What is the difference between a saved dump and a recovery to a chosen time?

A logical dump contains database data from a saved backup point. Databasus also documents physical backups with PostgreSQL 17 or later. A physical base copy and a complete retained stream of the database’s change logs can let you recover to a time between backups.

Check that your database host permits the required replication connection and settings. A managed database may not give you that access. If your setup supports only dumps, plan around the times those dumps are made.

What does the verification agent check?

The optional verification agent runs on a machine you control. With Docker it can restore a backup into a temporary database, check the result and report it. It needs its own CPU, memory, disk and connectivity.

Read which backup was checked and what passed. Verification does not show that uploads, sign-in, integrations or the full app will work. Use a separate app-level exercise to check those.

What do you have to run and keep yourself?

Databasus is Apache-2.0 licensed. You supply the host, storage and maintenance. Choose a destination that remains reachable if the database host fails. Store and test access to encryption keys separately from encrypted backups.

The project documents retaining the installation’s encryption key and internal database when you need to recover the Databasus settings and backup history. That is separate from recovering the application database.

Can you trace a recovery without running the backup service?

On paper, draw a fictional PostgreSQL database, a retained copy and a fresh test instance. Mark when a fictional note changed. Use no Docker, credentials, files or real connections.

Choose the recovery point
Mark the latest usable dump, or draw a physical base plus its uninterrupted change logs. Only choose a time the available files can cover.
Write the isolation boundary
Draw the empty destination and its separate services. A physical restore belongs on an isolated compatible instance. Do not reuse a live data directory.
Check the app separately
List the note, one uploaded file and a sign-in result to check. Mark which require their own data or configuration. If you cannot verify those connections, keep the exercise on paper.