Why Storage files can be missing after restoring a Supabase database backup
If a database backup restores but image files are missing, separate the Postgres database from Supabase Storage object bytes.
Start with the symptom
If a database backup restores but image files are missing, separate the Postgres database from Supabase Storage object bytes.
What the documentation establishes
Supabase documents that database backups do not include objects stored via the Storage API; the database contains metadata about those objects.
Restoring an older database backup or PITR state does not restore Storage object binaries deleted after that point.
Five checks at a glance
| Scene | Point | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Database state ≠ Storage object bytes. | Separate Postgres database state from Storage object bytes. |
| 2 | Database backups include metadata, not Storage object bytes. | Storage API object binaries are outside the database backup. |
| 3 | Database restore does not recreate deleted Storage files. | A database restore is not recovery of deleted Storage binaries. |
| 4 | Storage objects and bucket settings are separate. | Storage objects and bucket settings require separate handling. |
| 5 | Protect metadata and object bytes with distinct recovery plans. | No destructive project restore or file-deletion test was performed. |
Do not over-interpret the symptom
Restore to a new project is database-focused; Storage objects and bucket settings require separate reconfiguration.
Read-only preflight
- Database state ≠ Storage object bytes.
- Database backups include metadata, not Storage object bytes.
- Database restore does not recreate deleted Storage files.
- Storage objects and bucket settings are separate.
- Protect metadata and object bytes with distinct recovery plans.
Evidence limits
Recovery planning should protect database metadata and actual file bytes separately. No real project files were deleted or restored for this example.
This article interprets first-party documentation and uses hypothetical diagrams. It does not report a live device, database, customer-data, outage, recovery or performance test.
- https://supabase.com/docs/guides/platform/backups
- https://supabase.com/docs/guides/platform/clone-project
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