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> Full Neon documentation index: https://neon.com/docs/llms.txt

# PostgreSQL Copy Database Made Easy

**Info:** Copying a PostgreSQL database with CREATE DATABASE WITH TEMPLATE or pg_dump works the same on any Postgres deployment, so the techniques here apply wherever you run Postgres. If you're an enterprise looking for managed cloud Postgres built for the AI era, [Lakebase](https://www.databricks.com/product/lakebase) delivers performance, security, and native integration with the Lakehouse. If you're a developer or startup who needs to ship and scale fast, [Neon](https://neon.com) is the Postgres platform built for you.

**Summary**: in this tutorial, you will learn how to copy a PostgreSQL database on the same server or from one server to another.

![](https://neon.com/postgresqltutorial/postgresql-copy-database.jpg)

## PostgreSQL copy database within the same server

Sometimes, you want to copy a PostgreSQL database within a database server for testing purposes.

PostgreSQL makes it easy to do so via the [`CREATE DATABASE`](https://www.postgrepgsqltutorial.com/postgrepgsql-create-database/) statement, as follows:

```sql
CREATE DATABASE targetdb
WITH TEMPLATE sourcedb;
```

This statement copies the `sourcedb` to the `targetdb`. For example, to copy the `dvdrental` [sample database](https://www.postgrepgsqltutorial.com/postgrepgsql-sample-database/) to the `dvdrental_test` database, you use the following statement:

```sql
CREATE DATABASE dvdrental_test
WITH TEMPLATE dvdrental;
```

Depending on the [size of the source database](https://www.postgrepgsqltutorial.com/postgrepgsql-database-indexes-table-size/), copying may take some time to complete.

If the `dvdrental` database has active connections, you will encounter the following error:

```http
ERROR:  source database "dvdrental" is being accessed by other users
DETAIL:  There is 1 other session using the database.
```

The following query returns the active connections:

```sql
SELECT pid, usename, client_addr
FROM pg_stat_activity
WHERE datname ='dvdrental';
```

To terminate the active connections to the `dvdrental` database, you use the following query:

```sql
SELECT pg_terminate_backend (pid)
FROM pg_stat_activity
WHERE datname = 'dvdrental';
```

After that, you can execute the `CREATE DATABASE WITH TEMPLATE` statement again to copy the `dvdrental` database to `dvdrental_test` database.

## PostgreSQL copy database from one server to another

There are several ways to copy a database between PostgreSQL database servers.

If the size of the source database is big and the connection between the database servers is slow, you can dump the source database to a file, copy the file to the remote server, and restore it:

First, dump the source database into a file.

```bash
pg_dump -U postgres -d sourcedb -f sourcedb.sql
```

Second, copy the dump file to the remote server.

Third, create a new database in the remote server:

```sql
CREATE DATABASE targetdb;
```

Finally, restore the dump file on the remote server:

```bash
psql -U postgres -d targetdb -f sourcedb.sql
```

### Copying the dvdrental database example

The following steps illustrate how to copy the `dvdrental` database from the local server to the `remote` server.

First, dump the `dvdrental` database into a dump file such as `dvdrental.sql`:

```bash
pg_dump -U postgres -O dvdrental -f dvdrental.sql
```

Second, copy the dump file to the `remote` server.

Third, create the `dvdrental` database on the `remote` server:

```sql
CREATE DATABASE dvdrental;
```

Fourth, restore the `dvdrental.sql` dump file in the `remote` server:

```bash
psql -U postgres -d dvdrental -f dvdrental.sql
```

If the connection between the servers is fast and the size of the database is not big, you can use the following command:

```shell
pg_dump -C -h local -U localuser sourcedb | psql -h remote -U remoteuser targetdb
```

For example, to copy the `dvdrental` database from the `localhost` server to the `remote` server, you can execute the following command:

```shell
pg_dump -C -h localhost -U postgres dvdrental | psql -h remote -U postgres dvdrental

```

In this tutorial, you have learned how to copy a PostgreSQL database within a database server, or from one database server to another.

---

## Related docs (Manage Databases)

- [Create Database](https://neon.com/postgresql/administration/create-database)
- [Alter Database](https://neon.com/postgresql/administration/alter-database)
- [Rename Database](https://neon.com/postgresql/administration/rename-database)
- [Drop Database](https://neon.com/postgresql/administration/drop-database)
- [Get Database Object Sizes](https://neon.com/postgresql/administration/database-indexes-table-size)
- [Change Database Owner](https://neon.com/postgresql/administration/postgres-change-database-owner)