Pg_restore: error: too many command-line arguments

pg_restore: error: too many command-line arguments

The “pg_restore: error: too many command-line arguments” error occurs when you provide too many arguments to the pg_restore command. The pg_restore command is used to restore a PostgreSQL database from a backup file created by pg_dump or pg_dumpall.

To fix this error, you need to ensure that the command is properly formatted with the correct arguments. The basic syntax of the pg_restore command is as follows:

    pg_restore [options] [path/to/backup/file]
  

Here, the [options] are optional arguments that modify the behavior of the command, and the [path/to/backup/file] is the path to the backup file you want to restore. If you provide additional arguments after the backup file path, the “too many command-line arguments” error will occur.

Examples:

Let’s consider a few examples to illustrate this issue:

  • pg_restore -U username -d dbname backup.dump additional-argument

    In this example, the additional-argument is unnecessary and causes the error. To fix it, you should remove the unnecessary argument:

    pg_restore -U username -d dbname backup.dump
  • pg_restore -U username -d dbname backup.dump -C --if-exists

    Here, the -C and --if-exists are valid options, but they should not be included after the backup file path. To resolve the error, you need to place these options before the backup file:

    pg_restore -U username -d dbname -C --if-exists backup.dump

By ensuring that the command is properly formatted without any unnecessary arguments, you should be able to resolve the “pg_restore: error: too many command-line arguments” issue.

Leave a comment