Migrate using pg_dump and pg_restore

It is possible to migrate from self-hosted PostgreSQL or TimescaleDB to Timescale using the native PostgreSQL pg_dump and pg_restore programs. If you are migrating from self-hosted TimescaleDB, this works for compressed hypertables, without having to decompress data before you begin.

For more information, consult the step-by-step guide for your source database:

• pg_dump/restore from TimescaleDB
• pg_dump/restore from PostgreSQL

If you're planning on migrating to Timescale, there are a few limitations that you must be aware of:

• Timescale does not allow having multiple databases per instance.
• Timescale does not support tablespaces.
• Timescale does not support all available extensions.
• Timescale does not provide a superuser.

Note

A long-running pg_dump against a database can cause various issues due to the types of locks that pg_dump takes. Consult the troubleshooting section dumping and locks for more details.