Point-in-Time Recovery — Complete Guide
Point-in-Time Recovery — Complete Guide: free step-by-step lesson with examples, common mistakes, and interview tips — part of PostgreSQL Tutorial on Toolliyo Academy.
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PostgreSQL Tutorial · Lesson 69 of 100
Point-in-Time Recovery
SQL ✓ → Advanced
Advanced · 2 — Production · ~10 min · PostgreSQL — Replication & High Availability
What is this?
PITR restores base backup then replays WAL archives up to target timestamp or LSN — recover to moment before accidental DELETE.
Why should you care?
PostgresVerse DBA ran DELETE FROM orders without WHERE at 14:03 — PITR to 14:02:30 saves the quarter.
See it live — copy this example
Run in pgAdmin or psql.
# recovery.conf / postgresql.conf recovery settings (conceptual)
restore_command = 'cp /wal_archive/%f %p'
recovery_target_time = '2026-07-19 14:02:30+05:30'
recovery_target_action = promoteRun Example »
This lesson uses terminal or setup steps. Run commands on your computer — the live editor appears on coding lessons.
What happened?
- restore_command fetches archived WAL segments.
- recovery_target_time stops replay at that instant.
- promote opens recovered cluster for use after reach target.
Practice next
- Ensure archive_mode on and WAL copied to archive dir.
- Take basebackup and note time.
- Lab: destructive SQL; restore base to new data dir with target time before mistake.
- Use recovery_target_name labeled backup checkpoint.
- Compare PITR vs logical replication for table-level oops.
Remember
PITR needs continuous archiving plus base backup. Target time, name, or LSN stops replay. Practice on clone never on prod dir in place.
PostgresVerse oops recovery
Team restores clone to 2 minutes before bad migration; exports fixed rows back to prod.
Outcome: Four hours downtime avoided vs full day rebuild.
Interview prep for this lesson
Practice these questions aloud after reading—each links to a full structured answer.
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