pgCellar

The barman serves, the cellar keeps.

PostgreSQL backup control room, on Barman, self-hosted.

The problem

Tools with a nice web interface do logical dumps. A dump is a photo of last night. If someone breaks a table at 14:32, I can not go back to 14:31.

Physical engines, Barman and pgBackRest, can go back to the second. But they have no interface. And nobody tests his restores.

So many small companies have backups. Few know if they come back. pgCellar fills this hole.

What it does

Servers in three clicks

You add a PostgreSQL server. The SSH key is generated and deployed. Barman is configured.

Schedule and retention

When to backup, how long to keep. Written in the Barman files, nowhere else.

A status that does not lie

Last backup, age of last WAL, verdict of barman check. Red when it is red.

Point-in-time restore

A wizard: you choose date and time, it prepares the command and the target.

Weekly restore drill

Every week, a real restore in a throwaway container, some checks, a dated report.

Alerts and API

Mail, Telegram, webhook, only when a human must act. JSON API and /metrics for the rest.

How it works

Files are the truth. The Barman files stay Barman files. What is mine fits in one pgcellar.yaml. Each change is a local git commit.

The interface and the API are only forms over these files. An admin with a text editor can do everything without pgCellar. This is on purpose.

One binary, or one Docker image. Barman is installed as is (GPL-3.0) and driven by its command line. I do not modify it, I do not embed it in my code.

Dashboard mockup. Sample data.

The proof

A backup you never restored is a guess. I prefer a proof.

Every week pgCellar really restores, checks that the database starts, and writes a dated report. You give it to whoever asks.

NIS2, insurers, ISO 27001 auditors: they all ask the same question. "When did you last restore?" Here the answer fits on one page.

Licence and Pro edition

The source code is visible, under the FSL licence. Internal use is free, no hidden limit. The beta is free for the first people who sign up.

Pro licences, support and services are on dbfactory.io/pgcellar. The GitHub repository opens soon.

Licences and services

Questions

Which licence?

FSL 1.1 (Functional Source License). The code is visible. Internal use is free. You can not make a competing service with it. Each version becomes Apache 2.0 after two years.

What about Barman and the GPL?

Barman belongs to EnterpriseDB, under GPL-3.0. I install it as is and I drive it by its command line. I do not import it. The border is clear, and it is a product rule.

Where is it hosted?

At your place, on your machine. If you prefer, at dbfactory in Belgium. Never an imposed US cloud.

And pgBackRest?

Planned. The code is made for a second engine, but version 0.1 does only Barman.

When?

Beta early 2027. Sign up, I tell the first ones.

Early access

Leave your address. One mail when the beta opens, not one more.