Installing#

Barman official packages are provided by PGDG. These packages use the default version of Python 3 that comes with the operating system.

There are three packages that make up the suite of Barman features: barman, barman-cli and barman-cli-cloud.

  • barman is the main package and it must be installed.

  • barman-cli is an optional package that holds the barman-wal-restore and barman-wal-archive utilites. This package is mandatory if you plan to use those utilities as the archive_command or restore_command. It must be installed on each Postgres server that is part of the Barman cluster.

  • barman-cli-cloud is an optional package that holds the barman-cloud-* client scripts that you can use to manage backups in a cloud provider. It must be installed on the Postgres servers that you want to back up directly to a cloud provider, bypassing Barman.

Note

Barman packages can be found in several different repositories. We recommend using PGDG repositories because it ensures compatibility, stability and access to the latest updates.

Warning

Do not upgrade Barman using different repositories. By doing so you risk losing your configuration as each source repository provides different packages, which use different configuration layouts.

System requirements#

The minimal system requirements needed to run a Barman server are the following:

  • Linux operating system (Debian, Ubuntu, RHEL, Rocky, Fedora, etc.) or UNIX-like operating system (FreeBSD, OpenBSD, etc.)

  • Python 3.8 or higher

  • Python modules:

    • psycopg2 >= 2.4.2: Required to connect to the Postgres server

    • python-dateutil

    • setuptools

    • argcomplete (optional)

  • PostgreSQL client tools: Required to interact with the Postgres server

  • PostgreSQL server >= 13

  • rsync >= 3.1.0: Required for recovery and Rsync backups

  • boto3 >= 1.29.1: Required when using backup_method = snapshot together with the snapshot lock feature on AWS

  • file POSIX command, generally provided by the file package

Deprecated since version 3.14: Support for versions 3.6 and 3.7 of Python has been deprecated. It is known that Barman 3.14 does not work with Python 3.6. It may work with Python 3.7, but it’s not being tested, nor supported for versions of Python prior to 3.8.

Note

Users of RedHat Enterprise Linux, RockyLinux and AlmaLinux are required to install the Extra Packages Enterprise Linux (EPEL) repository <https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/EPEL>

RHEL-based distributions#

You can install barman, barman-cli and barman-cli-cloud using RPM packages on RHEL systems as well as on similar RHEL-based systems like AlmaLinux, Oracle Linux and Rocky Linux.

To begin with the installation, first install the PGDG RPM repository.

Important

The barman-cli-cloud scripts are part of the barman-cli package for RHEL-based distributions from PGDG. Therefore, you only need to install barman-cli to use the cloud scripts.

barman#

To install the barman package. Run as root:

dnf install barman

barman-cli#

To install the barman-cli package, run as root in the Postgres server:

dnf install barman-cli

Note

If you want to use the barman-cloud utilities as hook scripts, you will need to install the barman-cli package in the Barman server.

Debian-based distributions#

You can install barman, barman-cli and barman-cli-cloud using DEB packages on Debian systems as well as on Debian-based systems like Ubuntu.

To begin with the installation, install the PGDG APT repository. This depends on your system:

Important

The barman-cli-cloud package is included among the recommended packages when you install barman-cli.

Before starting the installation, it’s essential to evaluate your use case. If you don’t plan to use the barman-cloud client scripts, such as barman-cloud-backup, you can skip installing barman-cli-cloud as a recommended package when installing barman-cli. However, if you only intend to use the barman-cloud client scripts, you can install the barman-cli-cloud package on its own.

barman#

To install the barman package. Run as root:

apt install barman

barman-cli#

To install the barman-cli package, run as root in the Postgres server:

apt install barman-cli

barman-cli-cloud#

To install the barman-cli-cloud package, run as root in the Postgres server:

apt install barman-cli-cloud

Note

If you want to use the barman-cloud utilities as hook scripts, you will need to install this package in the Barman server.

SLES-based distributions#

You can install barman on SLES systems by utilizing the packages provided in the PostgreSQL Zypper Repository.

To begin installation, you will need to add the appropriate repository by following the detailed instructions available on the PGDG SLES Repository Configuration.

The current supported version for installation is SLES 15 SP6.

Important

The barman-cli-cloud utilities are part of the barman-cli package for SLES-based distributions from PGDG. Therefore, you only need to install barman-cli to use the cloud scripts.

barman#

To install the barman package. Run as root:

zypper install barman

barman-cli#

To install the barman-cli package, run as root in the Postgres server:

zypper install barman-cli

Note

If you want to use the barman-cloud utilities as hook scripts, you will need to install this package in the Barman server.