PostgreSQL Backup & Verification (Windows)

A lightweight, opinionated set of scripts and instructions to automate PostgreSQL backups on Windows, verify the backup contents, and log results. This repository contains a timestamped custom-format dump workflow, an automated verification script, and instructions for scheduling with Windows Task Scheduler.

Important: This project targets PostgreSQL installed on Windows (pg_dump/pg_restore/psql in "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL<version>\bin"). Do NOT commit any secrets (passwords or pgpass files) to this repository.

Status: Stable — tested on PostgreSQL 16 on Windows 10/11.

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Table of Contents

• Repo layout
• Quick start
• Script: verify_backup.bat
• How verification works
• Scheduling with Task Scheduler
• Restore examples
• Security notes
• Troubleshooting
• License

Repo layout

/ (root)
├── README.md
├── verify_backup.bat         # main automation script (Windows batch)
├── backup_flowchart.png      # optional visuals
├── postgres-backup-guide.qmd # Quarto blog post source (optional)
└── samples/
    └── dump_contents.txt     # example output from pg_restore -l

Quick start

1. Clone this repo to a machine that can connect to your PostgreSQL server.
2. Edit verify_backup.bat to set paths, DB name, and user.
3. Create the backup folder (example uses C:\edb):

md C:\edb

4. Prepare passwordless authentication for automated runs (see Security notes).
5. Test manually:

"C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\bin\pg_dump.exe" -h localhost -p 5432 -U postgres -F c -b -v -f "C:\edb\analyticsscdb.dump" analyticsscdb

"C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\bin\pg_restore.exe" -l "C:\edb\analyticsscdb.dump" | more

Script: verify_backup.bat

• Save this file as verify_backup.bat in the repo root
• Edit the configuration variables at the top to match your environment (PG_BIN, BACKUP_DIR, DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_HOST).

How verification works

• The script performs a quantitative check:
  • It counts the number of tables in the live DB via a simple SQL query on information_schema.
  • It lists the dump contents (pg_restore -l) and counts "TABLE" entries.
  • If counts match, the script logs success; otherwise it logs a failure.
• Notes:
  • This check is a quick sanity test, not a substitute for a periodic trial restore.
  • For full verification, perform a test restore into a temporary database and run smoke tests.

Scheduling with Task Scheduler

1. Open Task Scheduler -> Create Basic Task...
2. Name: PostgreSQL Daily Backup (or similar).
3. Trigger: Daily (pick a time).
4. Action: Start a program -> Program/script: browse to C:\edb\verify_backup.bat.
5. Before finishing, check "Open the Properties dialog for this task when I click Finish".
6. In Properties:
   • General: Select "Run whether user is logged on or not".
   • Check "Run with highest privileges".
   • Enter your Windows password when prompted.
7. (Optional) In Conditions/Settings, configure network and power behavior as needed.

Restore examples

• Restore a custom-format dump and let pg_restore create the DB (if dump includes DB creation):

"C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\bin\pg_restore.exe" -h localhost -p 5432 -U postgres -C -d postgres -v "C:\edb\analyticsscdb_sample.dump"

• Restore into an existing DB:

"C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\bin\createdb.exe" -h localhost -p 5432 -U postgres restored_db
"C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\bin\pg_restore.exe" -h localhost -p 5432 -U postgres -d restored_db -v "C:\edb\analyticsscdb_sample.dump"

• Restore a plain SQL file:

"C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\16\bin\psql.exe" -h localhost -p 5432 -U postgres -d restored_db -f "C:\edb\analyticsscdb_sample.sql"

Security notes (must read)

• Do NOT check any password files (.pgpass.conf) into version control.
• For automation, create %APPDATA%\postgresql\pgpass.conf with:

  localhost:5432:*:postgres:your_password_here
  

  and restrict file permissions to your user account only.
• Alternatively, use integrated OS credential managers or a secrets vault rather than plaintext passwords.

Troubleshooting & common checks

• If pg_dump fails: ensure PostgreSQL service is running:

netstat -ano | findstr 5432
tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq postgres.exe"

• If authentication errors: confirm pgpass is present and correctly formatted, or run pg_dump interactively to verify password works.
• If permission denied writing to C:\edb: run the task as Administrator or choose a user-writable folder like %USERPROFILE%\edb.
• Inspect the log:

notepad "C:\edb\backup_log.txt"

Contributing

• Pull requests are welcome for improvements and additional verification checks (e.g., checksums, row counts per table).
• Please do not add any file containing live credentials.

License

• MIT License — see LICENSE file

Author / Contact

• Dramane B. Salifou — dsalifou@gmail.com / d.salifou298@mybvc.ca / dsalifou@hotmail.com