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pg_restore

   pg_restore — restore a PostgreSQL database from an archive file created
   by pg_dump

Synopsis

   pg_restore [connection-option...] [option...] [filename]

Description

   pg_restore is a utility for restoring a PostgreSQL database from an
   archive created by pg_dump in one of the non-plain-text formats. It
   will issue the commands necessary to reconstruct the database to the
   state it was in at the time it was saved. The archive files also allow
   pg_restore to be selective about what is restored, or even to reorder
   the items prior to being restored. The archive files are designed to be
   portable across architectures.

   pg_restore can operate in two modes. If a database name is specified,
   pg_restore connects to that database and restores archive contents
   directly into the database. Otherwise, a script containing the SQL
   commands necessary to rebuild the database is created and written to a
   file or standard output. This script output is equivalent to the plain
   text output format of pg_dump. Some of the options controlling the
   output are therefore analogous to pg_dump options.

   Obviously, pg_restore cannot restore information that is not present in
   the archive file. For instance, if the archive was made using the “dump
   data as INSERT commands” option, pg_restore will not be able to load
   the data using COPY statements.

Warning

   Restoring a dump causes the destination to execute arbitrary code of
   the source superusers' choice. Partial dumps and partial restores do
   not limit that. If the source superusers are not trusted, the dumped
   SQL statements must be inspected before restoring. Non-plain-text dumps
   can be inspected by using pg_restore's --file option. Note that the
   client running the dump and restore need not trust the source or
   destination superusers.

Options

   pg_restore accepts the following command line arguments.

   filename
          Specifies the location of the archive file (or directory, for a
          directory-format archive) to be restored. If not specified, the
          standard input is used.

   -a
          --data-only
          Restore only the data, not the schema (data definitions) or
          statistics. Table data, large objects, and sequence values are
          restored, if present in the archive.

          This option is similar to, but for historical reasons not
          identical to, specifying --section=data.

   -c
          --clean
          Before restoring database objects, issue commands to DROP all
          the objects that will be restored. This option is useful for
          overwriting an existing database. If any of the objects do not
          exist in the destination database, ignorable error messages will
          be reported, unless --if-exists is also specified.

   -C
          --create
          Create the database before restoring into it. If --clean is also
          specified, drop and recreate the target database before
          connecting to it.

          With --create, pg_restore also restores the database's comment
          if any, and any configuration variable settings that are
          specific to this database, that is, any ALTER DATABASE ... SET
          ... and ALTER ROLE ... IN DATABASE ... SET ... commands that
          mention this database. Access privileges for the database itself
          are also restored, unless --no-acl is specified.

          When this option is used, the database named with -d is used
          only to issue the initial DROP DATABASE and CREATE DATABASE
          commands. All data is restored into the database name that
          appears in the archive.

   -d dbname
          --dbname=dbname
          Connect to database dbname and restore directly into the
          database. The dbname can be a connection string. If so,
          connection string parameters will override any conflicting
          command line options.

   -e
          --exit-on-error
          Exit if an error is encountered while sending SQL commands to
          the database. The default is to continue and to display a count
          of errors at the end of the restoration.

   -f filename
          --file=filename
          Specify output file for generated script, or for the listing
          when used with -l. Use - for stdout.

   -F format
          --format=format
          Specify format of the archive. It is not necessary to specify
          the format, since pg_restore will determine the format
          automatically. If specified, it can be one of the following:

        c
                custom
                The archive is in the custom format of pg_dump.

        d
                directory
                The archive is a directory archive.

        t
                tar
                The archive is a tar archive.

   -I index
          --index=index
          Restore definition of named index only. Multiple indexes may be
          specified with multiple -I switches.

   -j number-of-jobs
          --jobs=number-of-jobs
          Run the most time-consuming steps of pg_restore — those that
          load data, create indexes, or create constraints — concurrently,
          using up to number-of-jobs concurrent sessions. This option can
          dramatically reduce the time to restore a large database to a
          server running on a multiprocessor machine. This option is
          ignored when emitting a script rather than connecting directly
          to a database server.

          Each job is one process or one thread, depending on the
          operating system, and uses a separate connection to the server.

          The optimal value for this option depends on the hardware setup
          of the server, of the client, and of the network. Factors
          include the number of CPU cores and the disk setup. A good place
          to start is the number of CPU cores on the server, but values
          larger than that can also lead to faster restore times in many
          cases. Of course, values that are too high will lead to
          decreased performance because of thrashing.

          Only the custom and directory archive formats are supported with
          this option. The input must be a regular file or directory (not,
          for example, a pipe or standard input). Also, multiple jobs
          cannot be used together with the option --single-transaction.

   -l
          --list
          List the table of contents of the archive. The output of this
          operation can be used as input to the -L option. Note that if
          filtering switches such as -n or -t are used with -l, they will
          restrict the items listed.

   -L list-file
          --use-list=list-file
          Restore only those archive elements that are listed in
          list-file, and restore them in the order they appear in the
          file. Note that if filtering switches such as -n or -t are used
          with -L, they will further restrict the items restored.

          list-file is normally created by editing the output of a
          previous -l operation. Lines can be moved or removed, and can
          also be commented out by placing a semicolon (;) at the start of
          the line. See below for examples.

   -n schema
          --schema=schema
          Restore only objects that are in the named schema. Multiple
          schemas may be specified with multiple -n switches. This can be
          combined with the -t option to restore just a specific table.

   -N schema
          --exclude-schema=schema
          Do not restore objects that are in the named schema. Multiple
          schemas to be excluded may be specified with multiple -N
          switches.

          When both -n and -N are given for the same schema name, the -N
          switch wins and the schema is excluded.

   -O
          --no-owner
          Do not output commands to set ownership of objects to match the
          original database. By default, pg_restore issues ALTER OWNER or
          SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statements to set ownership of created
          schema elements. These statements will fail unless the initial
          connection to the database is made by a superuser (or the same
          user that owns all of the objects in the script). With -O, any
          user name can be used for the initial connection, and this user
          will own all the created objects.

   -P function-name(argtype [, ...])
          --function=function-name(argtype [, ...])
          Restore the named function only. Be careful to spell the
          function name and arguments exactly as they appear in the dump
          file's table of contents. Multiple functions may be specified
          with multiple -P switches.

   -R
          --no-reconnect
          This option is obsolete but still accepted for backwards
          compatibility.

   -s
          --schema-only
          Restore only the schema (data definitions), not data, to the
          extent that schema entries are present in the archive.

          This option cannot be used with --data-only or
          --statistics-only. It is similar to, but for historical reasons
          not identical to, specifying --section=pre-data
          --section=post-data --no-statistics.

          (Do not confuse this with the --schema option, which uses the
          word “schema” in a different meaning.)

   -S username
          --superuser=username
          Specify the superuser user name to use when disabling triggers.
          This is relevant only if --disable-triggers is used.

   -t table
          --table=table
          Restore definition and/or data of only the named table. For this
          purpose, “table” includes views, materialized views, sequences,
          and foreign tables. Multiple tables can be selected by writing
          multiple -t switches. This option can be combined with the -n
          option to specify table(s) in a particular schema.

Note

          When -t is specified, pg_restore makes no attempt to restore any
          other database objects that the selected table(s) might depend
          upon. Therefore, there is no guarantee that a specific-table
          restore into a clean database will succeed.

Note

          This flag does not behave identically to the -t flag of pg_dump.
          There is not currently any provision for wild-card matching in
          pg_restore, nor can you include a schema name within its -t.
          And, while pg_dump's -t flag will also dump subsidiary objects
          (such as indexes) of the selected table(s), pg_restore's -t flag
          does not include such subsidiary objects.

Note

          In versions prior to PostgreSQL 9.6, this flag matched only
          tables, not any other type of relation.

   -T trigger
          --trigger=trigger
          Restore named trigger only. Multiple triggers may be specified
          with multiple -T switches.

   -v
          --verbose
          Specifies verbose mode. This will cause pg_restore to output
          detailed object comments and start/stop times to the output
          file, and progress messages to standard error. Repeating the
          option causes additional debug-level messages to appear on
          standard error.

   -V
          --version
          Print the pg_restore version and exit.

   -x
          --no-privileges
          --no-acl
          Prevent restoration of access privileges (grant/revoke
          commands).

   -1
          --single-transaction
          Execute the restore as a single transaction (that is, wrap the
          emitted commands in BEGIN/COMMIT). This ensures that either all
          the commands complete successfully, or no changes are applied.
          This option implies --exit-on-error.

   --disable-triggers
          This option is relevant only when performing a restore without
          schema. It instructs pg_restore to execute commands to
          temporarily disable triggers on the target tables while the data
          is restored. Use this if you have referential integrity checks
          or other triggers on the tables that you do not want to invoke
          during data restore.

          Presently, the commands emitted for --disable-triggers must be
          done as superuser. So you should also specify a superuser name
          with -S or, preferably, run pg_restore as a PostgreSQL
          superuser.

   --enable-row-security
          This option is relevant only when restoring the contents of a
          table which has row security. By default, pg_restore will set
          row_security to off, to ensure that all data is restored in to
          the table. If the user does not have sufficient privileges to
          bypass row security, then an error is thrown. This parameter
          instructs pg_restore to set row_security to on instead, allowing
          the user to attempt to restore the contents of the table with
          row security enabled. This might still fail if the user does not
          have the right to insert the rows from the dump into the table.

          Note that this option currently also requires the dump be in
          INSERT format, as COPY FROM does not support row security.

   --filter=filename
          Specify a filename from which to read patterns for objects
          excluded or included from restore. The patterns are interpreted
          according to the same rules as -n/--schema for including objects
          in schemas, -N/--exclude-schema for excluding objects in
          schemas, -P/--function for restoring named functions, -I/--index
          for restoring named indexes, -t/--table for restoring named
          tables or -T/--trigger for restoring triggers. To read from
          STDIN, use - as the filename. The --filter option can be
          specified in conjunction with the above listed options for
          including or excluding objects, and can also be specified more
          than once for multiple filter files.

          The file lists one database pattern per row, with the following
          format:

{ include | exclude } { function | index | schema | table | trigger } PATTERN

          The first keyword specifies whether the objects matched by the
          pattern are to be included or excluded. The second keyword
          specifies the type of object to be filtered using the pattern:

          + function: functions, works like the -P/--function option. This
            keyword can only be used with the include keyword.
          + index: indexes, works like the -I/--indexes option. This
            keyword can only be used with the include keyword.
          + schema: schemas, works like the -n/--schema and
            -N/--exclude-schema options.
          + table: tables, works like the -t/--table option. This keyword
            can only be used with the include keyword.
          + trigger: triggers, works like the -T/--trigger option. This
            keyword can only be used with the include keyword.

          Lines starting with # are considered comments and ignored.
          Comments can be placed after an object pattern row as well.
          Blank lines are also ignored. See Patterns for how to perform
          quoting in patterns.

   --if-exists
          Use DROP ... IF EXISTS commands to drop objects in --clean mode.
          This suppresses “does not exist” errors that might otherwise be
          reported. This option is not valid unless --clean is also
          specified.

   --no-comments
          Do not output commands to restore comments, even if the archive
          contains them.

   --no-data
          Do not output commands to restore data, even if the archive
          contains them.

   --no-data-for-failed-tables
          By default, table data is restored even if the creation command
          for the table failed (e.g., because it already exists). With
          this option, data for such a table is skipped. This behavior is
          useful if the target database already contains the desired table
          contents. For example, auxiliary tables for PostgreSQL
          extensions such as PostGIS might already be loaded in the target
          database; specifying this option prevents duplicate or obsolete
          data from being loaded into them.

          This option is effective only when restoring directly into a
          database, not when producing SQL script output.

   --no-policies
          Do not output commands to restore row security policies, even if
          the archive contains them.

   --no-publications
          Do not output commands to restore publications, even if the
          archive contains them.

   --no-schema
          Do not output commands to restore schema (data definitions),
          even if the archive contains them.

   --no-security-labels
          Do not output commands to restore security labels, even if the
          archive contains them.

   --no-statistics
          Do not output commands to restore statistics, even if the
          archive contains them.

   --no-subscriptions
          Do not output commands to restore subscriptions, even if the
          archive contains them.

   --no-table-access-method
          Do not output commands to select table access methods. With this
          option, all objects will be created with whichever table access
          method is the default during restore.

   --no-tablespaces
          Do not output commands to select tablespaces. With this option,
          all objects will be created in whichever tablespace is the
          default during restore.

   --restrict-key=restrict_key
          Use the provided string as the psql \restrict key in the dump
          output. This can only be specified for SQL script output, i.e.,
          when the --file option is used. If no restrict key is specified,
          pg_restore will generate a random one as needed. Keys may
          contain only alphanumeric characters.

          This option is primarily intended for testing purposes and other
          scenarios that require repeatable output (e.g., comparing dump
          files). It is not recommended for general use, as a malicious
          server with advance knowledge of the key may be able to inject
          arbitrary code that will be executed on the machine that runs
          psql with the dump output.

   --section=sectionname
          Only restore the named section. The section name can be
          pre-data, data, or post-data. This option can be specified more
          than once to select multiple sections. The default is to restore
          all sections.

          The data section contains actual table data as well as
          large-object definitions. Post-data items consist of definitions
          of indexes, triggers, rules and constraints other than validated
          check constraints. Pre-data items consist of all other data
          definition items.

   --statistics
          Output commands to restore statistics, if the archive contains
          them. This is the default.

   --statistics-only
          Restore only the statistics, not schema (data definitions) or
          data.

   --strict-names
          Require that each schema (-n/--schema) and table (-t/--table)
          qualifier match at least one schema/table in the file to be
          restored.

   --transaction-size=N
          Execute the restore as a series of transactions, each processing
          up to N database objects. This option implies --exit-on-error.

          --transaction-size offers an intermediate choice between the
          default behavior (one transaction per SQL command) and
          -1/--single-transaction (one transaction for all restored
          objects). While --single-transaction has the least overhead, it
          may be impractical for large databases because the transaction
          will take a lock on each restored object, possibly exhausting
          the server's lock table space. Using --transaction-size with a
          size of a few thousand objects offers nearly the same
          performance benefits while capping the amount of lock table
          space needed.

   --use-set-session-authorization
          Output SQL-standard SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION commands instead
          of ALTER OWNER commands to determine object ownership. This
          makes the dump more standards-compatible, but depending on the
          history of the objects in the dump, might not restore properly.

   -?
          --help
          Show help about pg_restore command line arguments, and exit.

   pg_restore also accepts the following command line arguments for
   connection parameters:

   -h host
          --host=host
          Specifies the host name of the machine on which the server is
          running. If the value begins with a slash, it is used as the
          directory for the Unix domain socket. The default is taken from
          the PGHOST environment variable, if set, else a Unix domain
          socket connection is attempted.

   -p port
          --port=port
          Specifies the TCP port or local Unix domain socket file
          extension on which the server is listening for connections.
          Defaults to the PGPORT environment variable, if set, or a
          compiled-in default.

   -U username
          --username=username
          User name to connect as.

   -w
          --no-password
          Never issue a password prompt. If the server requires password
          authentication and a password is not available by other means
          such as a .pgpass file, the connection attempt will fail. This
          option can be useful in batch jobs and scripts where no user is
          present to enter a password.

   -W
          --password
          Force pg_restore to prompt for a password before connecting to a
          database.

          This option is never essential, since pg_restore will
          automatically prompt for a password if the server demands
          password authentication. However, pg_restore will waste a
          connection attempt finding out that the server wants a password.
          In some cases it is worth typing -W to avoid the extra
          connection attempt.

   --role=rolename
          Specifies a role name to be used to perform the restore. This
          option causes pg_restore to issue a SET ROLE rolename command
          after connecting to the database. It is useful when the
          authenticated user (specified by -U) lacks privileges needed by
          pg_restore, but can switch to a role with the required rights.
          Some installations have a policy against logging in directly as
          a superuser, and use of this option allows restores to be
          performed without violating the policy.

Environment

   PGHOST
          PGOPTIONS
          PGPORT
          PGUSER
          Default connection parameters

   PG_COLOR
          Specifies whether to use color in diagnostic messages. Possible
          values are always, auto and never.

   This utility, like most other PostgreSQL utilities, also uses the
   environment variables supported by libpq (see Section 32.15). However,
   it does not read PGDATABASE when a database name is not supplied.

Diagnostics

   When a direct database connection is specified using the -d option,
   pg_restore internally executes SQL statements. If you have problems
   running pg_restore, make sure you are able to select information from
   the database using, for example, psql. Also, any default connection
   settings and environment variables used by the libpq front-end library
   will apply.

Notes

   If your installation has any local additions to the template1 database,
   be careful to load the output of pg_restore into a truly empty
   database; otherwise you are likely to get errors due to duplicate
   definitions of the added objects. To make an empty database without any
   local additions, copy from template0 not template1, for example:
CREATE DATABASE foo WITH TEMPLATE template0;

   The limitations of pg_restore are detailed below.
     * When restoring data to a pre-existing table and the option
       --disable-triggers is used, pg_restore emits commands to disable
       triggers on user tables before inserting the data, then emits
       commands to re-enable them after the data has been inserted. If the
       restore is stopped in the middle, the system catalogs might be left
       in the wrong state.
     * pg_restore cannot restore large objects selectively; for instance,
       only those for a specific table. If an archive contains large
       objects, then all large objects will be restored, or none of them
       if they are excluded via -L, -t, or other options.

   See also the pg_dump documentation for details on limitations of
   pg_dump.

   By default, pg_restore will restore optimizer statistics if included in
   the dump file. If not all statistics were restored, it may be useful to
   run ANALYZE on each restored table so the optimizer has useful
   statistics; see Section 24.1.3 and Section 24.1.6 for more information.

Examples

   Assume we have dumped a database called mydb into a custom-format dump
   file:
$ pg_dump -Fc mydb > db.dump

   To drop the database and recreate it from the dump:
$ dropdb mydb
$ pg_restore -C -d postgres db.dump

   The database named in the -d switch can be any database existing in the
   cluster; pg_restore only uses it to issue the CREATE DATABASE command
   for mydb. With -C, data is always restored into the database name that
   appears in the dump file.

   To restore the dump into a new database called newdb:
$ createdb -T template0 newdb
$ pg_restore -d newdb db.dump

   Notice we don't use -C, and instead connect directly to the database to
   be restored into. Also note that we clone the new database from
   template0 not template1, to ensure it is initially empty.

   To reorder database items, it is first necessary to dump the table of
   contents of the archive:
$ pg_restore -l db.dump > db.list

   The listing file consists of a header and one line for each item, e.g.:
;
; Archive created at Mon Sep 14 13:55:39 2009
;     dbname: DBDEMOS
;     TOC Entries: 81
;     Compression: 9
;     Dump Version: 1.10-0
;     Format: CUSTOM
;     Integer: 4 bytes
;     Offset: 8 bytes
;     Dumped from database version: 8.3.5
;     Dumped by pg_dump version: 8.3.8
;
;
; Selected TOC Entries:
;
3; 2615 2200 SCHEMA - public pasha
1861; 0 0 COMMENT - SCHEMA public pasha
1862; 0 0 ACL - public pasha
317; 1247 17715 TYPE public composite pasha
319; 1247 25899 DOMAIN public domain0 pasha

   Semicolons start a comment, and the numbers at the start of lines refer
   to the internal archive ID assigned to each item.

   Lines in the file can be commented out, deleted, and reordered. For
   example:
10; 145433 TABLE map_resolutions postgres
;2; 145344 TABLE species postgres
;4; 145359 TABLE nt_header postgres
6; 145402 TABLE species_records postgres
;8; 145416 TABLE ss_old postgres

   could be used as input to pg_restore and would only restore items 10
   and 6, in that order:
$ pg_restore -L db.list db.dump

See Also

   pg_dump, pg_dumpall, psql