Can I install pg_dump without installing postgres on Alpine?

Question

I tried setting pg_dump as part of the postgres client installation, however it does not include pg_dump. Can pg_dump be installed without fully installing postgres on Alpine Linux?

Answer 1

No - to install pg_dump and related utilities, you need to run apk add postgresql , which will install the full PostgreSQL package.

The installed size is currently 12.1mb (for v9.6.0-r1) and only 451kb for postgresql-client , so it is definitely larger. If you use Alpine in Docker, this may not matter. If you use it in an embedded device where size matters, you can simply copy over pg_dump or whatever you need.