database-checkpoint · shipping · also WAL checkpoint

Database checkpoint

A database checkpoint records engine-defined recovery state to bound or reduce the work needed after a crash.

PostgreSQL recovery uses the redo position associated with a checkpoint. SQLite checkpointing transfers committed page content from WAL to the main database file, and readers can delay completion. These mechanisms are not identical, and a checkpoint does not create an independent backup. ARIES fuzzy checkpoints record recovery metadata without requiring dirty-page writes during the checkpoint.

Relations

related

write-ahead-log, full-page-write, crash-consistency, fuzzy-checkpoint

Advantages

• Can reduce the amount of log replay required after a crash. [1]

Limitations

• More frequent PostgreSQL checkpoints can increase data-page flushing and full-page-image WAL traffic. [1]

Citations

1. PostgreSQL 18: WAL Configuration (accessed 2026-10-11)
2. PostgreSQL 18: Continuous Archiving and Point-in-Time Recovery (accessed 2026-10-11)
3. SQLite: Write-Ahead Logging (unversioned documentation) (accessed 2026-10-11)
4. WAL, checkpoints and torn pages: three different recovery guarantees (accessed 2026-10-11)
5. Mohan et al. ARIES. ACM TODS 17(1), 1992, pp. 121-122, section 5.4. (accessed 2026-10-12)

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