---
title: "Restore a PostgreSQL database to a point in time, with while.sh"
url: https://while.sh/en/guides/restore-postgresql/
author: "Aloïs Oddon, co-founder of Nextmap"
updated: 2026-11-02
---

# Restore your PostgreSQL database to a precise moment, or from a pg_dump, from your AI agent

A failed migration, a table emptied by mistake: your database goes back to the moment before, with a simple request to your AI agent. A safety backup is taken first, and in production, nothing happens without your approval.

## Prerequisites

- An app deployed on while, with its PostgreSQL database.
- Your AI agent, connected to while over MCP.

## Step 1: Tell your agent where to go back to

> You, to your agent: Restore the database to yesterday at 6 pm.

Your agent prepares the restore, to the moment you asked for, and gives you a link.

## Step 2: Approve

You open the link and approve, or an administrator does, depending on your permissions. A safety backup is taken first, then the restored database takes the place of the old one.

## What your agent does

Your database archives its write-ahead log continuously and takes a full backup every day, with nothing for you to declare: that's what lets it go back to a precise moment (source 1). Your agent picks the point to go back to, a backup or a moment, within the 14 days they are kept. The restored database is created separately, then takes the place of the old one: nothing is overwritten before you approve.

## Check that a backup really works

> You, to your agent: Take a backup and check it.

Your agent starts a backup, followed right away by a test: a throwaway database is created from it, and its tables are read back.

## Import a pg_dump export

> You, to your agent: Import our Heroku export into the database.

Your agent uploads the export, then loads it into your database with `pg_restore`, separately from your app (source 2).

## Find the rows involved before you go back

> You, to your agent: Show me the orders deleted since yesterday.

Your agent reads your database in SQL over MCP, with your permissions on the data and without being able to write to it, and shows you the rows involved before you choose the moment.

## Go back to the previous version

> You, to your agent: Go back to the previous version.

In the 30 minutes after a deployment, the previous version comes back in a second. After that, it takes a few seconds. Once the previous version is back, your agent reads what broke in while's logs, fixes it and deploys again.

## Next steps

- [Deploy a Node.js API and its PostgreSQL database](/en/guides/deploy-node-api-postgresql/)
- [Go back to the previous version in a second](/en/guides/rollback/)
- [Compare PostgreSQL hosting](/en/comparisons/managed-postgresql-hosting/)

## Sources

1. [PostgreSQL, continuous archiving and point-in-time recovery](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/continuous-archiving.html), 2026-11-02
2. [PostgreSQL, the pg_restore command](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/app-pgrestore.html), 2026-11-02

## Questions

### How far back can I go?

Up to 14 days, to a backup or to a precise moment.

### Can my agent restore production without me?

No. In production, the restore waits for your approval, or an administrator's, depending on your permissions.

### Are the backups really tested?

Yes. Every day, a throwaway database is created from the latest production backup, and its tables are read back. The result is shown.

### Where are the backups kept?

In France, encrypted, outside your database's cluster, for 14 days.

### Does restoring the database change my code?

No. The database and the code go back separately: your agent also brings back the previous version of the app, if needed.