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DBA-C0065 · Backup & Recovery

mysqldump vs pg_dump Guide

Read one dump command for the engine you named. The password is not on the command line.

Updated 25 October 2026 · Comparison

This is an original planning guide. It is not a vendor manual, an official standard, or legal advice. Example addresses use documentation ranges. Review every command before you paste it.

What this hour is for

The builder writes mysqldump with a single transaction, or pg_dump in custom format, or a SQL Server BACKUP, depending on the engine you pick. Read the flags. A dump of a database you do not administer does not belong in the note.

Do not run the dump during the reading. Do not put a password on the command line. The target path is one you named.

192.0.2.10, 198.51.100.0/24, 203.0.113.0/24, and 2001:db8::/32 are documentation. example.com is a documentation name. A sample password is replaced. It is not a password you keep.

The change you can finish

Apply nothing while you are writing the note. When the lab window opens, it is one change on the database named in the ticket. Read the draft, then the database, then decide.

Rollback is the backup, the file, or the snapshot you saved first. You do not invent a rollback after the only copy is gone.

  1. Pick the engine.
  2. Read the command.
  3. Name the target path.
  4. Do not run it.
  5. Stop.

Mistakes that outlive the statement

mysqldump vs pg_dump Guide goes wrong in a small set of ways. The list is here so the ticket can forbid them before the window.

Decisions to write down

One decision for mysqldump vs pg_dump Guide: The engine is written. The path is written. No password is on the command. And nothing was run.

Checks before you call it done

Confirm this before you call the change done: The engine is written. The path is written. No password is present. Nothing was run. And the database is yours. If one of those fails, stop.

Before you leave the database

mysqldump vs pg_dump Guide ends when the database in the prompt is the database in the ticket. If it is not, you are on the wrong database. Stop.

The draft stays a draft until a person has read the names in it. A generator does not log into the database. You delete a line that names a host, a database, or an account you did not write down.

192.0.2.10, 198.51.100.0/24, 203.0.113.0/24, and 2001:db8::/32 are documentation. example.com is a documentation name. They belong in the note. They are not values you leave on a database because a draft included them.

prompt-for-this is a reminder that a secret is missing. It is not a password, a key, or a token you save in the ticket or in git. A sample password in a draft is replaced. It is not a password you keep.

One change is the window. If two things move and the result is wrong, you will not know which one did it.

If the same step fails twice, stop for the day. Restore the copy you took first.

A second person reads the database name and the change aloud. If they cannot find them in the ticket, the note is not done.

This page is a planning guide. It is not a vendor manual, not an official standard, and not permission to touch a database you do not administer. You do not disable authentication, a firewall, or TLS to make a check pass.

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