PG_DUMPALL(1)						  PostgreSQL Client Applications					     PG_DUMPALL(1)

NAME

       pg_dumpall - extract a PostgreSQL database cluster into a script file

SYNOPSIS

       pg_dumpall [ options... ]

DESCRIPTION

       pg_dumpall  is a utility for writing out (``dumping'') all PostgreSQL databases of a cluster into one script file. The script file contains
       SQL commands that can be used as input to psql(1) to restore the databases. It does this by calling pg_dump(1) for each database in a clus-
       ter.  pg_dumpall  also  dumps  global  objects  that  are  common to all databases.  (pg_dump does not save these objects.)  This currently
       includes the information about database users and groups.

       Thus, pg_dumpall is an integrated solution for backing up your databases. But note a limitation: it cannot dump	``large  objects'',  since
       pg_dump	cannot	dump  such  objects  into  text  files. If you have databases containing large objects, they should be dumped using one of
       pg_dump's non-text output modes.

       Since pg_dumpall reads tables from all databases you will most likely have to connect as a database superuser in order to  produce  a  com-
       plete dump. Also you will need superuser privileges to execute the saved script in order to be allowed to add users and groups, and to cre-
       ate databases.

       The SQL script will be written to the standard output. Shell operators should be used to redirect it into a file.

       pg_dumpall might need to connect several times to the PostgreSQL server, asking for a password each  time.  It  is  convenient  to  have  a
       $HOME/.pgpass file in such cases.

OPTIONS

       The following command-line options are used to control the output format.

       -c

       --clean
	      Include SQL commands to clean (drop) the databases before recreating them.

       -d

       --inserts
	      Dump  data  as  INSERT  commands	(rather than COPY). This will make restoration very slow, but it makes the output more portable to
	      other RDBMS packages.

       -D

       --column-inserts

       --attribute-inserts
	      Dump data as INSERT commands with explicit column names (INSERT INTO table (column, ...) VALUES ...).  This  will  make  restoration
	      very slow, but it is necessary if you desire to rearrange column ordering.

       -g

       --globals-only
	      Dump only global objects (users and groups), no databases.

       -i

       --ignore-version
	      Ignore version mismatch between pg_dumpall and the database server.

	      pg_dumpall  can  handle  databases  from previous releases of PostgreSQL, but very old versions are not supported anymore (currently
	      prior to 7.0). Use this option if you need to override the version check (and if	pg_dumpall  then  fails,  don't  say  you  weren't
	      warned).

       -o

       --oids Dump object identifiers (OIDs) for every table. Use this option if your application references the OID columns in some way (e.g., in
	      a foreign key constraint).  Otherwise, this option should not be used.

       -v

       --verbose
	      Specifies verbose mode. This will cause pg_dumpall to print progress messages to standard error.

       The following command-line options control the database connection parameters.

       -h host
	      Specifies the host name of the machine on which the database server is running. If host 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
	      The port number on which the server is listening. Defaults to the PGPORT environment variable, if set, or a compiled-in default.

       -U username
	      Connect as the given user.

       -W     Force a password prompt. This should happen automatically if the server requires password authentication.

       Long options are only available on some platforms.

ENVIRONMENT

       PGHOST

       PGPORT

       PGUSER Default connection parameters.

NOTES

       Since pg_dumpall calls pg_dump internally, some diagnostic messages will refer to pg_dump.

       pg_dumpall will need to connect several times to the PostgreSQL server. If password authentication is configured, it will ask for  a  pass-
       word each time. In that case it would be convenient to set up a password file.  [Comment: But where is that password file documented?]

EXAMPLES

       To dump all databases:

       $ pg_dumpall > db.out

       To reload this database use, for example:

       $ psql -f db.out template1

       (It  is	not important to which database you connect here since the script file created by pg_dumpall will contain the appropriate commands
       to create and connect to the saved databases.)

SEE ALSO

       pg_dump(1), psql(1). Check there for details on possible error conditions.

Application							    2002-11-22							     PG_DUMPALL(1)