# Restore failed \`entity2char already exists' RDS Postgres 13.7
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/restore-failed-entity2char-already-exists-rds-postgres-13-7/245964
**Category:** Self-hosting
**Created:** [November 17, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restore-failed-entity2char-already-exists-rds-postgres-13-7/245964 "2022-11-17T20:43:16Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restore-failed-entity2char-already-exists-rds-postgres-13-7/245964/1 "2022-11-17T20:43:17Z")
I’m trying to restore a database created on `"Discourse 2.9.0.beta10 - https://github.com/discourse/discourse version 8d3fe3ddc5d38ab02a8f5c6aed7ebf7a6bcfbfec">`
and restore to `Discourse 2.9.0.beta12 - https://github.com/discourse/discourse version d4371a9ffcc6c727105a880b4b70c715ed0283cb">`. Both are using RDS Postgres 13.7. The uncompressed database is 126GB, so after spending a couple of days believing that I need a 200GB disk to run this restore of the 30GB compressed database, I get this:
```plaintext
...
SET
CREATE TYPE
ERROR: function "entity2char" already exists with same argument types
EXCEPTION: psql failed: ERROR: function "entity2char" already exists with same argument types
/var/www/discourse/lib/backup_restore/database_restorer.rb:92:in `restore_dump'
/var/www/discourse/lib/backup_restore/database_restorer.rb:26:in `restore'
/var/www/discourse/lib/backup_restore/restorer.rb:51:in `run'
...
```
Searching `"entity2char" already exists` finds nothing and I don’t see `entity2char` in core or any of the plugins. And I don’t see it in `retort` either, which I was hoping to blame, but removing it didn’t help.
Here are the plugins:
```plaintext
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-adplugin.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-affiliate.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-bbcode.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-canned-replies.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-data-explorer.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-prometheus.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-push-notifications.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-signatures.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-user-notes.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-spoiler-alert.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-cakeday.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-checklist.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-calendar.git
- git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-reactions.git
```
And I tried to look for a `entity2char` function in the database where I made the backup and wasn’t able to find one.
---
### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [November 17, 2022, 10:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restore-failed-entity2char-already-exists-rds-postgres-13-7/245964/2 "2022-11-17T22:31:40Z")
What’s the history of this forum? On which postgres and Discourse version did it start? Was it ever on Bitnami or one of those sketchy hosts?
---
### Author:  [@gerhard](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gerhard)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restore-failed-entity2char-already-exists-rds-postgres-13-7/245964/3 "2022-11-18T00:32:55Z")
It looks like the database dump contains a reference to a `entity2char` function for some reason. Removing it should make it work unless there’s other stuff in the dump that shouldn’t be there.
---
### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2022, 1:11am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restore-failed-entity2char-already-exists-rds-postgres-13-7/245964/4 "2022-11-18T01:11:21Z")
Do you have a hint how to remove it from the existing database? My first Google hint didn’t work.
---
### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2022, 12:42pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restore-failed-entity2char-already-exists-rds-postgres-13-7/245964/5 "2022-11-18T12:42:06Z")
Don’t remove it from the database, remove it from the backup.
---
### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2022, 12:44pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restore-failed-entity2char-already-exists-rds-postgres-13-7/245964/6 "2022-11-18T12:44:17Z")
I was seconds away from deleting it from the database, as it seems much easier to do whatever SQL has for
```
drop function entity2char;
```
I was able to list them it `\df`
You think if I remove it from the database it’ll break something?
Wait. . . . And the point of this exercise of restoring the production database to the new image I’d like to launch is to make sure that discourse will work with the existing production database when I install the latest Discourse and migrate the database, so modifying the database in order to restore it on staging doesn’t make sense.
---
### Author:  [@RGJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/RGJ)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2022, 12:54pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restore-failed-entity2char-already-exists-rds-postgres-13-7/245964/7 "2022-11-18T12:54:22Z")
> [@pfaffman](#):
>
> You think if I remove it from the database it’ll break something?
Yes exactly this
> [@pfaffman](#):
>
> so modifying the database in order to restore it on staging doesn’t make sense.
and this 😉
What MIGHT work is that you try to rename the function in the target database instance just prior to restoring. But I have not tested that.
So (on the target db)
- `ALTER FUNCTION entity2char RENAME TO e2c_outoftheway`
- restore
- `ALTER FUNCTION entity2char RENAME TO e2c_from_backup`
- `ALTER FUNCTION e2c_outoftheway RENAME TO entity2char `
---
### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [November 18, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restore-failed-entity2char-already-exists-rds-postgres-13-7/245964/8 "2022-11-18T13:07:44Z")
> [@RGJ](#):
>
> What MIGHT work is that you try to rename the function in the target database instance just prior to restoring.
Oh! So the issue is that the **staging** database has that function already, and the backup also has that function and it’s too stupid to understand that it’s the same function.
Maybe I should just drop and create the database on the staging/target site?
But your idea seems a bit easier.
EDIT: OK, I renamed the function and am doing the restore now. In about an hour I can see if it worked.
And the concern is that somehow the `entity2char` function that gets carried along in the backup will somehow not work with the existing database? Maybe I should just create a fresh new database and restore to it. I’m not a real fan of the name `xx-discourse-database-5` anyway.
EDIT: Well, it looks like there are some more moles I will need to whack.
```plaintext
ERROR: function "replace_mentions" already exists with same argument types
```
Maybe starting with a new database is the way to go.
---
### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2022, 1:50am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/restore-failed-entity2char-already-exists-rds-postgres-13-7/245964/9 "2022-11-19T01:50:49Z")
The solution was to drop, create, and migrate the database before doing the restore. I should have tried skipping the migrate step.
Thanks for your help, @RGJ and @gerhard. Your clues were helpful in my figuring this out.
I guess the reason not to always drop the database first is that you can’t then back out when it fails.