On Mon, Aug 11, 2025 at 9:01 AM Nick Cleaton <n...@cleaton.net> wrote:
> If I take an instantaneous filesystem-level snapshot of the postgres > data directory underneath a running postgres server, is that a safe > backup without doing any pg_start_backup/pg_stop_backup ? > Safe, yes[*], but not particularly recommended except for special cases, like spinning up a fast QA cluster. For backups, use a Postgres-aware battle tested system like pgBackRest that offers more flexibility and more safeguards. * Assuming your hardware/OS drivers are being honest with you about fsync starting up from that snapshot should look the same as recovering from an > unclean postgres shutdown > due to a kernel panic. > Yes, for all practical purposes it would be identical. Technically more similar to pulling the plug on the server. :) Cheers, Greg -- Crunchy Data - https://www.crunchydata.com Enterprise Postgres Software Products & Tech Support
