postgresql/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_restore.sgml

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<refentry id="APP-PGRESTORE">
 <docinfo>
  <date>2001-03-06</date>
 </docinfo>

 <refmeta>
  <refentrytitle>pg_restore</refentrytitle>
  <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
  <refmiscinfo>Application</refmiscinfo>
 </refmeta>

 <refnamediv>
  <refname>pg_restore</refname>

  <refpurpose>
   restore a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> database from an archive file created by pg_dump
  </refpurpose>
 </refnamediv>

 <refsynopsisdiv>
  <cmdsynopsis>
   <command>pg_restore</command>
   <arg> -a </arg>
   <arg> -c </arg>
   <arg> -C </arg>
   <arg> -d <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> </arg>
   <arg> -f <replaceable class="parameter">output-file</replaceable> </arg>
   <arg> -F <replaceable class="parameter">format</replaceable> </arg>
   <arg> -i </arg>
   <arg> -I  <replaceable class="parameter">index</replaceable> </arg>
   <arg> -l </arg>
   <arg> -L <replaceable class="parameter">contents-file</replaceable> </arg>
   <group> <arg> -N </arg> <arg> -o </arg> <arg> -r </arg> </group>
   <arg> -O </arg>
   <arg> -P <replaceable class="parameter">function-name(argtype [, ...])</replaceable> </arg>
   <arg> -R </arg>
   <arg> -s </arg>
   <arg> -S </arg>
   <arg> -t  <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable> </arg>
   <arg> -T  <replaceable class="parameter">trigger</replaceable> </arg>
   <arg> -v </arg>
   <arg> -x </arg>
   <arg> -X <replaceable>keyword</replaceable></arg>
   <arg> -h  <replaceable class="parameter">host</replaceable> </arg>
   <arg> -p  <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable> </arg>
   <arg> -U <replaceable>username</replaceable> </arg>
   <arg> -W </arg>
   <arg> <replaceable class="parameter">archive-file</replaceable> </arg>
  </cmdsynopsis>
 </refsynopsisdiv>


 <refsect1 id="app-pgrestore-description">
  <title>
   Description
  </title>

  <para>
   <command>pg_restore</command> is a utility for restoring a
   <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> database from an archive
   created by <xref linkend="app-pgdump"> in one of the non-plain-text
   formats.  It
   will issue the commands necessary to re-generate all user-defined
   types, functions, tables, indexes, aggregates, and operators, as
   well as the data in the tables.
  </para>

  <para>
   The archive files contain information for
   <command>pg_restore</command> to rebuild the database, but also
   allow <command>pg_restore</command> 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.
  </para>

  <para>
   <command>pg_restore</command> can operate in two modes:  If a
   database name is specified, the archive is restored 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), similar to the ones created by the
   <command>pg_dump</command> plain text format.  Some of the options
   controlling the script output are therefore analogous to
   <command>pg_dump</command> options.
  </para>

  <para>
   Obviously, <command>pg_restore</command> cannot restore information
   that is not present in the archive file; for instance, if the
   archive was made using the <quote>dump data as
   <command>INSERT</command>s</quote> option,
   <command>pg_restore</command> will not be able to load the data
   using <command>COPY</command> statements.
  </para>

  <refsect2 id="app-pgrestore-options">
   <title>
    Options
   </title>

   <para>
    <command>pg_restore</command> accepts the following command
    line arguments.  (Long option forms are only available on some platforms.)

    <variablelist>
     <varlistentry>
      <term><replaceable class="parameter">archive-name</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
       Specifies the location of the archive file to be restored.
       If not specified, the standard input is used.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-a</option></term>
      <term><option>--data-only</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Restore only the data, no schema (definitions).
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-c</option></term>
      <term><option>--clean</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Clean (drop) database objects before recreating them.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-C</option></term>
      <term><option>--create</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Create the database before restoring into it.
	(When this switch appears, the database named with <option>-d</option>
	is used only 
	to issue the initial CREATE DATABASE command.  All data is restored
	into the database name that appears in the archive.)
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-d <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable></option></term>
      <term><option>--dbname=<replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Connect to database <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> and restore
        directly into the database. Large objects can only be restored by using a direct database connection.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-f <replaceable>filename</replaceable></option></term>
      <term><option>--file=<replaceable>filename</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Specify output file for generated script, or for the listing
	when used with <option>-l</option>. Default is the standard output.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-F <replaceable class="parameter">format</replaceable></option></term>
      <term><option>--format=<replaceable class="parameter">format</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	  Specify format of the archive.
        It is not necessary to specify the format, since <COMMAND>pg_restore</COMMAND> will
        determine the format automatically. If specified, it can be one of the following:
       </para>

       <variablelist>

        <varlistentry>
         <term>t</term>
         <listitem>
          <para>
           Archive is a <filename>tar</filename> archive. Using this archive format allows reordering and/or
           exclusion of schema elements at the time the database is restored. It is also possible to limit which
           data is reloaded at restore time.
          </para>
         </listitem>
        </varlistentry>

        <varlistentry>
         <term>c</term>
         <listitem>
          <para>
           Archive is in the custom format of <command>pg_dump</command>. This is the most flexible format
           in that it allows reordering of data load as well as schema elements.
           This format is also compressed by default.
          </para>
         </listitem>
        </varlistentry>

       </variablelist>

      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-i </term>
      <term><option>--ignore-version</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Ignore database version checks.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-l</option></term>
      <term><option>--list</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        List the contents of the archive. The output of this command can be used with the <option>-L</option> option
        to restrict and reorder the items that are restored.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-L <replaceable class="parameter">list-file</replaceable></option></term>
      <term><option>--use-list=<replaceable class="parameter">list-file</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	  Restore elements in <REPLACEABLE CLASS="PARAMETER">list-file</REPLACEABLE> only, and in the
        order they appear in the file. Lines can be moved and may also be commented out by placing a <literal>;</literal> at the
        start of the line.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-N</option></term>
      <term><option>--orig-order</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Restore items in the original dump order. By default <command>pg_dump</command> will dump items in an order convenient
        to <command>pg_dump</command>, then save the archive in a modified OID order. This option overrides the OID ordering.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-o</option></term>
      <term><option>--oid-order</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Restore items in the OID order. By default <command>pg_dump</command> will dump items in an order convenient
        to <command>pg_dump</command>, then save the archive in a modified OID order. This option enforces strict OID ordering.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-O</option></term>
      <term><option>--no-owner</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Prevent any attempt to restore original object ownership. Objects will be owned by the user name used
        to attach to the database.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-P <replaceable class="parameter">function-name(argtype [, ...])</replaceable></option></term>
      <term><option>--function=<replaceable class="parameter">function-name(argtype [, ...])</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Specify a procedure or function to be restored.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-r</option></term>
      <term><option>--rearrange</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Restore items in modified OID order. By default <command>pg_dump</command> will dump items in an order convenient
        to <command>pg_dump</command>, then save the archive in a modified OID order. Most objects
        will be restored in OID order, but some things (e.g., rules and indexes) will be restored at the end of
        the process irrespective of their OIDs. This option is the default.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-R</option></term>
      <term><option>--no-reconnect</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        While restoring an archive, <command>pg_restore</command>
        typically has to reconnect to the database several times with
        different user names to set the correct ownership of the
        created objects.  If this is undesirable (e.g., because manual
        interaction (passwords) would be necessary for each
        reconnection), this option prevents
        <command>pg_restore</command> from issuing any reconnection
        requests.  (A connection request while in plain text mode, not
        connected to a database, is made by putting out a <xref
        linkend="app-psql"> <command>\connect</command> command.)
        However, this option is a rather blunt instrument because it
        makes <command>pg_restore</command> lose all object ownership
        information, <emphasis>unless</emphasis> you use the
        <option>-X use-set-session-authorization</option> option.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-s</option></term>
      <term><option>--schema-only</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Restore the schema (definitions), no data. Sequence values will be reset.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-S <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></option></term>
      <term><option>--superuser=<replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Specify the superuser user name to use when disabling triggers.
	This is only relevant if <option>--disable-triggers</> is used.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-t <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable></option></term>
      <term><option>--table=<replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Restore schema/data for <REPLACEABLE CLASS="PARAMETER">table</REPLACEABLE> only.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-T <replaceable class="parameter">trigger</replaceable></option></term>
      <term><option>--trigger=<replaceable class="parameter">trigger</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	  Restore definition of <REPLACEABLE CLASS="PARAMETER">trigger</REPLACEABLE> only.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-v</option></term>
      <term><option>--verbose</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Specifies verbose mode.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-x</option></term>
      <term><option>--no-privileges</option></term>
      <term><option>--no-acl</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Prevent restoration of access privileges (grant/revoke commands).
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-X use-set-session-authorization</option></term>
      <term><option>--use-set-session-authorization</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Normally, if restoring an archive requires altering the
        current database user (e.g., to set correct object
        ownerships), a new connection to the database must be opened,
        which might require manual interaction (e.g., passwords).  If
        you use the <option>-X use-set-session-authorization</option> option,
        then <command>pg_restore</command> will instead use the <xref
        linkend="sql-set-session-authorization"> command.  This has
        the same effect, but it requires that the user restoring the
        archive is a database superuser.  This option effectively
        overrides the <option>-R</option> option.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-X disable-triggers</></term>
      <term><option>--disable-triggers</></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        This option is only relevant when performing a data-only restore.
	It instructs <command>pg_restore</command> to execute commands
	to temporarily disable triggers on the target tables while
	the data is reloaded.  Use this if you have referential
	integrity checks or other triggers on the tables that you
	do not want to invoke during data reload.
       </para>

       <para>
        Presently, the commands emitted for <option>--disable-triggers</>
	must be done as superuser.  So, you should also specify
	a superuser name with <option>-S</>, or preferably specify
	<option>--use-set-session-authorization</> and run
	<command>pg_restore</command> as a superuser.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>
   </para>

   <para>
    <command>pg_restore</command> also accepts
    the following command line arguments for connection parameters:

    <variablelist>
     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-h <replaceable class="parameter">host</replaceable></option></term>
      <term><option>--host=<replaceable class="parameter">host</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Specifies the host name of the machine on which the
	server
	is running.  If host begins with a slash, it is used 
	as the directory for the Unix domain socket.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-p <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable></option></term>
      <term><option>--port=<replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Specifies the Internet TCP/IP port or local Unix domain socket file
	extension on which the server
	is listening for connections.  The port number defaults to 5432,
	or the value of the <envar>PGPORT</envar>
	environment variable (if set).
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-U <replaceable>username</replaceable></option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Connect as the given user.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><option>-W</option></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Force a password prompt.  This should happen automatically if
        the server requires password authentication.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>
   </para>
  </refsect2>

 </refsect1>


 <refsect1 id="app-pgrestore-diagnostics">
  <title>Diagnostics</title>

  <msgset>
   <msgentry>
    <msg>
     <msgmain>
      <msgtext>
<screen><computeroutput>
Connection to database 'template1' failed.
connectDBStart() -- connect() failed: No such file or directory
        Is the postmaster running locally
        and accepting connections on Unix socket '/tmp/.s.PGSQL.5432'?
</computeroutput></screen>
      </msgtext>
     </msgmain>
    </msg>

    <msgexplan>
       <para>
	<command>pg_restore</command> could not attach to the
	<command>postmaster</command>
	process on the specified host and port.  If you see this message,
	ensure that the server
	is running on the proper host and that you have specified the proper
	port.  If your site uses an authentication system, ensure that you
	have obtained the required authentication credentials.
       </para>
    </msgexplan>
   </msgentry>
  </msgset>  

   <note>
    <para>
     When a direct database connection is specified using the -d option, <command>pg_restore</command>
     internally executes  <command>SQL</command> statements. If you  have problems running
     <command>pg_restore</command>,
     make sure you are able to select information from the database using, for
     example, <command>psql</command>.
    </para>
   </note>
 </refsect1>


 <refsect1 id="app-pgrestore-notes">
  <title>
   Notes
  </title>

  <para>
   If your installation has any local additions to the template1 database,
   be careful to load the output of <command>pg_restore</command> 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:
<programlisting>
CREATE DATABASE foo WITH TEMPLATE = template0;
</programlisting>
  </para>

  <para>
   The limitations of <command>pg_restore</command> are detailed below.

   <itemizedlist>
    <listitem>
     <para>
      When restoring data to a pre-existing table, <command>pg_restore</command> emits queries
      to disable triggers on user tables before inserting the data then emits queries to
      re-enable them after the data has been inserted.  If the restore is stopped in the
      middle, the system catalogs may be left in the wrong state.
     </para>
    </listitem>

    <listitem>
     <para>
      <command>pg_restore</command> will not restore large objects for a single table. If
      an archive contains large objects, then all large objects will be restored.
     </para>
    </listitem>

   </itemizedlist>
  </para>

  <para>
   See the <xref linkend="app-pgdump"> documentation for details on
   limitations of <command>pg_dump</command>.
  </para>
 </refsect1>


 <refsect1 id="app-pgrestore-examples">
  <title>
   Examples
  </title>

  <para>
   To dump a database:
<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_dump mydb &gt; db.out</userinput>
</screen>
  </para>

  <para>
   To reload this database:
<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>psql -d database -f db.out</userinput>
</screen>
  </para>

  <para>
   To dump a database called <literal>mydb</> that contains
   large objects to a <filename>tar</filename> file:

<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_dump -Ft -b mydb &gt; db.tar</userinput>
</screen>
  </para>

  <para>
   To reload this database (with large objects) to an
   existing database called <literal>newdb</>:

<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_restore -d newdb db.tar</userinput>
</screen>
  </para>

  <para>
   To reorder database items, it is first necessary to dump the table of
   contents of the archive:
<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_restore -l archive.file &gt; archive.list</userinput>
</screen>
   The listing file consists of a header and one line for each item, e.g.,
<programlisting>
;
; Archive created at Fri Jul 28 22:28:36 2000
;     dbname: birds
;     TOC Entries: 74
;     Compression: 0
;     Dump Version: 1.4-0
;     Format: CUSTOM
;
;
; Selected TOC Entries:
;
2; 145344 TABLE species postgres
3; 145344 ACL species
4; 145359 TABLE nt_header postgres
5; 145359 ACL nt_header
6; 145402 TABLE species_records postgres
7; 145402 ACL species_records
8; 145416 TABLE ss_old postgres
9; 145416 ACL ss_old
10; 145433 TABLE map_resolutions postgres
11; 145433 ACL map_resolutions
12; 145443 TABLE hs_old postgres
13; 145443 ACL hs_old
</programlisting>
   Semi-colons are comment delimiters, and the numbers at the start of lines refer to the
   internal archive ID assigned to each item.
  </para>

  <para>
   Lines in the file can be commented out, deleted, and reordered. For example,
<programlisting>
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
</programlisting>
   could be used as input to <command>pg_restore</command> and would only restore
   items 10 and 6, in that order.
<screen>
<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>pg_restore -L archive.list archive.file</userinput>
</screen>
  </para>

 </refsect1>

 <refsect1>
  <title>History</title>

  <para>
   The <command>pg_restore</command> utility first appeared in
   PostgreSQL 7.1.
  </para>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1>
  <title>See Also</title>

  <simplelist type="inline">
   <member><xref linkend="app-pgdump"></member>
   <member><xref linkend="app-pg-dumpall"></member>
   <member><xref linkend="app-psql"></member>
   <member><citetitle>PostgreSQL Administrator's Guide</citetitle></member>
  </simplelist>
 </refsect1>
</refentry>

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