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)