How to Change the Backup Location in pgBackRest for PostgreSQL 15

This guide walks you through updating pgBackRest to use a new backup directory — in this case, /u01/pgbackrest.

📁 Step 1: Create the New Backup Directory

mkdir -p /u01/pgbackrest
chown postgres:postgres /u01/pgbackrest
chmod 750 /u01/pgbackrest

⚙️ Step 2: Update pgBackRest Configuration

Edit the config file:

vi /etc/pgbackrest.conf

Update the [global] section to use the new path:

ini

[global]
repo1-path=/u01/pgbackrest
repo1-retention-full=2
repo1-retention-diff=4
log-level-console=info
log-level-file=debug
log-path=/var/log/pgbackrest

[pg15]
pg1-path=/u01/postgres/pgdata_15/data
pg1-port=5432
pg1-user=postgres

🔐 Step 3: Set Permissions on Config File

chmod 640 /etc/pgbackrest.conf
chown postgres:postgres /etc/pgbackrest.conf

🧱 Step 4: Recreate the Stanza

Since the backup location changed, you need to recreate the stanza:
sudo -u postgres env PGHOST=/tmp pgbackrest --stanza=pg15 stanza-create

🔍 Step 5: Verify the New Location

Run a check to confirm everything is working:

sudo -u postgres env PGHOST=/tmp pgbackrest --stanza=pg15 check

✅ You should see a message like:

Code
INFO: WAL segment ... successfully archived to '/u01/pgbackrest/archive/pg15/...'

💾 Step 6: Run a Test Backup

sudo -u postgres env PGHOST=/tmp pgbackrest --stanza=pg15 --type=full backup

📊 Step 7: Confirm Backup Storage

Check that backups are stored in the new location:

ls -l /u01/pgbackrest/pg15/backup

🧹 Optional: Clean Up Old Backup Location

If you no longer need the old backups:

bash

rm -rf /var/lib/pgbackrest

⚠️ Only do this if you're sure the new backups are working and complete.