Barman: Open-Source Backup Ledger 2026

Part of the Open-Source Backup Ledger (edition 2026-10-02). How the scores work: methodology.

Snapshot

Kind: Database backup tool
Licence: GPLv3
Backer: EnterpriseDB (EDB), which acquired 2ndQuadrant in 2020
Paid edition or support: EDB subscriptions and consulting
Latest release: 3.20.1, 2026-09-29
Next signal: 3.21; PostgreSQL 18 support; barman-cloud tuning for CloudNativePG
Archetype: Vendor-backed reference tool
Evidence grade: A. Release dates verified against GitHub where releases exist; the CVE identifier cited for 3.20.1 (CVE-2026-93853) was not independently verified.

Scope of the scores: PostgreSQL only; compare it with other database tools.

Scorecard

Dimension	Score	Direction
Capability today	62.2 / 100	higher is better
Momentum since end of 2022	+1.2 points	higher is better
Credibility	21.0 / 25	higher is better
Sustainability risk	7.5 / 25	lower is better
Technical lock-in	2.5 / 25	lower is better
Support and ecosystem	14.5 / 20	higher is better
AI leverage	1.0 / 20	higher is better
Ledger Index	62.6 / 100	balanced weights

Capability by domain

Scores 0 to 5 against fixed anchors; total is weighted to 100.

Domain (weight)	2016	2019	2022	Today
Virtual and physical servers (12)	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Databases and applications (12)	4	4	4	4.5
Recovery (14)	3.5	3.5	4	4
Cyber resilience (14)	2	2.5	3.5	3.5
Storage efficiency and targets (10)	2.5	3	3.5	3.5
Long-term retention and tape (6)	3	3	3	3
Replication and DR (10)	3.5	3.5	4	4
Security and compliance (8)	2.5	3	3.5	3.5
New-platform support (VMware exit) (8)	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Management at scale and automation (6)	3	3	3.5	3.5
Total / 100	50.2	53.4	61.0	62.2

Year by year: 2016: 50.2 · 2017: 50.2 · 2018: 50.2 · 2019: 53.4 · 2020: 53.4 · 2021: 53.4 · 2022: 61.0 · 2023: 61.0 · 2024: 62.2 · 2025: 62.2 · 2026: 62.2

What moved the score

Year	Domain	Change	Points	Trigger
2019	Cyber resilience	2 → 2.5	+1.4	barman-cloud client-side encryption
2019	Security and compliance	2.5 → 3	+0.8	IAM roles
2019	Storage efficiency and targets	2.5 → 3	+1.0	S3 via barman-cloud
2022	Cyber resilience	2.5 → 3.5	+2.8	Object Lock support; GPG encryption
2022	Management at scale and automation	3 → 3.5	+0.6	CloudNativePG automation, JSON status
2022	Recovery	3.5 → 4	+1.4	Restore from cloud storage; standby bootstrap
2022	Replication and DR	3.5 → 4	+1.0	Multi-region DR for CloudNativePG
2022	Security and compliance	3 → 3.5	+0.8	Azure and GCP managed identities
2022	Storage efficiency and targets	3 → 3.5	+1.0	S3, GCS, Azure; zstd
2024	Databases and applications	4 → 4.5	+1.2	3.12: block-level incremental for PostgreSQL 17

Direction, 2023 to 2026

Each item carries one theme and one driver (V vision, C customer need, M market window, U upstream, P portfolio).

Date	Item	Theme	Driver
2024-01	3.10: PostgreSQL 16 support	D2 Databases and applications	U
2024-11	3.12: block-level incremental backup	D2 Databases and applications	C
2026-05	3.19.1: Azure managed identity	D9 Security	C
2026-08	3.20: Python 3.12 minimum	D12 Packaging and licensing	U
2026-09	3.20.1: security fix	D9 Security	C

Centre of gravity: Databases and applications (2), Security (2), Packaging and licensing (1)
Driver mix: Vision 0%, Customer need 60%, Market window 0%, Upstream 40%, Portfolio 0%

Credibility: 21 / 25

Criterion	Score	Basis
Cadence	5	6 to 10 releases a year
Roadmap transparency	4	Public issues and releases
Say-do	4	5 of 5 shipped; Azure managed identity took 16 months
Velocity	4	Active
Lifecycle stability	4	Stable; Python 3.12 minimum in 3.20

Say-do record, 2023 to 2026: 5 items since 2023, all shipped; one took 16 months.

Sustainability risk: 7.5 / 25 (lower is better)

Criterion	Score	Basis
Maintainer concentration	2.5	Rotating EDB maintainers
Backer health	2	Backed by EDB
Licence-change risk	1.5	GPLv3
Abandonment signs	0.5	Active
Security response	1	Security fix released 9 days after advisory

Project health: 3,247 stars; 22 open issues (median 290 days), 18 open PRs (152 days). 5 to 12 distinct authors a year.

Technical lock-in: 2.5 / 25 (lower is better)

Criterion	Score	Basis
Formats	0.5	Standard PostgreSQL data files
Export path	0.5	Standard data files
Stack coupling	0.5	Python tool
Hardware / cloud coupling	0	Any POSIX or cloud target
Skills and tooling coupling	1	PostgreSQL skills

Support and ecosystem: 14.5 / 20

Criterion	Score	Basis
Paid support	4	EDB support
Consultants and partners	3.5	PostgreSQL consultancies
Documentation	3.5	Good manual
Community and packaging	3.5	In PGDG repositories; core of CloudNativePG backups

AI leverage: 1 / 20

Strand	Today	Latest step
AI for protection / protecting AI	0	none
AI platform stack	0	none
AI-assisted operations	0	none
Agent openness	1	2016: JSON status output

No AI features.

Reading

Barman is EDB's centralised PostgreSQL backup manager and the backup engine behind CloudNativePG. It matches pgBackRest on the essentials, with a server-pulls model that suits central backup teams, and has a broader set of maintainers.

Open questions and evidence caveats

The CVE number in the research file should be checked before it is cited.