Logical vs physical backups
How the two backup types differ, and which recovery workflows each one supports.
Logical backup
A logical backup exports database objects and data using PostgreSQL logical dump tooling (pg_dump). It is useful for logical migration and portability. A logical backup is restored into a separately registered PostgreSQL target, not into the source profile.
Physical backup
A physical backup captures PostgreSQL's physical data files usingpg_basebackup. It is designed for cluster-level recovery. When combined with a compatible, continuous WAL archive, physical backups can support point-in-time recovery.
A physical backup alone is not point-in-time recovery
Point-in-time recovery requires a compatible base backup and an unbroken WAL sequence. Configuring a WAL destination does not prove that every required WAL segment was archived. PostgreSQL validates WAL continuity during recovery.