Fixes & guides

Postgres backup problems, solved for real

Short, command-first answers to the backup and restore errors people actually hit. No fluff, no login wall.

The method

• How to actually test a Postgres backup: the 5-step drillManifest, disposable container, counts, constraints, probes. The page everything else links to.

Supabase

• pg_dump "Network is unreachable"Direct connections are IPv6-only. The Session Pooler fix.
• pg_dump fails through the Transaction Pooler (port 6543)Prepared-statement errors, hangs — why transaction mode breaks pg_dump.
• Backing up a Free-plan projectThe free plan includes zero backups. The complete routine.
• Project paused? Get your data outRestore, export immediately, stop the cycle.

Other hosts

• Neon: what the Free plan gives you, and how to exportShort restore windows, pooled vs direct strings, offsite copies.
• Railway Postgres backupsPublic vs internal connection strings, scheduling, offsite storage.

Self-hosted

• Coolify Postgres backupsS3 setup, retention gotchas, and the restore test nobody runs.
• Dokploy Postgres backupsSame rigor, Dokploy edition.

Restore errors

• pg_restore "unsupported version in file header"The version rule, and the Docker one-liner that fixes it.