Learn how to create and download a Heroku Postgres Dump file. Our PostgreSQL Support team is here to help you with your questions and concerns.

How to Create and Download a Heroku Postgres Dump File

Did you know that Heroku’s PGBackups feature offers a straightforward way to create regular backups of our Heroku Postgres database?

While its primary function is for backup management, PGBackups can also be a powerful tool for importing or exporting data between Heroku Postgres and external PostgreSQL databases.

An Overview:

• Capturing and Downloading Backups with PGBackups
• Manual Dump Creation with pg_dump
• Restoring to a Local Database
• Importing into Heroku Postgres
• An Easier Alternative for Importing/Exporting with Dropbox
• Advanced Methods for Data Handling
• Automating Backups with Heroku Scheduler
• Monitoring Backup Health

Capturing and Downloading Backups with PGBackups

To export data from your Heroku Postgres database, first capture a backup using this command:

heroku pg:backups:capture --app example-app

Then, download the backup to the local machine:

heroku pg:backups:download --app example-app

This will generate a dump file, which we can use for restoring or archiving purposes.

Manual Dump Creation with pg_dump

If we require a partial or custom backup (for example, specific tables or schemas), we can use the pg_dump utility:

pg_dump -Fp --no-acl --no-owner > mydb.dump

This command generates a plain-text dump file. We can modify the `pg_dump` command to target specific tables or schemas as needed.

Restoring to a Local Database

To restore the downloaded dump file to a local PostgreSQL database, use the pg_restore tool:

pg_restore --verbose --clean --no-acl --no-owner -h localhost -U myuser -d mydb latest.dump


Ensure the local database is compatible with the data we restore to avoid conflicts.

Importing into Heroku Postgres

PGBackups can also facilitate imports from external PostgreSQL databases into Heroku. Start by creating a dump file using pg_dump:

pg_dump -Fc --no-acl --no-owner -h localhost -U myuser -d mydb -f mydb.dump

Once we have the dump file, we need to upload it to a public URL, such as Amazon S3 or Dropbox, to make it accessible for Heroku to download:

aws s3 presign s3://your-bucket-address/your-object

Then, use the following command to import the dump into Heroku Postgres:

heroku pg:backups:restore '' DATABASE_URL --app example-app

An Easier Alternative for Importing/Exporting with Dropbox

While Heroku recommends using Amazon S3, Dropbox can be a more accessible option for generating a public URL. Upload the dump file to Dropbox, generate a link, and modify the URL to remove any parameters (e.g., `?dl=0`).

For example, convert:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/asdasdasd/latest.dump?dl=0

to:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/asdasdasd/latest.dump

Now, use this URL in the Heroku import command:

heroku pg:backups:restore 'https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/asdasdasd/latest.dump' DATABASE_URL --app example2-app

Advanced Methods for Data Handling

We can use **pg:pull** to fetch data from your Heroku Postgres database and restore it to a local PostgreSQL instance:

heroku pg:pull HEROKU_POSTGRESQL_DB mylocaldb --app sushi

Alternatively, `pg:push` lets us push a local database to Heroku Postgres.

Automating Backups with Heroku Scheduler

By integrating the Heroku Scheduler, we can automatically capture backups at regular intervals without manual input, ensuring data protection and consistency.

Heroku Scheduler lets us run custom scripts, including database backup commands, at set times. With this tool, we can schedule the `pg:backups:capture` command to run daily, weekly, or at any frequency that suits our needs. This automation is particularly useful for disaster recovery planning, as it provides peace of mind knowing that up-to-date backups are always available.

1. First, install the Heroku Scheduler add-on:

   heroku addons:create scheduler:standard --app example-app
2. After installing, navigate to the Heroku dashboard, find the Scheduler, and schedule the following command:

   heroku pg:backups:capture --app example-app
3. After setting up the task, it’s important to monitor and verify that the backups are working as expected. We can check the status through the Heroku dashboard or by running:

   heroku pg:backups --app example-app

By automating backups, we minimize the risk of human error, reduce the chance of data loss, and save time that can be spent on other critical tasks.

Monitoring Backup Health

Monitoring the health of our backups is a crucial step to ensure that data is securely saved and ready to be restored when needed. Heroku provides several tools and commands that lets us regularly check the state of our backups, ensuring they are executed successfully.

Here are some of the Backup Health tools and commands:

1. To see all backups created for the database, use the command:

   heroku pg:backups --app example-app

   This will display a list of backups, their status, creation time, and size.
2. For more detailed information about the status of a specific backup or to investigate potential issues, we can run:

   heroku pg:backups:info --app example-app

   This provides logs and details about the backup process, including any errors or warnings.
3. It’s also possible to set up alerts to notify us if a backup fails or is incomplete. We can integrate monitoring services such as PagerDuty or use custom notifications in the app to receive alerts for failed backup attempts.
4. Automating health checks ensures we don’t miss critical failures. By combining monitoring tools with Slack or email notifications, we can ensure immediate awareness if any issues arise with backup processes.

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Conclusion

PGBackups, along with tools like pg_dump and pg_restore, offers versatile options for managing backups and database migrations with Heroku Postgres. Whether we are performing a basic backup or handling complex imports and exports, these methods provide the flexibility needed for efficient data management.

In brief, our Support Experts demonstrated how to create and download a Heroku Postgres Dump file.