Postgres restore

Restore an OwnStack Postgres database from one of three sources: a publicly-fetchable dump URL, a Heroku Postgres backup, or a backup taken via ownstack stack backup. Restores happen on the stack — the CLI hands the work off to a worker; you don't transfer the dump through your laptop.

The three paths

Source	Command
Public dump URL	`ownstack db restore --app=<app> --url=https://…`
Heroku backup	`ownstack db restore --heroku-app=NAME [--backup=NUM]`
Stack backup	Dashboard → Data → Restore from backup, or `ownstack db restore --backup=<backup-id>`

Watching progress

$ ownstack db restore --app=<app> --url='https://…'
Restore queued (id 87).

$ ownstack db restores
$ ownstack db restore:info 87 --follow

The :info --follow form streams the live log: download progress, postgres:import output, target service restart.

What happens on the stack

Worker SSHes to the stack and downloads the dump to a temp location.
If the dump is custom format, runs pg_restore against the linked Postgres service. If plain SQL, pipes through psql.
Restarts the linked service so connections see fresh data.
Cleans up the temp file.

Restoration is destructive

The restore replaces existing data

There is no in-place merge. If the target database has rows you want to keep, take a dump first via ownstack db dump. The CLI does not warn you before overwriting — that's deliberate, the command is supposed to do exactly what you asked.

Cancel a running restore

$ ownstack db restore:cancel 87

Cancellation interrupts the running pg_restore; the target database may be in a partial state. Re-run the restore from the start to fix.

The Heroku-importer flow

For migrating from Heroku Postgres without manually exporting + re-uploading:

$ ownstack db backups --heroku-app=my-heroku-app    # list available backups
$ ownstack db backups:capture --heroku-app=my-heroku-app   # take one now
$ ownstack db restore --heroku-app=my-heroku-app --backup=NUM  # restore latest by num

OwnStack handles the Heroku CLI auth + signed URL fetch internally. You need a Heroku API key configured in the dashboard once.

After a restore: watch for password drift

If the dump was taken with pg_dumpall (or any flow that includes role globals), the restored Postgres role will have the source cluster's password. Your app's DATABASE_URL still has the OwnStack-side password. The next deploy fails authentication.

This is the single most common post-restore foot-gun. The fix is a one-statement ALTER ROLE. Full instructions: Repair after import.