Release notes

Faster restores and clones of big databases

• ImprovedFaster restores and clones: PostgresBackup now loads several tables and builds several indexes at the same time, one job per processor core (up to 4). On a 5.7 GB test database, a restore took about 2.5 minutes instead of 3.8, and a clone about 3.8 minutes instead of 5.6. The Restore and Clone windows let you pick the number of jobs, or 1 for the old one-at-a-time way. Each job is a connection to the server, so fewer run when the server has few connections free.
• NewFree-space check before a clone: a clone first writes the source database to a temporary file. It now checks that the drive has room before it starts, and says what to do if it doesn't. You can choose that temporary folder in the Clone window, which also shows how much space its drive has free.

Offsite copies, a size check, and backups that are proven restorable

• NewOffsite copies: a backup job can also copy its weekly, monthly and yearly backups to another folder or network share, Amazon S3 or S3-compatible storage (Backblaze B2, Wasabi, Cloudflare R2), an Azure Blob Storage container, or an SFTP server. You choose how many of each to keep there. Older copies are deleted, but only ones PostgresBackup made, and a Test button checks the destination first.
• NewBack up roles and tablespaces: a server option saves its logins, group roles and tablespaces next to each backup, so a move to a new server keeps them. A database backup alone can't include them.
• NewSize check: a backup that is much smaller than the one before (by 50% or more, set per job) is marked "Check" in Backup History, with a notification. Older backups aren't deleted that time, so a table emptied by mistake can't push good backups out.
• ImprovedA successful backup now means a restorable one. A backup fails if pg_dump reports any error, even when it exits normally, and every new backup is read back in full before it counts. An empty or cut-off file is never kept as a backup.
• ImprovedWhile PostgresBackup sits in the tray, backups taken by the background service show a notification too: complete, failed, or needs a look.

Clearer about what's free, and release emails if you want them

• Improved"Free forever" up front: the sidebar now says so, with the scheduling trial's days left underneath. Manual backups, clones and restores never need a license; a license is only for scheduled backups after the 14-day trial.
• ImprovedWhen the scheduling trial ends, the notices, the Scheduler page and the unlock window also show the backups on this PC (how many, of how many databases, their size and the newest), and that you can restore them at any time, with or without a license.
• NewAn "Email me when a new version is out" link in this window. It opens a sign-up page on postgresbackup.com; you confirm by email and can unsubscribe from any message. The app itself never asks for or stores an email address.
• ImprovedWhen a server is newer than the included pg_dump, the message now points to the latest PostgresBackup update first, rather than to installing PostgreSQL tools by hand.

Nothing else to install, and backups that survive sleep

• NewThe PostgreSQL client tools (pg_dump, pg_restore and psql from PostgreSQL 18.6) now come with PostgresBackup, so there's nothing else to install before your first backup. If your PC has a newer PostgreSQL installed, PostgresBackup uses that one instead, and the Activity Log names the tools in use.
• NewA "Set up your first backup" card takes you from nothing to a first backup: add a server, pick a database, and take the first backup right away. It suggests a nightly 02:00 job that keeps 7 daily and 4 weekly copies.
• NewBackups survive the PC going to sleep. While a backup runs, PostgresBackup asks Windows not to sleep, so pg_dump's connection to the server isn't cut off halfway through.
• NewWhen the power plan lets the PC sleep, PostgresBackup sets a wake timer for the next scheduled backup, so a sleeping PC wakes up to take it instead of missing it. If wake timers are turned off, the Activity Log says how to turn them on.
• NewA scheduled backup that fails because the connection to the server dropped or couldn't be made (for example right after the PC woke up and the network wasn't back yet) is tried once more 30 minutes later. A wrong password, a missing database and similar errors aren't retried, and "Run now" never is.
• NewTips in the server dialog for Supabase (direct connection and transaction pooler) and Neon (pooled endpoint), whose connection details trip up pg_dump.
• NewOne-time notices when your first scheduled backup has run, when the trial ends within three days, and when it has ended, with a summary of what the scheduler did. They appear in the window, or as a tray notification while the window is hidden.
• ImprovedWhen pg_dump is older than the server, the error explains what to do instead of only showing "server version mismatch".
• ImprovedThe license wording makes clear that manual backups, clones and restores stay free after the trial.

A 3 MB download, and backups in half the time

• ImprovedThe installer, and every update from now on, is about 3 MB instead of 52 MB. PostgresBackup now runs on Microsoft's .NET 10 Desktop Runtime, which Windows Update keeps patched, instead of carrying its own copy.
• NewIf your PC doesn't have the .NET 10 Desktop Runtime yet, Setup downloads it from Microsoft, checks it's the genuine file and installs it for you. This is a one-time download of about 55 MB.
• ImprovedBackups and clones take about half as long. Backup files are slightly larger (around 7%), and every version of pg_restore can still read them.

Update checks you can count on

• ImprovedWhile it's running, PostgresBackup checks for a new version once a day, measured on the clock, so a PC that sleeps overnight still gets its daily check.
• FixedIf an update check fails (for example, the PC was offline), it's tried again within the hour instead of a day later.
• ImprovedEach update check is recorded in the Activity Log, so you can see when PostgresBackup last looked and what it found.

Back up on the minute, hourly, and keep what matters

• NewRun a job at an exact time of day: pick the hour and the minute from dropdowns, for example 02:30.
• NewHourly backups: choose "Every hour" to back up at the same minute past every hour. Backing up more often than once a day (hourly, or every few hours) is included with a license.
• NewSmarter retention: alongside "keep the last N files", keep the newest backup from each of the last N hours, days, weeks, months and years. A backup stays if any rule keeps it, and each job still only ever prunes its own files.
• ImprovedThe Backup Jobs list shows each job's schedule ("Daily 02:00", "Hourly at :15") and its retention rules at a glance.

Move a backup and keep it restorable

• NewChange a backup's location from Backup History. PostgresBackup moves the file to the folder you choose (even on another drive) and keeps it in the history, so it can still be restored.
• NewAlready moved a backup yourself? Point Backup History at the folder it's in now, or pick the file directly if you renamed it.

Database errors you can read in full

• FixedWhen the database list can't be loaded (in Edit backup job, Clone or Restore), the full error message now wraps instead of being cut off, and can be selected and copied.
• ImprovedCommon server-side problems get a plain-language explanation: the database server is out of disk space, out of memory, or at its connection limit.
• ImprovedFailures to list a server's databases are now recorded in the Activity Log with the complete message.

Editing a backup job shows its database again

• FixedEdit backup job now shows the job's database. It was saved correctly all along, but the Database field appeared empty when the job was opened again.
• FixedIf a job's server can't be reached, or no longer lists the database, the job's database still shows when you edit it instead of the field going blank.

Updates arrive by themselves

• NewPostgresBackup checks for new versions once a day and tells you when one is ready, along with what changed. One click downloads it, verifies it against the checksum published on postgresbackup.com, installs it and reopens the app.
• NewRelease notes in the app: click the version number at the bottom of the window to see what's new in every version.
• ImprovedYou decide: skip a version you don't want, or switch automatic checks off. Updates keep your servers, jobs, backups and license.

Backups that run from boot, and a signed installer

• NewA background Windows service runs your scheduled backups from the moment Windows starts, even when the app is closed or nobody is signed in. Install, start, stop or remove it from the Scheduler page.
• New14-day free trial, then a one-time $9.99 license. When the trial ends only scheduled backups pause; manual backups, clones and restores keep working.
• ImprovedThe installer, the app and the service are now code-signed, so Windows shows a verified publisher.
• ImprovedSettings moved to a shared, access-protected folder so the app and the service always see the same jobs.

First release

• NewBack up PostgreSQL databases on a schedule, with per-job retention that only ever prunes that job's own files.
• NewClone a database into another, on the same server or a different one.
• NewRestore any backup into any database, optionally wiping the target first.
• NewOne login per server: pick the database for each job, clone or restore from a live list.
• NewBackup history with restore and delete, a searchable Activity Log, and a live progress banner.
• NewMinimizes to the system tray and can start with Windows sign-in.