Migrate Self-managed PostgreSQL: Relational records

Move PostgreSQL data from Self-managed PostgreSQL to Ample, one component at a time. Destination verified on Ample: a workspace-scoped table, an explicit state machine (draft to review to published) that rejects invalid transitions, and a cross-workspace read that returns nothing (transitions=true isolation=true). Source procedure: Take a logical backup with pg_dump -Fc as a role that can read all application objects. Not migrated automatically: Custom extensions, tablespaces, replication topology, superuser-only settings and OS-level backups have no equivalent on the managed database. Cutover: Freeze writes with the user's go-ahead, take the final dump, restore, validate, redeploy with the managed DATABASE_URL, keep the source server until confirmed. Rollback: keep the source untouched until you confirm; nothing at the source is changed or deleted by this guide.

Representational Queries

• Migrate Self-managed PostgreSQL: Relational records
• Where can I host Relational records?
• I need a component-scoped export/import or reconfiguration procedure for Relational records, with compatibility checks, verification and rollback.

Workflow Steps

1. Inventory the source: List what Self-managed PostgreSQL provides beyond the component you are moving. Out of scope here: Custom extensions, tablespaces, replication topology, superuser-only settings and OS-level backups have no equivalent on the managed database.
2. Source step 1: Take a logical backup with pg_dump -Fc as a role that can read all application objects.
3. Source step 2: Check the major version, installed extensions, tablespaces and custom roles against the managed engine (PostgreSQL 16, no custom extensions verified).
4. Source step 3: Restore into a scratch managed database first and compare row counts.
5. Provision and restore: Deploy the app once so a managed PostgreSQL 16 database exists (or create one with ample database create --engine postgres), then restore the dump with pg_restore using its connection string; keep migrations idempotent.
6. Validate before cutover: Run the app's own checks and, for data, compare counts and checksums; the example checks are the pattern self-tests (/p/relational-records).
7. Cut over: Freeze writes with the user's go-ahead, take the final dump, restore, validate, redeploy with the managed DATABASE_URL, keep the source server until confirmed.
8. Rollback: Point DNS or configuration back to the source. The source was never modified; deletion is a separate, user-executed step after validation.

Limitations

• Documentation only: nothing is executed automatically and no execution binding is offered.
• The source-side procedure is documented from Self-managed PostgreSQL's standard tooling and was not executed in this catalog's evidence; the destination side was verified with the pattern fixture.
• No full source-product parity is claimed: Custom extensions, tablespaces, replication topology, superuser-only settings and OS-level backups have no equivalent on the managed database.

Cost Estimate

• Currency: USD
• Monthly Amount: 10.0
• Basis: size prices from pricing.toml (loaded by the API) at build revision 1ac5595375130d45290090e82ed0f554ccd45405-dirty
• Components:
  • App server: s-1vcpu-1gb - 5.0
  • Managed PostgreSQL database: s-1vcpu-1gb - 5.0
• Note: Destination always-on monthly price of the tested sizes; apps auto-pause when idle. Source costs are unknown to Ample.

Success Checks

• Destination app responds on its public URL
• Relational-records check from the destination example
• Data or object counts and checksums match the source.