Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to the most common questions about Databasus, including installation, configuration and backup strategies.

Why does Databasus not use raw SQL dump format for PostgreSQL?

Databasus uses the pg_dump's directory format with zstd compression at level 5 instead of the plain SQL format because it provides the most efficient balance between:

  • Backup creation speed
  • Restore speed
  • File size compression (up to 20x times smaller than plain SQL format)

This decision was made after extensive testing and benchmarking of different PostgreSQL backup formats and compression methods. You can read more about testing here PostgreSQL backups: comparing pg_dump speed in different formats and with different compression.

Databasus will not include raw SQL dump format, because:

  • extra variety is bad for UX;
  • makes it harder to support the code;
  • current dump format is suitable for 99% of the cases

Where is Databasus installed if installed via .sh script?

Databasus is installed in /opt/databasus/ directory.

Why doesn't Databasus support PITR (Point-in-Time Recovery)?

Databasus intentionally focuses on logical backups rather than PITR for several practical reasons:

  1. Complex setup requirements — PITR tools typically need to be installed on the same server as your database, requiring direct filesystem access and careful configuration
  2. Restoration limitations — incremental backups cannot be restored without direct access to the database storage drive
  3. Cloud incompatibility — managed cloud databases (AWS RDS, Google Cloud SQL, Azure) don't allow restoring external PITR backups, making them useless for cloud-hosted PostgreSQL
  4. Built-in cloud PITR — cloud providers already offer native PITR capabilities, and even they typically default to hourly or daily granularity
  5. Practical sufficiency — for 99% of projects, hourly or daily logical backups provide adequate recovery points without the operational complexity of WAL archiving

So instead of second-by-second restoration complexity, Databasus prioritizes an intuitive UX for individuals and teams, making it the most reliable tool for managing multiple databases and day to day use.