Export a D1 database to a .sql file and re-import it (backup, restore, or migrate data between databases) via wrangler and/or the REST API.
domain: developers.cloudflare.com · 8 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
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Documented steps
Full export (schema+data) of a remote database: npx wrangler d1 export <database_name> --remote --output=./database.sql. Doc: https://developers.cloudflare.com/d1/best-practices/import-export-data/
Narrow the export with flags: --table=<table_name> to scope to one table, --no-data for schema only, --no-schema for data only (combine as needed, e.g. schema-only single table).
Re-import the exported (or any) .sql file into a database: npx wrangler d1 execute <database_name> --remote --file=./database.sql (drop --remote, i.e. use --local, to load into your local dev DB instead).
If starting from a raw SQLite3 dump, convert it first with `sqlite3 db_dump.sqlite3 .dump > db.sql`, then remove the BEGIN TRANSACTION/COMMIT lines and any `CREATE TABLE _cf_KV (...)` statement before running d1 execute --file.
To export programmatically without wrangler: POST /accounts/{account_id}/d1/database/{database_id}/export with {"output_format":"polling"}; the response includes at_bookmark and status. Doc: https://developers.cloudflare.com/api/resources/d1/subresources/database/methods/export/
Poll the same export endpoint, passing back {"output_format":"polling","current_bookmark": at_bookmark}, until result.status is "complete"; then download the file from result.result.signed_url (valid for one hour).
To import programmatically via REST: POST .../import with {"action":"init","etag":"<md5-of-file>"} to receive an upload_url, PUT your file there, POST {"action":"ingest","etag":...,"filename":...}, then poll with {"action":"poll","current_bookmark":...} until status is "complete". Doc: https://developers.cloudflare.com/api/resources/d1/subresources/database/methods/import/
Verify the result: npx wrangler d1 execute <database_name> --remote --command="SELECT name FROM sqlite_schema WHERE type='table' ORDER BY name;"
Known gotchas
wrangler d1 execute --file import is capped at 5 GiB (same as the R2 upload limit that backs it) — split larger dumps into multiple files (https://developers.cloudflare.com/d1/best-practices/import-export-data/).
A running export blocks the database for other requests, and the REST export doc warns an in-progress export "must be continually polled or will automatically cancel" (https://developers.cloudflare.com/api/resources/d1/subresources/database/methods/export/); REST imports likewise "block the D1 for their duration."
Export is not supported for virtual tables (e.g. FTS5 full-text search tables); drop them before exporting and recreate them afterward.
Large integers (int64) can lose precision on export/import due to JavaScript's 52-bit number precision.
A single oversized INSERT can exceed the 100,000-byte max SQL statement length ("Statement too long" error); split into multiple smaller INSERT statements.
If you hit "cannot start a transaction within a transaction" on import, make sure BEGIN TRANSACTION/COMMIT were stripped from the dump, per the troubleshooting section of the import/export doc.
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