paperclipai/paperclip · error

pg_dump did not expose stdout

Error message

pg_dump did not expose stdout

What it means

Error "pg_dump did not expose stdout" thrown in paperclipai/paperclip.

Source

Thrown at packages/db/src/backup-lib.ts:346

    [
      `--dbname=${opts.connectionString}`,
      "--format=plain",
      "--clean",
      "--if-exists",
      "--no-owner",
      "--no-privileges",
    ],
    {
      stdio: ["ignore", "pipe", "pipe"],
      env: {
        ...process.env,
        PGCONNECT_TIMEOUT: String(opts.connectTimeout),
      },
    },
  );

  if (!child.stdout) {
    throw new Error("pg_dump did not expose stdout");
  }

  await Promise.all([
    pipeline(child.stdout, createGzip(), createWriteStream(opts.backupFile)),
    waitForChildExit(child, pgDumpBin),
  ]);
}

async function restoreWithPsql(opts: RunDatabaseRestoreOptions, connectTimeout: number): Promise<void> {
  const psqlBin = process.env.PAPERCLIP_PSQL_PATH || "psql";
  const child = spawn(
    psqlBin,
    [
      `--dbname=${opts.connectionString}`,
      "--set=ON_ERROR_STOP=1",
      "--quiet",
      "--no-psqlrc",
    ],

View on GitHub (pinned to 120ae5428f)

Solutions

1. Check pg_dump installation and retry; stdout pipe was unavailable.
2. Verify spawn stdio configuration for pg_dump.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at packages/db/src/backup-lib.ts:346 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of paperclipai/paperclip@120ae5428f (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/e449dee1cf44c7bc. Report an issue: GitHub.