# Restore a PostgreSQL backup

Download and restore a PostgreSQL dump file to any PostgreSQL database.

SimpleBackups stores PostgreSQL backups as compressed dump files. The restore command depends on the output format you selected when creating the backup: custom format (`.pgsql`) uses `pg_restore`, and plain text format (`.sql`) uses `psql`.

**This will overwrite the target database:**
Restoring a backup replaces all data in the target database with the contents of the backup file. Confirm you are restoring to the correct database before proceeding.

## Download the backup file

1. Go to your backup page and open the **Logs** tab. Click the **(i)** icon next to the backup run you want to restore.

![The backup log entry with the info icon highlighted](https://simplebackups.com/docs/docs-assets/www-notion-so/225a50cdc8c24392cea9.png)

2. In the modal that appears, click **Click to generate a signed download link** and copy the resulting URL.

3. On your server, download and decompress the backup using the signed URL:

```bash
wget -O - "PASTE_SIGNED_DOWNLOAD_LINK_HERE" | gunzip -c > postgresql-backup.pgsql
```

## Restore the database

### Custom format (.pgsql)

If you used the **quick export** option in SimpleBackups, the backup is in custom format. Restore it with `pg_restore`:

```bash
sudo -u postgres createdb NEW_DATABASE_NAME
sudo -u postgres psql -U postgres -d NEW_DATABASE_NAME -c "drop schema public cascade;"
sudo -u postgres pg_restore --single-transaction --no-owner -U postgres -d NEW_DATABASE_NAME postgresql-backup.pgsql
```

Replace `postgres` with your database user and `NEW_DATABASE_NAME` with your target database name.

### Plain text format (.sql)

If you did not use the quick export option, the backup is in plain text format. Restore it with `psql`:

```bash
sudo -u postgres createdb NEW_DATABASE_NAME
sudo -u postgres PGPASSWORD=DATABASE_PASSWORD psql --single-transaction \
  -U postgres -h 127.0.0.1 -p 5432 -d NEW_DATABASE_NAME < postgresql-backup.pgsql
```

Replace `DATABASE_PASSWORD`, `postgres`, `127.0.0.1`, `5432`, and `NEW_DATABASE_NAME` with your actual values.