> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dbdock.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# dbdock copydb

> Copy a PostgreSQL database between two URLs — no config, no backup file.

```bash theme={null}
npx dbdock copydb <source-url> <target-url> [options]
```

`copydb` is the "I just need to move this database" command. No config file. No intermediate backup file. Just paste two URLs and go.

## Quick example

```bash theme={null}
npx dbdock copydb \
  "postgresql://user:pass@prod.example.com:5432/myapp" \
  "postgresql://user:pass@staging.example.com:5432/myapp"
```

## What it does

1. Tests both connections
2. Shows source database size and table count
3. Warns if the target has existing data
4. Asks for confirmation
5. Streams `pg_dump` directly into `pg_restore` — no temp files, no waiting

## Options

| Option          | Description                                                                                                                                      |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `--schema-only` | Copy tables, indexes, constraints — no data                                                                                                      |
| `--data-only`   | Copy data only (schema must already exist on target)                                                                                             |
| `--verbose`     | Show detailed pg\_dump/pg\_restore output                                                                                                        |
| `--driver`      | Use direct PostgreSQL driver instead of `pg_dump`. Required for serverless/modified Postgres (Neon, Supabase pooler, PlanetScale Postgres, etc.) |

## Common use cases

### Refresh staging from production

```bash theme={null}
npx dbdock copydb "$PROD_URL" "$STAGING_URL"
```

### Promote staging to production

```bash theme={null}
npx dbdock copydb "$STAGING_URL" "$PROD_URL"
```

### Pull production down to local for debugging

```bash theme={null}
npx dbdock copydb "$PROD_URL" "postgresql://postgres:pass@localhost:5432/myapp"
```

### Align schema across environments

```bash theme={null}
npx dbdock copydb --schema-only "$PROD_URL" "$STAGING_URL"
```

## The `--driver` flag

Some serverless Postgres services (Neon, Supabase pooler, and others that use modified Postgres) reject `pg_dump` because it requires specific superuser operations or exact version matches.

If you hit errors like:

```
pg_dump: error: server version: 15.3; pg_dump version: 14.9
```

or

```
pg_dump: error: could not connect to server
```

...use the `--driver` flag to use DBDock's direct Postgres client instead:

```bash theme={null}
npx dbdock copydb --driver "$NEON_URL" "$LOCAL_URL"
```

<Warning>
  The driver mode does not support all `pg_dump` features (e.g., function/procedure bodies for non-PL/pgSQL languages). Use `pg_dump` mode when possible.
</Warning>

## Safety

`copydb` refuses to proceed silently when the target database has data. You'll see a confirmation prompt listing target size and table count before anything writes.

If you're scripting this in CI, wrap it with an explicit empty target:

```bash theme={null}
psql "$TARGET_URL" -c "DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS myapp; CREATE DATABASE myapp;"
npx dbdock copydb "$SOURCE_URL" "$TARGET_URL"
```

## See also

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Staging refresh guide" icon="sync" href="/guides/staging-refresh">
    End-to-end workflow for syncing environments.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cross-database migration" icon="arrows-left-right" href="/migration/overview">
    Moving between MongoDB and Postgres.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>