{"id":2421,"date":"2025-03-12T22:07:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T15:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/?page_id=2421"},"modified":"2025-03-12T22:08:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T15:08:11","slug":"pg_dump","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/postgresql-database-administration\/pg_dump\/","title":{"rendered":"pg_dump"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Summary:<\/strong>&nbsp;In this tutorial, you&#8217;ll learn how to use the&nbsp;<code>pg_dump<\/code>&nbsp;tool to export a single PostgreSQL database into a file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"introduction-to-the-pg_dump-tool\" id='introduction-to-the-pg_dump-tool'>Introduction to the pg_dump tool <a href=\"#introduction-to-the-pg_dump-tool\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"introduction-to-the-pg_dump-tool\" title=\"Anchor for Introduction to the pg_dump tool\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><code>pg_dump<\/code>&nbsp;is a client tool that allows you to export a PostgreSQL database to an SQL file or other formats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After having an SQL dump file, you can restore it on the same PostgreSQL server or transfer it to another one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can use&nbsp;<code>pg_dump<\/code>&nbsp;to connect to a local PostgreSQL server or a remote one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s the basic syntax for using the&nbsp;<code>pg_dump<\/code>&nbsp;to export a database to an SQL file:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-1\" data-shcb-language-name=\"plaintext\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"plaintext\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-plaintext\">pg_dump -h host -p port -U role target_db &gt; file_path<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-1\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">plaintext<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">plaintext<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>In this syntax:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><code>-h host<\/code>&nbsp;specifies the database host to which you want to connect. If you omit it,&nbsp;<code>pg_dump<\/code>&nbsp;will connect to the local PostgreSQL server.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>-p port<\/code>&nbsp;requires the port on which the PostgreSQL server listens. It defaults to <code>5432<\/code>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>-U role<\/code>&nbsp;requests the role (or user) you use to connect to PostgreSQL. The default is the current user of the Operating System (OS).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>target_db<\/code>&nbsp;is the database you want to export.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>file_path<\/code>&nbsp;is the path to the output file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;<code>pg_dump<\/code>&nbsp;tool respects PostgreSQL&#8217;s privilege system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, to export a database, you are likely to run it as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pgtutorial.com\/postgresql-database-administration\/postgresql-create-role\/#postgres-superuser\">superuser<\/a>. To dump a table, you need to have the select privilege on the table to export it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"dumping-a-single-database-into-an-sql-file\" id='dumping-a-single-database-into-an-sql-file'>Dumping a single database into an SQL file <a href=\"#dumping-a-single-database-into-an-sql-file\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"dumping-a-single-database-into-an-sql-file\" title=\"Anchor for Dumping a single database into an SQL file\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First, open a terminal on your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, connect to the local PostgreSQL and export the&nbsp;<code>inventory<\/code>&nbsp;database to the&nbsp;<code>inventory.sql<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\" aria-describedby=\"shcb-language-2\" data-shcb-language-name=\"plaintext\" data-shcb-language-slug=\"plaintext\"><span><code class=\"hljs language-plaintext\">pg_dump -U postgres inventory &gt; D:\\backup\\inventory.sql<\/code><\/span><small class=\"shcb-language\" id=\"shcb-language-2\"><span class=\"shcb-language__label\">Code language:<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__name\">plaintext<\/span> <span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">(<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__slug\">plaintext<\/span><span class=\"shcb-language__paren\">)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n<p>Since we don&#8217;t use the database host and port, the&nbsp;<code>pg_dump<\/code>&nbsp;will connect to the local PostgreSQL server and default port <code>5432<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;ll prompt you to enter a password for the&nbsp;<code>postgres<\/code>&nbsp;user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once entering a valid password, you&#8217;ll see that&nbsp;<code>pg_dump<\/code>&nbsp;creates the&nbsp;<code>inventory.sql<\/code>&nbsp;file in the&nbsp;<code>D:\\backup<\/code>&nbsp;directory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-use-pg_dump\" id='why-use-pg_dump'>Why Use pg_dump? <a href=\"#why-use-pg_dump\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"why-use-pg_dump\" title=\"Anchor for Why Use pg_dump?\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Backup:<\/strong>&nbsp;You can use&nbsp;<code>pg_dump<\/code>&nbsp;to back up your database and restore it later.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Server Migration:<\/strong>&nbsp;You can export a database to one PostgreSQL server and transfer it to another.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Version Upgrades:<\/strong>&nbsp;You can export a database from a PostgreSQL with a lower version and import it to a PostgreSQL server with a higher version.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Selective Export:<\/strong>&nbsp;You can use&nbsp;<code>pg_dump<\/code>&nbsp;to export specific schemas or tables.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"summary\" id='summary'>Summary <a href=\"#summary\" class=\"anchor\" id=\"summary\" title=\"Anchor for Summary\">#<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use the&nbsp;<code>pg_dump<\/code>&nbsp;tool to export a single database to a file of different formats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div 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