> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://control.datarelay.run/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Backup & Restore

> PostgreSQL backup, guarded restore, and configuration boundaries.

# Backup & Restore

The runtime datastore is PostgreSQL. Backup tooling does not alter checkpoints; restore tooling can change application state and must be treated as a maintenance operation.

## Read-only database backup

From the repository root:

```bash theme={null}
export DATABASE_URL='postgresql://USER:PASSWORD@HOST:5432/DBNAME'
./scripts/ops/backup-postgres.sh
```

Optional gzip:

```bash theme={null}
GZIP_BACKUP=1 ./scripts/ops/backup-postgres.sh
```

Default output is under `var/backups/postgres/`.

## Guarded restore

```bash theme={null}
export DATABASE_URL='postgresql://USER:PASSWORD@HOST:5432/DBNAME'
export CONFIRM_RESTORE=yes
./scripts/ops/restore-postgres.sh /path/to/backup.dump
```

The restore script requires explicit confirmation and takes a pre-restore backup. It uses `pg_restore --no-owner --no-acl` without `--clean`.

## Release-stack backup

For Compose deployments, `scripts/release/backup-before-upgrade.sh` and `scripts/release/restore.sh` provide a second operator path. Release restore requires `RESTORE_CONFIRM=YES_I_UNDERSTAND` plus interactive database-name confirmation.

## What database backup does not include

Back up `.env`, external secret-manager values, TLS material, and other host configuration through secure configuration management. Do not place secrets in Git.