How do I deploy Postgres S3 Backup on Railway?

You can deploy Postgres S3 Backup on Railway by clicking the "Deploy Now" button on this page. Railway will automatically set up all the necessary services and configurations for you.

What are the system requirements?

Railway handles all the infrastructure requirements. You only need a web browser to deploy and manage your application.

Is this template free to use?

Yes, this template is free to use within your existing Railway account.

Can I customize this template?

Yes, you can fully customize this template. After deployment, you will have full control of what you've deployed in your Railway project.

How do I get support for this template?

You can get support through our community forum: postgres-s3-backup-c42b2427, or click "Get template help" for this template for more assistance.

Deploy and Host Postgres S3 Backups on Railway

Postgres S3 Backups is a lightweight Bun application that dumps your PostgreSQL database and uploads compressed backups to any S3-compatible storage. It runs a single backup on startup and exits—pair it with Railway Cron for automated, scheduled backups.

About Hosting Postgres S3 Backups

Deploying this template gives you a service that performs full PostgreSQL backups (pg_dump) and stores them in S3-compatible object storage. The service runs once per invocation, making it ideal for cron-triggered deployments. You'll need a Postgres database to backup and S3 credentials (AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, or any S3-compatible provider). Configure environment variables for your storage provider, link your Postgres database, and set up Railway Cron to run backups on your preferred schedule (e.g., daily at 5 AM).

Common Use Cases

Automated database backups – Schedule daily or hourly backups of your production Postgres database
Disaster recovery – Store backups off-site in S3 for quick restoration
Cost-effective storage – Use Cloudflare R2 or Backblaze B2 for cheaper backup storage than AWS S3
Retention management – Use MAX_BACKUPS to automatically prune old backups and control storage costs
Discord notifications – Get rich embed notifications on success or failure by configuring a Discord webhook URL

Dependencies for Postgres S3 Backups Hosting

PostgreSQL – The database to backup (add via Railway Postgres or use an external connection string)
S3-compatible storage – AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, MinIO, or any S3-compatible service

Deployment Dependencies

Implementation Details

Set up Railway Cron to trigger this service on a schedule. For example, a cron expression of 0 5 * * * runs the backup daily at 5:00 AM UTC. The service will start, run one backup, and exit—Railway Cron handles the scheduling.

Discord notifications (optional): Set DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL to receive embed notifications in a Discord channel. On success, you'll get a green embed with the backup filename, size, and timestamp. On failure, you'll receive a red embed with the error message. Create a webhook in your Discord server under Server Settings → Integrations → Webhooks.

Why Deploy Postgres S3 Backups on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying Postgres S3 Backups on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.