Status
- One sentence sums up the fleet. When all is well, it says "Everything is fine".
- Each server has its row. Green, or orange and red with the reason in plain words.
- Nothing blinks while all is well.
Product · pgCellar
Your PostgreSQL backups exist. Have you ever restored them?
pgCellar is a control room on top of Barman. It tells you where your backups stand, how far back you can go, and it restores them every week to prove it.
See the demo ↗ Documentation PDF manual
Read-only, fictional data. Login: demo / demo.
A backup you never restored is a guess. You find out the day you need it.
Why I built it
I have seen a database lost that everyone believed was backed up. I did an audit at a customer where nobody had ever tried a restore. That is where this comes from.
Barman is solid. But from a screen it is blind: no overview, no test, no report.
Then comes the question from the insurer or the security officer: show me that it restores. I used to answer with a promise. Now I answer with a dated PDF.
pgCellar is written with AI agents, under my direction. Every version goes through automated tests, a review and a real restore.
I built the tool I wanted to have.
It is a tool on top of Barman, not a replacement.
What you see
Server page
- Overview shows the last backup, its age, and the result of barman check turned into sentences.
- Storage shows what backups and WAL take, and what is left on the disk.
- The warning comes before the disk is full.
Timeline
- A timeline shows the backups and the WAL you have.
- It gives the earliest and the latest point you can go back to.
- A WAL gap is marked. It is a moment you will not get back.
Server setup
- pgCellar reads pg_settings, read-only, and judges every setting Barman depends on.
- When one is wrong, the page gives the exact fix: the line to change.
- No documentation to hunt for during an incident.
Restore drills
- Every week, pgCellar restores the latest backup and starts the copy with the PostgreSQL binaries of its version.
- It looks inside, then shuts everything down.
- You keep a dated PDF report you can hand to an auditor.
Restore and PITR
- You pick the latest backup, the end of a backup, or a date and a time.
- pgCellar runs barman recover into a directory, with an optional tar.gz.
- The run page shows every step. The last one says "Restored. Sleep well."
Runs
- Every backup, restore and drill has its row, its status and its output.
- Backups are scheduled by pgCellar, not by a cron on the host.
- An audit log keeps who ran which command.
Alerts
- Telegram, mail or a signed webhook.
- A message when a server changes level, or when a backup or a drill fails. A daily summary if you want one.
- A problem that lasts is repeated only after the delay you set.
Under the hood
Barman
Installed as is, GPL-3.0, driven through its command line. I do not touch it.
One Go binary
Web interface, API and metrics in one executable. Linux amd64 and arm64, macOS arm64.
Text files and git
One pgcellar.yaml. Every change is validated, then committed in a local git repository. A text editor and git log are enough.
An API
JSON under /api/v1, with keys. Prometheus metrics on /metrics. Whatever the interface does, the API does.
Docker
An image with Barman and the PostgreSQL binaries of the versions you choose, plus a Compose file.
An SSH companion
A container receives the WAL (barman put-wal), with one restricted key per PostgreSQL server.
Two ways to run it
Available now
On your side
A Docker container or a binary on your servers. Backups stay with you.
Not yet
Managed by dbfactory
Not yet. If you want it, write to me, that is how I decide what to build. The idea: your backups and WAL, encrypted, to a dedicated cellar with me in Belgium, drills and reports included.
Editions
To try it, and for small setups
Free
0 EUR
- 2 PostgreSQL servers
- 1 Barman host
- No automatic restore exercise
- Source code visible, under FSL
The plan most teams take
Pro
490 EUR excl. VAT / year
- Up to 10 servers
- Weekly restore exercises
- Dated reports
- Alerts
- API
For large estates
Business
1,490 EUR excl. VAT / year
- Unlimited servers
- Several Barman hosts
- SSO
- Email support within 2 working days
Two servers, free, forever. Beyond that I ask for a license: it pays for the time I put into this.
Beta in early 2027, free for the first people who sign up.
What the license never blocks
A license never stops a backup, a restore or a drill. It limits adding a server beyond the quota, nothing else. What runs keeps running, with 30 days of grace after expiry. The key is checked offline.
Who it is for
A small company with one or two PostgreSQL servers
No DBA team, no time to read logs. You want a green screen, or the reason in one sentence.
NIS2
You have to prove that recovery works. A dated report beats a promise.
Insurers and auditors
One PDF per drill: the date, the backup restored, the result.
Service providers and MSPs
Several customers, one clear view, an API to plug in the rest.
What I do around it
The tool does half of the work. The rest is my job.
Fixed price
Backup and restore audit
I look at how your databases are backed up, and I restore them for real. You get a report and an action plan.
Fixed fee
pgCellar + Barman setup
I install pgCellar and Barman on your side, connect your servers and run the first restore exercises.
Monthly
On-call and operations
I watch your backups, handle the failures and answer when something breaks.
Optional
Backup repository in Belgium
Your backups are stored on infrastructure I run in Belgium. No US cloud.
On quote. I answer within 48 h.
The license, in plain words
The license is the Functional Source License 1.1. Internal use is free. No competing service. After two years, each version moves to Apache 2.0.
Barman stays under GPL-3.0. I install it as is and drive it through its command line.
The key is checked offline. No data leaves your servers.
Questions
What if dbfactory disappears?
Each version becomes Apache 2.0 after two years. You keep the code, your backups, your data. Nothing depends on a server of mine.
What about pgBackRest?
It is planned. Barman first, pgBackRest after. No date.
What about the cloud?
On your side, or with me in Belgium. Never a US cloud forced on you.
How long does it take to install?
One hour, with an existing PostgreSQL.
Your PostgreSQL runs. Does it hold when things break?
Write to me. We look at it together.