# 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](/content/migrate/self-managed-postgresql/text-search-over-records/index.html)  
- **Markdown**: [View here](/content/migrate/self-managed-postgresql/text-search-over-records.md)  
- **JSON**: [View here](https://api.ample.computer/v1/catalog/recipes/page%3Amigrate%3Aself-managed-postgresql%3Atext-search-over-records)

### 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**