<para>

Text files created by <application>pg_dump</application> are intended to

be readinby the <application>psql</application> program. The

general command form to restore a dump is

be read by the <application>psql</application> program using its default

settings. Thegeneral command form to restore a text dump is

<synopsis>

psql <replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> &lt; <replaceable class="parameter">dumpfile</replaceable>

psql-X<replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> &lt; <replaceable class="parameter">dumpfile</replaceable>

</synopsis>

where <replaceable class="parameter">dumpfile</replaceable> is the

file output by the <application>pg_dump</application> command. The database <replaceable

class="parameter">dbname</replaceable> will not be created by this

command, so you must create it yourself from <literal>template0</literal>

before executing <application>psql</application> (e.g., with

<literal>createdb -T template0 <replaceable

class="parameter">dbname</replaceable></literal>). <application>psql</application>

class="parameter">dbname</replaceable></literal>).

To ensure <application>psql</application> runs with its default settings,

use the <option>-X</option> (<option>--no-psqlrc</option>) option.

<application>psql</application>

supports options similar to <application>pg_dump</application> for specifying

the database server to connect to and the user name to use. See

the <xref linkend="app-psql"/> reference page for more information.

Non-text file dumps are restored using the <xref

</para>

<para>

Non-text file dumps should be restored using the <xref

linkend="app-pgrestore"/> utility.

</para>

behavior and have <application>psql</application> exit with an

exit status of 3 if an SQL error occurs:

<programlisting>

psql --set ON_ERROR_STOP=on <replaceable>dbname</replaceable> &lt; <replaceable>dumpfile</replaceable>

psql -X --set ON_ERROR_STOP=on <replaceable>dbname</replaceable> &lt; <replaceable>dumpfile</replaceable>

</programlisting>

Either way, you will only have a partially restored database.

Alternatively, you can specify that the whole dump should be

write to or read from pipes makes it possible to dump a database

directly from one server to another, for example:

<programlisting>

pg_dump -h <replaceable>host1</replaceable> <replaceable>dbname</replaceable> | psql -h <replaceable>host2</replaceable> <replaceable>dbname</replaceable>

pg_dump -h <replaceable>host1</replaceable> <replaceable>dbname</replaceable> | psql -X -h <replaceable>host2</replaceable> <replaceable>dbname</replaceable>

</programlisting>

</para>

</synopsis>

The resulting dump can be restored with <application>psql</application>:

<synopsis>

psql -f <replaceable class="parameter">dumpfile</replaceable> postgres

psql -X -f <replaceable class="parameter">dumpfile</replaceable> postgres

</synopsis>

(Actually, you can specify any existing database name to start from,

but if you are loading into an empty cluster then <literal>postgres</literal>

information might have to be changed. It might also be appropriate to

truncate the target tables before initiating a new full table copy.

</para>

<para>

It is generally recommended to use the <option>-X</option>

(<option>--no-psqlrc</option>) option when restoring a database from a

plain-text <application>pg_dump</application> script to ensure a clean

restore process and prevent potential conflicts with

non-default <application>psql</application> configurations.

</para>

</refsect1>

<refsect1 id="pg-dump-examples" xreflabel="Examples">

<literal>newdb</literal>:

<screen>

<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>psql -d newdb -f db.sql</userinput>

<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>psql -X -d newdb -f db.sql</userinput>

</screen>

</para>

database creation will fail for databases in non-default

locations.

</para>

<para>

It is generally recommended to use the <option>-X</option>

(<option>--no-psqlrc</option>) option when restoring a database from a

<application>pg_dumpall</application> script to ensure a clean restore

process and prevent potential conflicts with non-default

<application>psql</application> configurations. Additionally, because

the <application>pg_dumpall</application> script may

include <application>psql</application> meta-commands, it may be

incompatible with clients other than <application>psql</application>.

</para>

</refsect1>

<para>

To restore database(s) from this file, you can use:

<screen>

<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>psql -f db.out postgres</userinput>

<prompt>$</prompt> <userinput>psql -X -f db.out -d postgres</userinput>

</screen>

It is not importanttowhich database you connect here since the

It is not important which database you connect to here since the

script file created by <application>pg_dumpall</application> will

contain the appropriate commands to create and connect to the saved

databases. An exception is that if you specified <option>--clean</option>,