--- title: "How to Back Up PostgreSQL in Docker (Local, S3, and Plakar) — Nick Janetakis" url: https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-back-up-postgresql-in-docker-local-s3-and-plakar-nick-janetakis-l64ac1yno source_url: https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/how-to-back-up-postgresql-in-docker-local-s3-and-plakar type: article source: "Nick Janetakis" published: 2026-07-21T11:09:58.019Z updated: 2026-07-21T11:10:22.532Z tags: ["docker", "postgresql", "aws-s3"] reading_time: 44 upvotes: 24 comments: 2 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # How to Back Up PostgreSQL in Docker (Local, S3, and Plakar) — Nick Janetakis **[Nick Janetakis](https://daily.dev/sources/nickjanetakis)** · 44 min read · 24 upvotes · 2 comments ## Summary A comprehensive guide to backing up PostgreSQL databases running in Docker, covering three approaches: local filesystem, AWS S3, and using Plakar (an open source deduplication backup tool). Includes shell scripts for automated daily backups via cron, restore procedures, and a cost comparison showing how Plakar's deduplication can reduce S3 storage from ~455 GB to ~65 GB after one year of growth. Also covers Plakar installation, repository setup, snapshot management, pruning policies, and syncing between local and S3 storage backends. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@fahimahammed** · 0 upvotes > ![GIF](https://static.klipy.com/ii/4e7bea9f7a3371424e6c16ebc93252fe/d0/24/0OkGR1vsIqWxf5lY3.gif) --- Tags: [#docker](https://daily.dev/tags/docker), [#postgresql](https://daily.dev/tags/postgresql), [#aws-s3](https://daily.dev/tags/aws-s3) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-back-up-postgresql-in-docker-local-s3-and-plakar-nick-janetakis-l64ac1yno)