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Fix for pg_restore "unsupported file header" Version Error ​

Fix for pg_restore "unsupported file header" Version Error

Fix for pg_restore "unsupported file header" Version Error ​

This guide addresses the error: pg_restore: error: input file appears to be a text format dump. Please use psql to restore this dump. pg_restore: error: unsupported version (1.xx) in file header

Problem ​

This error occurs when your local pg_restore version is older than the version used to create the dump file. The mismatch between versions causes the "unsupported file header" error.

Solution for macOS ​

Using Homebrew ​

  1. Update and install newer libpq:
shell
brew update
brew install libpq
# or if already installed
brew upgrade libpq
  1. Link libpq (required because it's keg-only):
  2. Add to your PATH in ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile:
shell
export PATH="/opt/homebrew/opt/libpq/bin:$PATH"

Solution for Ubuntu ​

Using APT ​

shell
sudo apt update
sudo apt install libpq-dev

Verify Fix ​

  1. Check new version after installation:
  2. Try restoring your dump file again. The error should be resolved if your pg_restore version now matches or exceeds the version used to create the dump.

Notes ​

  • This fixes version mismatch issues by updating pg_restore to a newer version
  • If you still get a text format error, your dump might be in plain text format (.sql) rather than custom format (.backup). Use psql instead for text dumps
  • Make sure to restart your terminal after updating PATH