On Thu, 2025-12-04 at 19:11 +0100, Laurenz Albe wrote: > On Thu, 2025-12-04 at 18:12 +0100, Radoulov, Dimitre wrote: > > Il Gio 4 Dic 2025, 16:50 Laurenz Albe <[email protected]> ha scritto: > > > On Thu, 2025-12-04 at 13:12 +0100, Radoulov, Dimitre wrote: > > > > I would like to request a clarification in the pg_dumpall > > > > documentation regarding Large Objects (LOBs). The current > > > > documentation does not explicitly state whether pg_dumpall includes > > > > Large Objects in its output. > > > > > > I admit that you have to go by circumstantial evidence here. But rather > > > than explicitly naming large objects, perhaps it would be useful to add > > > something > > > like > > > > > > pg_dumpall is primarily intended as a tool to upgrade database clusters. > > > As such, it by default exports all data of the entire cluster. > > > The only part of the state of a database cluster that is *not* included > > > in the output of pg_dumpall are the configuration files and database > > > parameters > > > changed with ALTER SYSTEM. > > Attached is a patch for such a change.
Commit 763aaa06f0 has changed the situation: with the addition of other formats than the plain format, it no longer makes sense to say that pg_dumpall is not useful for backup. Still, we should clarify what is *not* included. The attached patch does that and in passing improves the readability. Yours, Laurenz Albe
From 42ffb83a38aecb6297435bc29b7441698851008f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Laurenz Albe <[email protected]> Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2026 23:18:09 +0100 Subject: [PATCH v2] pg_dumpall doc: add more clarity Add a sentence that describes the parts of a cluster's state that are *not* included in the output. In the spirit of added clarity, swap two sentences in the introductory paragraph. Without that, it is not clear what the "it" at the beginning of the second sentence is referring to. Also, add a reference to pg_restore, since not all output formats are restored with pg_dump. Author: Laurenz Albe <[email protected]> Discussion: https://postgr.es/m/CAGJBphSX2oMPPu%3DVM4U8NP4%2BqffFH_483tFQCJ_s-mOcN3DLDw%40mail.gmail.com --- doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_dumpall.sgml | 11 ++++++++--- 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_dumpall.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_dumpall.sgml index 49e5c99b09e..c5a69d0c93d 100644 --- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_dumpall.sgml +++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_dumpall.sgml @@ -36,14 +36,19 @@ PostgreSQL documentation <para> <application>pg_dumpall</application> is a utility for writing out (<quote>dumping</quote>) all <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> databases - of a cluster into an SQL script file or an archive. The output contains - <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands that can be used as input to <xref - linkend="app-psql"/> to restore the databases. It does this by + of a cluster into an SQL script file or an archive. It does this by calling <xref linkend="app-pgdump"/> for each database in the cluster. + The output contains <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands that can be used + as input to <xref linkend="app-psql"/> or <xref linkend="app-pgrestore"/> + to restore the databases. <application>pg_dumpall</application> also dumps global objects that are common to all databases, namely database roles, tablespaces, and privilege grants for configuration parameters. (<application>pg_dump</application> does not save these objects.) + The only part of a database cluster's state that is <emphasis>not</emphasis> + included in the output of <application>pg_dumpall</application> are the + configuration files and database parameters changed with + <xref linkend="sql-altersystem"/>. </para> <para> -- 2.53.0
