# PostgreSQL

When Bindplane is configured to use PostgreSQL as the storage backend, all data is stored in a database on the PostgreSQL system.

### Tooling

The PostgreSQL ecosystem is rich with backup tools. This guide will focus on the simplest approach, [pgdump](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/app-pgdump.html). You can use your favorite backup tooling as an alternative to pgdump.

### Prerequisites

* Command line access to the PostgreSQL database

### Backup

Using the `pg_dump` command, export the database named `bindplane` to a file in the working directory.

```bash
pg_dump --file bindplane-$(date '+%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M:%S').pgsql --dbname bindplane
```

Alternatively, if your setup requires it, you may need to run it using `sudo`.

```bash
sudo -u postgres pg_dump --file bindplane-$(date '+%Y-%m-%d_%H:%M:%S').pgsql --dbname bindplane
```

{% hint style="info" %}
**NOTE**

Depending on how Postgres was installed, you may need to specify the full path to `pg_dump`

Such as `/usr/pgsql-16/bin/pg_dump`
{% endhint %}

Once finished, a file with the date will exist in the working directory. For example, `bindplane-2023-08-03_15:16:47.pgsql`.

It is recommended that the exported database files be moved to a remote system, such as a backup server or a secure object storage service like Google Cloud Storage or Amazon S3.

### Restore

To restore backup of the PostgreSQL database, use the following process:

1. Stop the server: `sudo systemctl stop bindplane`
2. Ensure the target database exists
3. Use `psql` to restore the backup: `psql -d bindplane < bindplane-2023-08-03_15:16:47.pgsql`
4. Start Bindplane: `sudo systemctl start bindplane`