PostgreSQL: pg_dump Tar Restore Fix
A single backup reliability fix stops pg_dump from emitting invalid restrict null commands in tar mode. The change addresses bug 19718 and is backpatched through version 14.
Duration: PT2M16S
Episode overview
This episode is a short developer briefing from PostgreSQL.
It explains recent repository work in plain language.
- Show: PostgreSQL
- Published: 2026-09-27T13:03:03Z
- Audio duration: PT2M16S
Transcript excerpt
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Good morning, it's Sunday, September 27th, 2026, and this is your PostgreSQL developer briefing.
The takeaway today is simple: there is no broad pattern across the codebase, just one focused reliability fix in backup tooling worth knowing.
That fix is commit 3c5d9d9 from Tom Lane, addressing bug report 19718 from Pavel Kopylov. It stops pg dump from writing garbage restrict and unrestrict null commands into its output.
The root cause was in the reconnect to database logic. That code assumed a restrict key would always be set when reconnecting. In practice, it can be called with no key at all. That path is reachable when pg dump is generating the restore SQL file in tar dump mode.
Why it went unnoticed is also clear from the report. That restore file is mostly unused, so most users would never hit it or notice the bad commands. The practical risk was narrow but real. If you ran a tar format dump with inserts mode enabled, those stray commands could show up where they should not, creating…
For developers, the impact is about dump correctness and trust in backups. You do not want extra noise in generated restore scripts, even in a file that is rarely consumed. Clean output matters for…
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