Duplicating a postgresql database

Question

How do I make a duplicate copy of a postgresql database?

Some (I think) steps would be:

• stop all queries
• stop the postgresql daemon
• copy the database files to a new location
• make some changes to the configuration files
• reload the server

Any ideas what should I change in the postgresql.conf in order to inform the postgresql server about the new database?

Answer 1

Copying files will not work.

Just pg_dump the database, and load it using pg_restore or psql (depending on options given to pg_dump).

Answer 2

You have to correct all the absolute paths (if any) in the config files and the PGDATA variable (or option) in the startup script.