pig pgbackrest

Manage pgBackRest backup and restore primitives with pig pgbackrest

The pig pgbackrest command (alias pig pb) manages pgBackRest backups and provides low-level restore primitives. It wraps common pgbackrest operations for a simplified backup management experience. All commands run as the database superuser (default postgres). For orchestrated point-in-time recovery on managed clusters, prefer pig pitr.

pig pb - Manage pgBackRest backup and point-in-time recovery.

Information:
  pig pb info                      show backup info
  pig pb list                      list backups
  pig pb list repo                 list configured repositories
  pig pb list stanza               list all stanzas

Backup & Restore:
  pig pb backup                    create backup (auto: full/incr)
  pig pb backup full               create full backup
  pig pb restore                   low-level restore primitive
  pig pb restore -t "..."          restore to specific time
  pig pb expire                    cleanup expired backups

Stanza Management:
  pig pb create                    create stanza (first-time setup)
  pig pb upgrade                   upgrade stanza (after PG upgrade)
  pig pb delete                    delete stanza (DANGEROUS!)

Control:
  pig pb check                     verify backup integrity
  pig pb start                     enable pgBackRest operations
  pig pb stop                      disable pgBackRest operations
  pig pb log                       view pgBackRest logs

Examples:
  pig pb info                      # show all backup info
  pig pb backup                    # auto: full if none, else incr
  pig pb backup full               # full backup
  pig pb restore -d                # restore to latest (end of WAL)
  pig pb restore -t "2025-01-01 12:00:00+08"  # restore to time
  pig pb create                    # initialize stanza
  pig pb expire                    # cleanup per retention policy

Command Overview

Information Query:

Command	Alias	Description	Implementation
`pb info`	`i`	Show backup repository info	`pgbackrest info`
`pb list`	`ls`	List backup sets, repos, and stanzas	`pgbackrest info`

Backup & Restore:

Command	Alias	Description	Implementation
`pb backup`	`b`	Create backup	`pgbackrest backup`
`pb restore`	`r`	Low-level restore primitive	`pgbackrest restore`
`pb expire`	`e`	Clean up expired backups	`pgbackrest expire`

Stanza Management:

Command	Alias	Description	Implementation
`pb create`	`c`	Create stanza (first-time setup)	`pgbackrest stanza-create`
`pb upgrade`	`u`	Upgrade stanza after PG major upgrade	`pgbackrest stanza-upgrade`
`pb delete`	`d`	Delete stanza (dangerous!)	`pgbackrest stanza-delete`

Control Commands:

Command	Alias	Description	Implementation
`pb check`	`ck`	Verify backup repository integrity	`pgbackrest check`
`pb start`	`up`	Enable pgBackRest operations	`pgbackrest start`
`pb stop`	`dw`	Disable pgBackRest operations	`pgbackrest stop`
`pb log`	`l`	View logs	latest log snapshot / tail

Quick Start

# View backup info
pig pb info                          # Show all backup info
pig pb info -o json                  # Result-wrapped structured JSON output
pig pb info --raw --raw-output json  # Native pgBackRest JSON output
pig pb ls                            # List all backups
pig pb ls repo                       # List configured repos
pig pb ls stanza                     # List all stanzas

# Create backup (must run on primary)
pig pb backup                        # Auto mode: full if none, else incr
pig pb backup full                   # Full backup
pig pb backup diff                   # Differential backup
pig pb backup incr                   # Incremental backup

# Restore (low-level restore primitive, at least one recovery target is required)
pig pb restore -d                    # Restore to latest (end of WAL)
pig pb restore -I                    # Restore to backup consistency point
pig pb restore -t "2025-01-01 12:00:00+08"  # Restore to specific time
pig pb restore --name savepoint      # Restore to named restore point

# Stanza management
pig pb create                        # Initialize stanza
pig pb upgrade                       # Upgrade stanza after PG major upgrade
pig pb check                         # Verify repository integrity

# Cleanup
pig pb expire                        # Clean up per retention policy
pig pb expire --plan                 # Preview cleanup plan only

Global Options

These options apply to all pig pb subcommands:

Option	Short	Description
`--stanza`	`-s`	pgBackRest stanza name (auto-detected)
`--config`	`-c`	Config file path
`--repo`	`-r`	Repository number (multi-repo scenario)
`--dbsu`	`-U`	Database superuser (default: `$PIG_DBSU` or `postgres`)

Stanza Auto-Detection:

If -s is not specified, pig auto-detects the stanza name from the config file:

Read the config file (default /etc/pgbackrest/pgbackrest.conf)
Find sections that do not start with [global*]
Use the first stanza found

If the config file contains multiple stanzas, pig emits a warning and uses the first one. In that case, specify --stanza explicitly.

Multi-Repo Support:

pgBackRest supports multiple repositories (repo1, repo2, etc.). Use -r to choose the target repository:

pig pb backup -r 1                   # Backup to repo1
pig pb backup -r 2                   # Backup to repo2
pig pb info -r 2                     # View repo2 backup info

Information Commands

pb info

Show detailed backup repository information, including all backup sets and WAL archive status.

pig pb info                          # Show all backup info
pig pb info --raw --raw-output json  # Raw JSON output
pig pb info --set 20250101-120000F   # Show details for a specific backup set

Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--raw`	`-R`	Raw output mode (passes through pgBackRest output)
`--raw-output`		Raw output format: text, json (only in `--raw` mode)
`--set`		Show details for a specific backup set

pb ls

List resources in the backup repository.

pig pb ls                            # List all backups (default)
pig pb ls backup                     # List all backups (explicit)
pig pb ls repo                       # List configured repos
pig pb ls stanza                     # List all stanzas

Types:

Type	Description	Data Source
backup	List all backup sets (default)	pgbackrest info
repo	List configured repos	Parse pgbackrest.conf
stanza	List all stanzas	Parse pgbackrest.conf

Backup Commands

pb backup

Create a physical backup. Backups can only run on the primary instance.

pig pb backup                        # Auto mode
pig pb backup full                   # Full backup
pig pb backup diff                   # Differential backup
pig pb backup incr                   # Incremental backup
pig pb backup --force                # Skip primary role check

Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--force`	`-f`	Skip primary role check

Backup Types:

Type	Description
(empty)	Auto mode: full if no backup exists, otherwise incremental
full	Full backup: backup all data
diff	Differential backup: changes since the last full backup
incr	Incremental backup: changes since the last backup of any type

Primary Check:

Before running a backup, the command automatically checks whether the current instance is primary. If it is a replica, the command exits with an error. Use --force to skip this check.

pb expire

Clean up expired backups and WAL archives according to the retention policy.

pig pb expire                        # Clean up per policy
pig pb expire --set 20250101-*       # Delete a specific backup set
pig pb expire --set 20250101-* -y    # Skip confirmation when deleting backup set
pig pb expire --plan                 # Preview cleanup plan only, do not delete

Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--set`		Delete a specific backup set
`--plan`		Preview cleanup plan only, do not delete backups
`--yes`	`-y`	Skip confirmation prompt when used with `--set`

Retention Policy:

Retention policy is configured in pgbackrest.conf:

[global]
repo1-retention-full=2               # Full backups to retain
repo1-retention-diff=4               # Differential backups to retain
repo1-retention-archive=2            # WAL archive retention policy

Restore Commands

pb restore

Restore from backup with recovery target support. At least one recovery target (-d/-I/-t/--name/--lsn/--xid) must be specified explicitly. Without parameters, help is shown.

# Recovery target (mutually exclusive options)
pig pb restore -d                    # Restore to latest (explicit)
pig pb restore -I                    # Restore to backup consistency point
pig pb restore -t "2025-01-01 12:00:00+08"  # Restore to specific time
pig pb restore -t "2025-01-01"       # Restore to date (00:00:00 that day)
pig pb restore -t "12:00:00"         # Restore to time (today)
pig pb restore --name my-savepoint   # Restore to named restore point
pig pb restore --lsn "0/7C82CB8"     # Restore to LSN
pig pb restore --xid 12345           # Restore to transaction ID

# Backup set selection (must combine with a recovery target)
pig pb restore -b 20251225-120000F -d  # Restore from specific backup set to latest

# Other options
pig pb restore -t "..." -X           # Exclusive mode (stop before target)
pig pb restore -t "..." --target-action=promote  # Promote after reaching target
pig pb restore -t "..." -T current   # Recover along current timeline
pig pb restore -d --plan             # Preview restore plan only
pig pb restore -d -y                 # Skip interactive y/yes confirmation
pig pb restore -d -- --delta         # Pass native pgBackRest restore args after --

Recovery Target Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--default`	`-d`	Restore to end of WAL stream (latest data)
`--immediate`	`-I`	Restore to backup consistency point
`--time`	`-t`	Restore to specific timestamp
`--name`		Restore to named restore point
`--lsn`		Restore to specific LSN
`--xid`		Restore to specific transaction ID

Backup Set and Other Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--set`	`-b`	Restore from a specific backup set (can combine with target)
`--data`	`-D`	Target data directory
`--exclusive`	`-X`	Exclusive mode: stop before target
`--target-action`		Action after reaching recovery target: pause/promote/shutdown
`--target-timeline`	`-T`	Recovery timeline: latest/current/N/0xN
`--plan`		Preview restore plan only, do not execute
`--yes`	`-y`	Skip interactive y/yes confirmation
Native args after `--`		Pass through pgBackRest restore args, for example `-- --delta`

Combination Rules: --target-action cannot be used with --default, because --default already means recovery to the end of the WAL stream. --exclusive/-X must be used with an explicit stop target: --time, --lsn, or --xid.

Native pgBackRest restore args after -- cannot override recovery targets, lifecycle, data directory, repository, config, or selection semantics already managed by Pig. Use Pig’s first-class options for those semantics. Tablespace/link migration options such as --tablespace-map, --link-map, and --link-all can still be passed through.

Time Formats:

Supports multiple time formats and auto-completes timezones (including non-integer-hour zones such as +05:30):

Format	Example	Description
Full format	`2025-01-01 12:00:00+08`	Complete timestamp with timezone
Date only	`2025-01-01`	Auto-completes to 00:00:00 that day (current timezone)
Time only	`12:00:00`	Auto-completes to today (current timezone)

Restore Flow:

Validate parameters and environment
Check that PostgreSQL is stopped
Show restore plan and wait for interactive y/yes confirmation
Execute pgbackrest restore
Provide post-restore guidance

Important: Stop PostgreSQL before restore. If the PGDATA is managed by Patroni, use pig pitr to orchestrate Patroni, PostgreSQL, and pgBackRest:

pig pg stop                          # Stop PostgreSQL
pig pb restore -t "..."              # Execute restore
pig pg start                         # Start PostgreSQL

Stanza Management Commands

pb create

Initialize a new stanza. Must run before the first backup.

pig pb create                        # Create stanza
pig pb create --no-online            # Create when PostgreSQL is not running
pig pb create --force                # Force create

Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--no-online`		Create when PostgreSQL is not running
`--force`	`-f`	Force create

pb upgrade

Update stanza after a PostgreSQL major version upgrade.

pig pb upgrade                       # Upgrade stanza
pig pb upgrade --no-online           # Upgrade when PostgreSQL is not running

Options:

Option	Description
`--no-online`	Upgrade when PostgreSQL is not running

Use Case:

After a PostgreSQL major version upgrade (for example, 16 -> 17), run this command to update stanza metadata.

pb delete

Delete a stanza and all its backups.

pig pb delete                        # Delete stanza (interactive y/N confirmation)
pig pb delete --yes                  # Skip interactive y/yes confirmation
pig pb delete --plan                 # Preview delete plan

Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--plan`		Preview delete plan only, do not execute
`--yes`	`-y`	Skip interactive y/yes confirmation

Warning: This is a destructive and irreversible operation. All backups will be permanently deleted.

The command includes multiple safety mechanisms:

In text mode, it requires interactive y/yes confirmation unless --yes is specified
Structured output mode requires explicit --yes
If the config file contains multiple stanzas and --stanza is not specified, pig refuses to auto-select a deletion target

Control Commands

pb check

Verify backup repository integrity and configuration.

pig pb check                         # Verify repository

This command checks:

WAL archive configuration correctness
Repository accessibility
Stanza configuration validity

pb start

Enable pgBackRest operations.

pig pb start                         # Enable operations

Use this command after pb stop to resume normal operations.

pb stop

Disable pgBackRest operations for maintenance.

pig pb stop                          # Disable operations
pig pb stop --force                  # Terminate running operations

Options:

Option	Short	Description
`--force`	`-f`	Terminate running operations

Use Case:

Use this command during system maintenance to prevent new backup operations from starting.

Log Commands

pb log

View pgBackRest log files. The log directory is read from pgBackRest config log-path first, and falls back to /pg/log/pgbackrest/ when not configured. The parent command shows the latest log snapshot by default; use tail or -f for live follow. Only pb log and pb log show support -o json JSONL output; log snapshots do not support yaml or json-pretty, and follow/tail does not support structured output.

pig pb log                           # Show latest log lines
pig pb log list                      # List log files
pig pb log tail                      # Real-time view latest log
pig pb log tail -n 100               # Show last 100 lines and follow
pig pb log show                      # Show latest log content
pig pb log show -n 50                # Show last 50 lines
pig pb log cat                       # Alias for show

Subcommands:

Subcommand	Aliases	Description
list	ls	List log files
show	cat, c	Show latest log content
tail	t, f, follow	Real-time follow latest log

Options:

Option	Short	Default	Description
`--lines`	`-n`	50	Number of lines to show
`--follow`	`-f`	false	Makes parent command `pb log` follow; no-op in `pb log tail` because tail always follows

Permission Handling:

If the current user does not have permission to read the log directory, the command automatically retries with sudo.

Design Notes

Command Execution:

All pig pb commands run as the database superuser (DBSU), because pgBackRest needs access to PostgreSQL data files and WAL archives.

Execution logic:

If the current user is DBSU: execute directly
If the current user is root: use su - postgres -c "..." to execute
Other users: use sudo -inu postgres -- ... to execute

Relationship with pgbackrest:

pig pb is not a complete wrapper for pgbackrest; it is a higher-level abstraction for common operations:

Auto-detect stanza name without specifying it every time
Auto-check primary role before backup
Show restore plan and require interactive y/yes confirmation before restore
Provide user-friendly time format input
Provide post-restore guidance

For full pgbackrest functionality, use the pgbackrest command directly.

Default Configuration Paths:

Config	Default
Config file	`/etc/pgbackrest/pgbackrest.conf`
Log directory	`/pg/log/pgbackrest`
Data directory	`pg1-path` from config, or `$PGDATA`, or `/pg/data`

Security Considerations:

pb delete requires interactive y/yes confirmation when --yes is not specified, and --stanza must be explicit under multi-stanza configs
pb restore requires an explicit recovery target, validates --time, and requires interactive y/yes confirmation when --yes is not specified
pb backup checks primary role by default to prevent running on a replica
pb log tail does not support structured output; use pb log show -n N -o json when a JSONL snapshot is required

Platform Support:

This command is designed for Linux systems and depends on Pigsty’s default directory layout.

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Last Modified 2026-07-04: bump pig to 1.5.0 (d55931d)