Migrate Self-managed PostgreSQL: Text search over records

Move PostgreSQL data from Self-managed PostgreSQL to Ample, one component at a time. Destination verified on Ample: a generated tsvector column with a GIN index, ranked websearch queries and a negative query returning nothing (search=ok). 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.

Representative Queries

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

Resource Requirements

• primitive:postgres

Infrastructure Requirements

• Postgres (Managed PostgreSQL 16 runs in its own microVM and is auto-provisioned when an app needs a database and no DATABASE_URL is supplied.)

Workload

Text search over records

Migration Source

Self-managed PostgreSQL

Release Status

published

Support Status

verified

Execution Status

unbound

Prerequisites

• Authorized access to the Self-managed PostgreSQL source and its export tooling
• An inventory of every component in scope and out of scope
• A validated backup or copy before any cutover
• An Ample account token with servers:write, databases:read

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.
   Command: ample database create --name --engine postgres

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/text-search-over-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.

Success Checks

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

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.
• Verified on the node-22 template at s-1vcpu-1gb; region, compliance and request-duration limits are unknown.
• Managed PostgreSQL 16 only; extensions, connection limits and backup or restore procedures on the managed side are not verified beyond the pattern checks.

Cost Estimate

Currency: USD
Monthly Amount: 10.0

Components

• App server (size: s-1vcpu-1gb, quantity: 1.0, monthlyAmount: 5.0)
• Managed PostgreSQL database (size: s-1vcpu-1gb, quantity: 1.0, monthlyAmount: 5.0)

Note: Destination always-on monthly price of the tested sizes; apps auto-pause when idle. Source costs are unknown to Ample.

Evidence Summary

• Destination side verified: the Express pattern fixture deployed on Ample (npm install, npm run build --if-present, npm run start on the node-22 template) and its checks passed (a generated tsvector column with a GIN index, ranked websearch queries and a negative query returning nothing). The source-side export from Self-managed PostgreSQL is documented from the vendor's standard tooling and was not executed by this catalog's evidence.

Last Verified At

2026-09-21T02:34:39Z

Unknowns

• Region availability is unknown until a verified region fact is recorded
• Compliance attestations are unknown; none are claimed

Formats

• HTML: View here
• Markdown: View here
• JSON: View here

Next Actions

• Browse the catalog index
• Search published recipes by intent, stack and constraints
• Prepare a side-effect-free deployment plan for an authorized project
• Read the existing agent authentication setup
• Browse Self-managed PostgreSQL
• Browse Text search over records
• Browse Migrate Postgres