremental
full	Full backup: backup all data
diff	Differential: changes since last full backup
incr	Incremental: changes since last any backup

Primary Check:

Before backup, command auto-checks if current instance is primary. If replica, command exits with error. Use --force to skip this check.

pb expire

Clean up expired backups and WAL archives per retention policy.

pig pb expire                        # Clean up per policy
pig pb expire --set 20250101-*       # Delete specific backup set
pig pb expire --dry-run              # Dry run (display only)

Options:

Option	Description
`--set`	Delete specific backup set
`--dry-run`	Dry run: only display what would be deleted

Retention Policy:

Configured in pgbackrest.conf:

[global]
repo1-retention-full=2               # Full backups to retain
repo1-retention-diff=4               # Differential backups to retain
repo1-retention-archive=2            # WAL archive retention policy

Restore Commands

pb restore

Restore from backup with point-in-time recovery (PITR) support.

# Recovery target (mutually exclusive)
pig pb restore                       # Restore to latest (default)
pig pb restore -d                    # Restore to latest (explicit)
pig pb restore -I                    # Restore to backup consistency point
pig pb restore -t "2025-01-01 12:00:00+08"  # Restore to specific time
pig pb restore -t "2025-01-01"       # Restore to date (00:00:00 that day)
pig pb restore -t "12:00:00"         # Restore to time (today)
pig pb restore -n my-savepoint       # Restore to named restore point
pig pb restore -l "0/7C82CB8"        # Restore to LSN
pig pb restore -x 12345              # Restore to transaction ID

# Backup set selection (can combine with recovery target)
pig pb restore -b 20251225-120000F   # Restore from specific backup set

# Other options
pig pb restore -t "..." -X           # Exclusive mode (stop before target)
pig pb restore -t "..." -P           # Auto-promote after restore
pig pb restore -y                    # Skip confirmation countdown

Recovery Target Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--default`	`-d`	Restore to end of WAL stream (latest data)
`--immediate`	`-I`	Restore to backup consistency point
`--time`	`-t`	Restore to specific timestamp
`--name`	`-n`	Restore to named restore point
`--lsn`	`-l`	Restore to specific LSN
`--xid`	`-x`	Restore to specific transaction ID

Backup Set and Other Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--set`	`-b`	Restore from specific backup set (can combine with target)
`--data`	`-D`	Target data directory
`--exclusive`	`-X`	Exclusive mode: stop before target
`--promote`	`-P`	Auto-promote to primary after restore
`--yes`	`-y`	Skip confirmation and countdown

Time Formats:

Supports multiple time format inputs with timezone auto-completion (including non-integer-hour zones like +05:30):

Format	Example	Description
Full format	`2025-01-01 12:00:00+08`	Complete timestamp with timezone
Date only	`2025-01-01`	Auto-completes to 00:00:00 that day (local timezone)
Time only	`12:00:00`	Auto-completes to today (local timezone)

Restore Flow:

Validate parameters and environment
Check PostgreSQL is stopped
Display restore plan, wait for confirmation (5-second countdown)
Execute pgbackrest restore
Provide post-restore guidance

Important: Stop PostgreSQL before restore:

pig pg stop                          # Stop PostgreSQL
pig pb restore -t "..."              # Execute restore
pig pg start                         # Start PostgreSQL

Stanza Management Commands

pb create

Initialize new stanza. Must run before first backup.

pig pb create                        # Create stanza
pig pb create --no-online            # Create when PostgreSQL not running
pig pb create --force                # Force create

Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--no-online`		Create when PostgreSQL not running
`--force`	`-f`	Force create

pb upgrade

Update stanza after PostgreSQL major version upgrade.

pig pb upgrade                       # Upgrade stanza
pig pb upgrade --no-online           # Upgrade when PostgreSQL not running

Options:

Option	Description
`--no-online`	Upgrade when PostgreSQL not running

Use Case:

After PostgreSQL major version upgrade (e.g., 16 -> 17), run this command to update stanza metadata.

pb delete

Delete stanza and all its backups.

pig pb delete --force                # Delete stanza (requires --force)
pig pb delete --force --yes          # Skip countdown confirmation

Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--force`	`-f`	Confirm delete (required)
`--yes`	`-y`	Skip countdown confirmation

Warning: This is a destructive and irreversible operation! All backups will be permanently deleted.

Multiple safety mechanisms:

Must provide --force parameter
5-second countdown (press Ctrl+C to cancel)
Use --yes to skip countdown

Control Commands

pb check

Verify backup repository integrity and configuration.

pig pb check                         # Verify repository

This command checks:

WAL archive configuration correctness
Repository accessibility
Stanza configuration validity

pb start

Enable pgBackRest operations.

pig pb start                         # Enable operations

Use after pb stop to resume normal operations.

pb stop

Disable pgBackRest operations (for maintenance).

pig pb stop                          # Disable operations
pig pb stop --force                  # Terminate running operations

Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--force`	`-f`	Terminate running operations

Use Case:

During system maintenance, use this command to prevent new backup operations from starting.

Log Commands

pb log

View pgBackRest log files. Log directory is /pg/log/pgbackrest/.

pig pb log                           # List log files
pig pb log list                      # List log files
pig pb log tail                      # Real-time view latest log
pig pb log tail -n 100               # Show last 100 lines and follow
pig pb log cat                       # Show latest log content
pig pb log cat -n 50                 # Show last 50 lines
pig pb log cat pg-meta-backup.log    # Show specific log file

Subcommands:

Subcommand	Aliases	Description
list	ls	List log files
tail	follow, f	Real-time follow latest log
cat	show	Show log content

Options:

Option	Short	Default	Description
`--lines`	`-n`	50	Number of lines to show

Permission Handling:

If current user lacks permission to read log directory, command auto-retries with sudo.

Design Notes

Command Execution:

All pig pb commands execute as database superuser (DBSU). This is because pgBackRest needs access to PostgreSQL data files and WAL archives.

Execution logic:

If current user is DBSU: execute directly
If current user is root: use su - postgres -c "..." to execute
Other users: use sudo -inu postgres -- ... to execute

Relationship with pgbackrest:

pig pb is not a complete wrapper of pgbackrest, but a higher-level abstraction for common operations:

Auto-detect stanza name, no need to specify each time
Auto-check primary role before backup
Display plan and require confirmation before restore
Provide user-friendly time format input
Provide post-restore guidance

For full pgbackrest functionality, use pgbackrest command directly.

Default Configuration Paths:

Config	Default
Config file	`/etc/pgbackrest/pgbackrest.conf`
Log directory	`/pg/log/pgbackrest`
Data directory	`pg1-path` from config, or `$PGDATA` env, or `/pg/data`

Security Considerations:

pb delete requires --force confirmation, with 5-second countdown
pb restore displays restore plan, with 5-second countdown confirmation
pb backup checks primary role by default, prevents running on replica
Log command filename parameter filters paths to prevent path traversal attacks

Platform Support:

This command is designed for Linux systems, depends on Pigsty default directory structure.

Feedback

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for the feedback! Please let us know how we can improve.

Sorry to hear that. Please let us know how we can improve.

Last Modified 2026-01-27: update pig command (436c6cb)