Streaming backup
----------------

Barman can backup a PostgreSQL server using the streaming connection,
relying on ``pg_basebackup`` . Since version 3.11, Barman also supports
block-level incremental backups using the streaming connection, for more
information consult the *“Features in detail”* section.

..  IMPORTANT ::
   Barman requires that `pg_basebackup`  is installed in the same server. It is recommended to install the last available  version of `pg_basebackup` , as it is backwards compatible.  You can  even install multiple versions of `pg_basebackup`  on the Barman server and properly point to the specific version for a server, using the `path_prefix`  option in the configuration file.

To successfully backup your server with the streaming connection, you
need to use ``postgres`` as your backup method:

.. code:: ini

   backup_method = postgres

..  IMPORTANT ::
   You will not be able to start a backup if WAL is not being correctly archived to Barman, either through the `archiver`  or the `streaming_archiver` 

To check if the server configuration is valid you can use the
``barman check`` command:

.. code:: bash

   barman@backup$ barman check pg

To start a backup you can use the ``barman backup`` command:

.. code:: bash

   barman@backup$ barman backup pg