Cookbook recipe

Verify backups with restore drills

Applies to PostgreSQL 13–17 Last reviewed May 2026 Grounded in source

What This Is

A production experience capsule based on real incident patterns.

Why It Matters

Builds production judgment under pressure.

Next Step

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Estimated investigation4 min

Scenario

You have backups but have never restored one. An untested backup is just a wish. Run a drill before you need it for real. Diagnose it Restore into a scratch instance and validate: pg_restore -d scratch…

Investigation Path

You have backups but have never restored one. An untested backup is just a wish. Run a drill before you need it for real.

Diagnose it

Restore into a scratch instance and validate:

pg_restore -d scratch app.dump
SELECT count(*) FROM critical_table;  -- sanity check

Why it happens

Backups fail silently — bad archive_command, missing WAL, corrupt files, or wrong scope. Only a real restore proves the backup is complete and recoverable within your time target.

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Career Impact

This scenario builds production judgment and operational confidence under pressure.

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