pgbrBackup Flags
Every pg_dump flag pgbr exposes, the argument it produces, and the rules between them.
Backup flags map one-to-one onto pg_dump arguments. This page is the complete
list; Running backups covers when to use them.
The same flag set is used by one-off backups, schedules, and the source side of a migration.
Format
Prop
Type
| Value | Argument | Artifact | Restored with |
|---|---|---|---|
custom | -Fc | .backup | pg_restore |
plain | -Fp | .sql, or .sql.gz with compress | psql (after decompressing) |
directory | -Fd | .tar (collapsed) | pg_restore |
tar | -Ft | .tar | pg_restore |
Output
Prop
Type
compress is all-or-nothing at level 9 — pgbr exposes a checkbox, not a level.
With plain it changes the artifact: -Fp -Z9 emits gzip, so the object is
stored as .sql.gz and decompressed on restore.
jobs opens N additional connections to your database. The UI caps it at 16 and
disables the field unless the format is directory.
Content selection
Prop
Type
Restore behaviour baked into the dump
These affect the SQL pg_dump emits, so they're decided at dump time and can't be
changed later.
Prop
Type
noOwner and noPrivileges are what make a dump restorable into an environment
where your roles don't exist. Dumping production for a local machine usually
wants both.
Filters
All take comma-separated lists in the UI and are stored as arrays. Each entry
becomes a repeated argument, so three excluded schemas produce three -N flags.
Prop
Type
Entries accept pg_dump's pattern syntax, so audit_* works.
Filters are how you get an unrestorable backup. -t orders dumps the table
without the types, sequences, or functions it depends on. Filtered dumps are for
moving data between databases that already share a schema — not for disaster
recovery.
Validation rules
Enforced by a shared Zod schema in both the dashboard and the worker — the worker re-validates rather than trusting the queue payload.
| Rule | Message |
|---|---|
jobs > 1 requires format: "directory" | Parallel backups (jobs > 1) are only supported with the 'directory' format. |
dataOnly and schemaOnly are exclusive | Cannot specify both dataOnly and schemaOnly. |
format: "tar" forbids compress | The 'tar' format does not support compression. |
ifExists requires clean | The ifExists flag is only valid when the clean flag is also true. |
The form prevents most of these before you can submit — selecting Tar clears Compress, selecting a non-directory format resets Jobs to 1, and checking Data only unchecks Schema only.
Argument order
Arguments are assembled in a fixed order: format, compression, boolean flags, parallelism, filters, output path, and finally the connection URL as the last positional argument.
pg_dump -Fc -Z 9 --verbose -N audit -f /tmp/pgbr-backup-xyz/artifact "postgresql://..."Migration overrides
The migration path overrides two flags regardless of what you selected, because the dump goes into a pipe rather than a file:
formatis forced tocustomjobsis forced to1
Stored on the job
Every backup row stores the exact flags it ran with, as JSON. That's what tells you what a given artifact actually contains — and it's what the restore path reads to decide whether an artifact needs expanding.