From 2badad12d96f07d4bd691c006cfc838d8a6fec0e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Deepak kudi Date: Thu, 21 May 2026 01:20:23 +0530 Subject: [PATCH] Clarify WAL retention policy docs Assisted-by: OpenAI GPT-5 --- docs/faq/index.rst | 17 +++++++++++------ docs/user_guide/configuration.rst | 6 ++++-- 2 files changed, 15 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/faq/index.rst b/docs/faq/index.rst index 357eb5540..9eff2fedb 100644 --- a/docs/faq/index.rst +++ b/docs/faq/index.rst @@ -46,11 +46,17 @@ less invasive than what is required for high availability. **Can I define retention policies for my backups?** -Yes. Barman 1.2.0 introduced support for retention policies both for base backups and -WAL segments, for every server you have. You can specify a retention policy in the -server configuration file. Retention policies can be based on time -(e.g. ``RECOVERY WINDOW OF 30 DAYS``) or number of base backups -(e.g. ``REDUNDANCY 3``). +Yes. You can specify a retention policy in the server configuration file. The +``retention_policy`` option controls which base backups, and which WAL files required +by those backups, Barman retains. Retention policies can be based on time +(for example, ``RECOVERY WINDOW OF 30 DAYS``) or number of base backups +(for example, ``REDUNDANCY 3``). + +Barman doesn't currently support an independent retention policy for WAL files. The +``wal_retention_policy`` option only supports ``main``, which means WAL retention +follows the main ``retention_policy`` setting. To keep WAL files for a longer +point-in-time recovery window, configure ``retention_policy`` for that window or manage +the extra WAL archive outside Barman. **Does Barman guarantee data protection and security?** @@ -242,4 +248,3 @@ Barman can take backups of your Postgres servers on Windows. The recovery part is not supported. Additionally, Barman will have to run on a UNIX box. - diff --git a/docs/user_guide/configuration.rst b/docs/user_guide/configuration.rst index badd93b8c..c37e400ce 100644 --- a/docs/user_guide/configuration.rst +++ b/docs/user_guide/configuration.rst @@ -1574,7 +1574,9 @@ Scope: Global / Server / Model. **wal_retention_policy** -Policy for retaining WAL files. Currently only ``main`` is available. +Policy for retaining WAL files. Currently only ``main`` is available. With ``main``, +WAL retention follows the main ``retention_policy`` setting. Barman doesn't support a +separate WAL retention policy. Scope: Global / Server / Model. @@ -1855,4 +1857,4 @@ Benefits You will not see any in place changes in the configuration file. The overrides are applied internally and you can check the current server configuration by using the command ``barman show-servers SERVER_NAME`` for the complete list of settings, or in - the ``barman diagnose`` output. \ No newline at end of file + the ``barman diagnose`` output.