The .dump command is a great option for smaller databases. The main downsides are that it produces a larger output, it'll take longer to compress that output, a

The .dump command is a great option for smaller databases. The main downsides are that it produces a larger output, it'll take longer to compress that output, and the restore time is much longer since all the commands have to be replayed. The benefit to using the backup API is that the file is ready-to-go as the database and can be started up immediately.