Documentation clarification request: pg_dumpall and Large Objects

Radoulov, Dimitre <cichomitiko@gmail.com>

From: "Radoulov, Dimitre" <cichomitiko@gmail.com>
To: pgsql-docs@lists.postgresql.org
Date: 2025-12-04T12:12:50Z
Lists: pgsql-docs
Hello,

I would like to request a clarification in the pg_dumpall
documentation regarding Large Objects (LOBs). The current
documentation does not explicitly state whether pg_dumpall includes
Large Objects in its output.

In the source code (pg_dumpall.c), there is a comment indicating
that pg_dumpall forces all pg_dump output to plain text. Since Large
Objects are only included by pg_dump when using -b or non-text
archive formats (custom/tar), pg_dumpall cannot include LOBs in its
output.

This behavior is clear from the implementation, but not from the
documentation.

I propose adding an explicit note such as:

  "pg_dumpall does not include Large Objects (BLOBs). To back up
   Large Objects, use pg_dump -b per database."

This clarification would help prevent user confusion during
cluster-wide backup procedures.

Thank you.

Best regards,
Dimitre Radoulov

Commits

  1. Doc: clarify introductory description of pg_dumpall.

  2. Add non-text output formats to pg_dumpall