PostgreSQL backups
Every PostgreSQL database is backed up automatically. You can also trigger a backup yourself before risky changes, or restore the whole database from any completed snapshot.
Automatic schedule
Section titled “Automatic schedule”| Type | When |
|---|---|
| Daily | Once a day, at 02:00 UTC. The last 7 completed backups are kept. |
Backups are full-database snapshots. They run in the background and don’t interrupt your queries.
On-demand backup
Section titled “On-demand backup”Open the Backups tab and click Create Backup. Useful before a schema migration, a big delete, or any change you might want to undo.
Download
Section titled “Download”Click Download on any completed backup to get it as a gzipped plain SQL file. It loads into any PostgreSQL with psql, which makes it an easy way to keep an off-site copy or move to another host.
Restore
Section titled “Restore”From the Backups tab, click Restore on any completed backup. The database is rolled back to that snapshot, replacing current data.
Two things to keep in mind:
- The database must be running to restore.
- Restore replaces the entire database state. There is no point-in-time or partial restore. If you only need a few rows back, restore into a fresh database instead and copy the rows over.
Retention and platform reference
Section titled “Retention and platform reference”For the full backup retention policy and a cross-service overview see Backups.