Oracle's Recovery Manager (RMAN) is the go-to tool for database backup, recovery, and cloning. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced DBA, having a quick reference handy saves time and prevents errors during critical operations.
This cheat sheet lists essential RMAN commands for day-to-day DBA work.
Start command
To start RMAN and connect to your database, use the following commands:
$ rman
$ rman NOCATALOG
$ rman TARGET SYS/pwd@target
$ rman TARGET SYS/pwd@target NOCATALOG
$ rman CATALOG rman/pwd@catdb
$ rman TARGET=SYS/pwd@target CATALOG=rman/pwd@cat
$ rman TARGET / CATALOG rman/rman@cat
$ rman | tee rman.log
$ rman help=yes
CONNECT command
Establish a connection between RMAN and a target, auxiliary, or recovery catalog database.
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET;
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET /
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET sys@tgt;
RMAN> CONNECT TARGET sys/pwd@tgt;
RMAN> CONNECT CATALOG rman@catdb;
RMAN> CONNECT CATALOG rman/pwd@catdb;
RMAN> CONNECT AUXILIARY /
RMAN> CONNECT AUXILIARY rman@auxdb;
RMAN> CONNECT AUXILIARY rman/pwd@auxdb;
SHOW command
Display the current CONFIGURE settings.
RMAN> SHOW ALL;
RMAN> SHOW RETENTION POLICY;
RMAN> SHOW RETENTION POLICY FOR DB_UNIQUE_NAME ALL;
RMAN> SHOW DEVICE TYPE;
RMAN> SHOW DEVICE TYPE FOR DB_UNIQUE_NAME
RMAN> SHOW DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE;
RMAN> SHOW CHANNEL;
RMAN> SHOW MAXSETSIZE;
RMAN> SHOW BACKUP OPTIMIZATION;
RMAN> SHOW SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME;
RMAN> SHOW CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP;
RMAN> SHOW COMPRESSION ALGORITHM;
RMAN> SHOW ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM;
RMAN> SHOW ALL FOR DB_UNIQUE_NAME ALL;
RMAN> SHOW ALL FOR DB_UNIQUE_NAME 'STANDBY'; LIST command
Produce a detailed listing of backup sets or copies.
RMAN> LIST INCARNATION;
RMAN> LIST INCARNATION OF DATABASE;
RMAN> LIST INCARNATION OF DATABASE ;
RMAN> LIST DB_UNIQUE_NAME ALL;
RMAN> LIST DB_UNIQUE_NAME OF DATABASE;
RMAN> LIST BACKUP;
RMAN> LIST BACKUP SUMMARY;
RMAN> LIST BACKUP BY FILE;
RMAN> LIST BACKUP OF DATABASE;
RMAN> LIST BACKUP OF DATABASE BY BACKUP;
RMAN> LIST BACKUP OF TABLESPACE SUMMARY;
RMAN> LIST BACKUP OF DATAFILE ;
RMAN> LIST BACKUP OF DATAFILE SUMMARY;
RMAN> LIST BACKUP OF CONTROLFILE;
RMAN> LIST BACKUP OF ARCHIVELOG FROM SEQUENCE ;
RMAN> LIST BACKUP OF ARCHIVELOG FROM TIME 'sysdate-1';
RMAN> LIST BACKUP OF ARCHIVELOG ALL COMPLETED BEFORE 'sysdate-2';
RMAN> LIST BACKUP RECOVERABLE;
RMAN> LIST EXPIRED BACKUP;
RMAN> LIST EXPIRED BACKUP OF ARCHIVELOG ALL SUMMARY;
RMAN> LIST COPY;
RMAN> LIST COPY OF DATABASE ARCHIVELOG ALL;
RMAN> LIST COPY OF TABLESPACE ;
RMAN> LIST COPY OF DATAFILE ;
RMAN> LIST COPY OF CONTROLFILE;
RMAN> LIST EXPIRED COPY;
RMAN> LIST BACKUPSET SUMMARY;
RMAN> LIST BACKUPSET 109;
RMAN> LIST BACKUPSET OF DATAFILE 1;
RMAN> LIST ARCHIVELOG;
RMAN> LIST ARCHIVELOG ALL LIKE '%5515%';
RMAN> LIST CONTROLFILECOPY "/tmp/cntrlfile.copy";
RMAN> LIST SCRIPT NAMES;
RMAN> LIST ALL SCRIPT NAMES;
RMAN> LIST GLOBAL SCRIPT NAMES;
RMAN> LIST FAILURE;
RMAN> LIST FAILURE 420 DETAIL;
RMAN> LIST FAILURE ALL;
RMAN> LIST RESTORE POINT ALL;
CONFIGURE command
The CONFIGURE command sets persistent RMAN settings.
RMAN> CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP ON;
RMAN> CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP OFF;
RMAN> CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 'cf%F';
RMAN> CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO '+BACKUP';
RMAN> CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK CLEAR;
RMAN> CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO REDUNDANCY 3;
RMAN> CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO RECOVERY WINDOW OF 7 DAYS;
RMAN> CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY CLEAR;
RMAN> CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 2;
RMAN> CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 2;
RMAN> CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY CLEAR;
RMAN> CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY TO NONE;
RMAN> CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY TO SHIPPED TO STANDBY;
RMAN> CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY TO SHIPPED TO ALL STANDBY;
RMAN> CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY TO APPLIED ON STANDBY;
RMAN> CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY TO APPLIED ON ALL STANDBY;
RMAN> CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY TO BACKED UP 2 TIMES TO sbt;
RMAN> CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY TO BACKED UP 3 TIMES TO disk;
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO sbt_tape;
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO DISK;
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE sbt PARALLELISM 3;
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK PARALLELISM 4;
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK PARALLELISM 3 BACKUP TYPE TO BACKUPSET;
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE sbt;
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE sbt PARMS='ENV=mml_env_settings';
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE sbt PARMS 'ENV=(NSR_SERVER=bksrv1)';
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE sbt PARMS 'BLKSIZE=1048576';
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE sbt FORMAT 'bkup_%U';
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE sbt CLEAR;
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL 2 DEVICE TYPE sbt CONNECT 'SYS/pwd@node2' PARMS 'ENV=(NSR_SERVER=bksrv2)';
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK FORMAT '/tmp/%U';
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK FORMAT 'C:\backup\df%t_s%s_s%p';
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL 2 DEVICE TYPE DISK FORMAT '/backup/db_%s%d_%p';
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK FORMAT CLEAR;
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK DEBUG 5;
RMAN> CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION ON;
RMAN> CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION OFF;
RMAN> CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME TO '/backup/snapcf_%d.f';
RMAN> CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME TO '+FRA/snap/snapcf_%d.f';
RMAN> CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME TO '/ocfs/oradata/snapcf';
RMAN> CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME TO '/dev/sda';
RMAN> CONFIGURE MAXSETSIZE TO 100M;
RMAN> CONFIGURE MAXSETSIZE TO UNLIMITED;
RMAN> CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE sbt MAXPIECESIZE 1G;
RMAN> CONFIGURE EXCLUDE FOR TABLESPACE example;
RMAN> CONFIGURE EXCLUDE CLEAR;
RMAN> CONFIGURE AUXNAME FOR DATAFILE 4 TO '/oracle/auxfiles/aux_4.f';
RMAN> CONFIGURE AUXNAME FOR DATAFILE 2 CLEAR;
RMAN> CONFIGURE COMPRESSION ALGORITHM 'BZIP2';
RMAN> CONFIGURE COMPRESSION ALGORITHM 'ZLIB';
RMAN> CONFIGURE COMPRESSION ALGORITHM 'LOW';
RMAN> CONFIGURE COMPRESSION ALGORITHM 'MEDIUM';
RMAN> CONFIGURE COMPRESSION ALGORITHM 'HIGH';
RMAN> CONFIGURE COMPRESSION ALGORITHM 'BASIC';
RMAN> CONFIGURE DB_UNIQUE_NAME 'standby' CONNECT IDENTIFIER 'standby_cs';
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO DISK FOR DB_UNIQUE_NAME 'standby';
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO DISK FOR DB_UNIQUE_NAME ALL;
RMAN> CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO SBT FOR DB_UNIQUE_NAME po;
SET command
Set the value of various attributes that affect RMAN behavior for the duration of a RUN block or a session.
RMAN> SET ECHO ON;
RMAN> SET ECHO OFF;
RMAN> SET DATABASE ;
RMAN> SET DBID=;
RMAN> SET DBID ;
RMAN> SET COMMAND ID TO 'rman';
RMAN> SET MAXCORRUPT FOR DATABASE TO 2;
RMAN> SET MAXCORRUPT FOR DATAFILE 15 TO 200;
RMAN> SET BACKUP COPIES = 2;
RMAN> SET NEWNAME FOR DATABASE TO '/oradata1/%b';
RMAN> SET NEWNAME FOR TABLESPACE users TO '/oradata2/%U';
RMAN> SET NEWNAME FOR DATAFILE 1 to '/oradata/system01.dbf';
RMAN> SET NEWNAME FOR DATAFILE '/disk7/tbs11.f' TO '/disk9/tbs11.f';
RMAN> SET NEWNAME FOR TEMPFILE 1 TO '/newdisk/dbs/temp1.f';
RMAN> SET CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE sbt TO 'cf_%F';
RMAN> SET CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 'cf_%F.bak';
RMAN> SET UNTIL TIME '04-23-2010:23:50:04';
RMAN> SET ARCHIVELOG DESTINATION TO '/oracle/temp_restore';
RMAN> SET COMPRESSION ALGORITHM 'LOW';
RMAN> SET COMPRESSION ALGORITHM 'LOW' OPTIMIZE FOR LOAD FALSE;
RMAN> SET COMPRESSION ALGORITHM 'MEDIUM';
RMAN> SET COMPRESSION ALGORITHM 'HIGH';
Incremental backups
Commands for performing incremental backups to save time and storage space.
RMAN> BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL=0 DATABASE;
RMAN> BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL=1 DATABASE;
RMAN> BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL=0 DATABASE PLUS ARCHIVELOG;
RMAN> BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 CUMULATIVE SKIP INACCESSIBLE DATABASE;
RMAN> BACKUP INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG 'incr' DATABASE;
RMAN> BACKUP DEVICE TYPE DISK INCREMENTAL LEVEL 1 FOR RECOVER OF COPY WITH TAG 'oltp' DATABASE;
RMAN> BACKUP DEVICE TYPE DISK INCREMENTAL FROM SCN 351986 DATABASE FORMAT '/tmp/incr_standby_%U';
RMAN> BACKUP INCREMENTAL FROM SCN 629184 DATAFILE 5 FORMAT '/tmp/ForStandby_%U' TAG 'FORSTANDBY';
RMAN> BACKUP BLOCKS ALL CHECK LOGICAL VALIDATE DATAFILE 1398;
REPORT command
Report backup status: database, files, and backups. Perform detailed analyses of the content of the recovery catalog.
RMAN> REPORT OBSOLETE;
RMAN> REPORT NEED BACKUP;
RMAN> REPORT NEED BACKUP DAYS=5;
RMAN> REPORT NEED BACKUP REDUNDANCY=3;
RMAN> REPORT NEED BACKUP RECOVERY WINDOW OF 7 DAYS;
RMAN> REPORT NEED BACKUP DATABASE;
RMAN> REPORT NEED BACKUP INCREMENTAL 1;
RMAN> REPORT UNRECOVERABLE;
RMAN> REPORT SCHEMA;
RMAN> REPORT SCHEMA AT TIME 'sysdate-20/1440';
CATALOG command
Add information about file copies and user-managed backups to the catalog repository.
RMAN> CATALOG DATAFILECOPY '';
RMAN> CATALOG DATAFILECOPY '' LEVEL 0;
RMAN> CATALOG CONTROLFILECOPY '/disk3/backup/cf_copy.bkp';
RMAN> CATALOG ARCHIVELOG '';
RMAN> CATALOG BACKUPPIECE '';
RMAN> CATALOG LIKE '/backup';
RMAN> CATALOG START WITH '/fs2/arch';
RMAN> CATALOG START WITH '/disk2/archlog' NOPROMPT;
RMAN> CATALOG START WITH '+FLASH';
RMAN> CATALOG RECOVERY AREA;
SWITCH command
Specify that a datafile copy is now the current datafile, i.e., the datafile pointed to by the control file. This command is equivalent to the SQL statement ALTER DATABASE RENAME FILE as it applies to datafiles.
RMAN> SWITCH DATABASE TO COPY;
RMAN> SWITCH TABLESPACE users TO COPY;
RMAN> SWITCH DATAFILE ALL;
RMAN> SWITCH DATAFILE '/disk1/tols.dbf' TO DATAFILECOPY '/disk2/tols.copy';
RMAN> SWITCH DATAFILE "+DG_OLD/db/datafile/sysaux.260.699468081" TO COPY;
RMAN> SWITCH TEMPFILE 1;
RMAN> SWITCH TEMPFILE 1 TO '/newdisk/dbs/temp1.f';
RMAN> SWITCH TEMPFILE ALL;
RMAN> SWITCH CLONE DATAFILE ALL;
SPOOL command
Write RMAN output to a log file.
RMAN> SPOOL LOG TO '/tmp/spool.log';
RMAN> SPOOL LOG TO '/tmp/backup.log' APPEND;
RMAN> SPOOL LOG OFF;
Please feel free to ask if you have any questions. Thank you! 🙂
Toufique Khan
