Add Configuration Option to Include Generated Columns

cmd/dump.go

@@ -118,6 +118,8 @@ func dumpCmd(passedExecs execs, cmdConfig *cmdConfiguration) (*cobra.Command, er
 			if !v.IsSet("skip-extended-insert") && dumpConfig != nil && dumpConfig.SkipExtendedInsert != nil {
 				skipExtendedInsert = *dumpConfig.SkipExtendedInsert
 			}
+			includeGeneratedColumns := v.GetBool("include-generated-columns")
+			// Note: config file support for include-generated-columns would require updates to api.Dump
 			compact := v.GetBool("compact")
 			if !v.IsSet("compact") && dumpConfig != nil && dumpConfig.Compact != nil {
 				compact = *dumpConfig.Compact
@@ -251,24 +253,25 @@ func dumpCmd(passedExecs execs, cmdConfig *cmdConfiguration) (*cobra.Command, er
 				defer dumpSpan.End()
 				uid := uuid.New()
 				dumpOpts := core.DumpOptions{
-					Targets:             targets,
-					Safechars:           safechars,
-					DBNames:             include,
-					DBConn:              cmdConfig.dbconn,
-					Compressor:          compressor,
-					Encryptor:           encryptor,
-					Exclude:             exclude,
-					PreBackupScripts:    preBackupScripts,
-					PostBackupScripts:   postBackupScripts,
-					SuppressUseDatabase: noDatabaseName,
-					SkipExtendedInsert:  skipExtendedInsert,
-					Compact:             compact,
-					Triggers:            triggers,
-					Routines:            routines,
-					MaxAllowedPacket:    maxAllowedPacket,
-					Run:                 uid,
-					FilenamePattern:     filenamePattern,
-					Parallelism:         parallel,
+					Targets:                 targets,
+					Safechars:               safechars,
+					DBNames:                 include,
+					DBConn:                  cmdConfig.dbconn,
+					Compressor:              compressor,
+					Encryptor:               encryptor,
+					Exclude:                 exclude,
+					PreBackupScripts:        preBackupScripts,
+					PostBackupScripts:       postBackupScripts,
+					SuppressUseDatabase:     noDatabaseName,
+					SkipExtendedInsert:      skipExtendedInsert,
+					Compact:                 compact,
+					Triggers:                triggers,
+					Routines:                routines,
+					IncludeGeneratedColumns: includeGeneratedColumns,
+					MaxAllowedPacket:        maxAllowedPacket,
+					Run:                     uid,
+					FilenamePattern:         filenamePattern,
+					Parallelism:             parallel,
 				}
 				_, err := executor.Dump(tracerCtx, dumpOpts)
 				if err != nil {
@@ -315,6 +318,9 @@ S3: If it is a URL of the format s3://bucketname/path then it will connect via S
 	// skip extended insert in dump; instead, one INSERT per record in each table
 	flags.Bool("skip-extended-insert", false, "Skip extended insert in dump; instead, one INSERT per record in each table.")
 
+	// include generated columns in dump
+	flags.Bool("include-generated-columns", false, "Include generated columns in the dump. By default, generated and virtual columns are excluded.")
+
 	// frequency
 	flags.Int("frequency", defaultFrequency, "how often to run backups, in minutes")
 

docs/configuration.md

@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@ The following are the environment variables, CLI flags and configuration file op
 | names of databases to exclude from the dump | B | `exclude` | `DB_DUMP_EXCLUDE` | `dump.exclude` |  |
 | do not include `USE <database>;` statement in the dump | B | `no-database-name` | `DB_DUMP_NO_DATABASE_NAME` | `dump.noDatabaseName` | `false` |
 | Replace single long INSERT statement per table with one INSERT statement per line | B | `skip-extended-insert` | `DB_DUMP_SKIP_EXTENDED_INSERT` | `dump.skipExtendedInsert` | `false` |
+| Include generated columns in dump (not virtual columns) | B | `include-generated-columns` | `DB_DUMP_INCLUDE_GENERATED_COLUMNS` | `dump.includeGeneratedColumns` | `false` |
 | restore to a specific database | R | `restore --database` | `RESTORE_DATABASE` | `restore.database` |  |
 | how often to do a dump or prune, in minutes | BP | `dump --frequency` | `DB_DUMP_FREQUENCY` | `dump.schedule.frequency` | `1440` (in minutes), i.e. once per day |
 | what time to do the first dump or prune | BP | `dump --begin` | `DB_DUMP_BEGIN` | `dump.schedule.begin` | `0`, i.e. immediately |
@@ -139,6 +140,7 @@ for details of each.
     * `once`: boolean, run once and exit
   * `compression`: string, the compression to use
   * `compact`: boolean, compact the dump
+  * `includeGeneratedColumns`: boolean, include columns marked as `GENERATED` in the dump (does not include `VIRTUAL` columns), when set true, it makes the dump include the generated/default values instead of relying on the default expressions when restoring.
   * `triggersAndFunctions`: boolean, include triggers and functions and procedures in the dump
   * `maxAllowedPacket`: int, max packet size
   * `filenamePattern`: string, the filename pattern

examples/configs/local.yaml

@@ -21,6 +21,11 @@ spec:
     safechars: true # defaults to false
     noDatabaseName: false # remove the `USE <database>` statement from backup files, defaults to false
     skipExtendedInsert: false # replace single long INSERT statement per table with one INSERT statement per line, defaults to false
+    includeGeneratedColumns: false # include columns marked as GENERATED; VIRTUAL columns remain excluded. Defaults to false
+    # When enabled, columns with defaults or generated values (for example
+    # `create_time TIMESTAMP NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP`) will be
+    # dumped as part of the INSERT rows. Example:
+    # INSERT INTO `mytable` (`id`, `name`, `create_time`) VALUES (1, 'alice', '2025-11-14 09:30:00');
     # schedule to dump, can use one of: cron, frequency, once. If frequency is set, begin will be checked
     schedule:
       once: true # run only once and exit; ignores all other scheduling. Defaults to false

pkg/core/dump.go

@@ -108,14 +108,15 @@ func (e *Executor) Dump(ctx context.Context, opts DumpOptions) (DumpResults, err
 	results.DumpStart = time.Now()
 	dbDumpCtx, dbDumpSpan := tracer.Start(ctx, "database_dump")
 	if err := database.Dump(dbDumpCtx, dbconn, database.DumpOpts{
-		Compact:             compact,
-		Triggers:            triggers,
-		Routines:            routines,
-		SuppressUseDatabase: suppressUseDatabase,
-		SkipExtendedInsert:  skipExtendedInsert,
-		MaxAllowedPacket:    maxAllowedPacket,
-		PostDumpDelay:       opts.PostDumpDelay,
-		Parallelism:         parallelism,
+		Compact:                 compact,
+		Triggers:                triggers,
+		Routines:                routines,
+		SuppressUseDatabase:     suppressUseDatabase,
+		SkipExtendedInsert:      skipExtendedInsert,
+		MaxAllowedPacket:        maxAllowedPacket,
+		IncludeGeneratedColumns: opts.IncludeGeneratedColumns,
+		PostDumpDelay:           opts.PostDumpDelay,
+		Parallelism:             parallelism,
 	}, dw); err != nil {
 		dbDumpSpan.SetStatus(codes.Error, err.Error())
 		dbDumpSpan.End()

pkg/core/dumpoptions.go

@@ -11,23 +11,24 @@ import (
 )
 
 type DumpOptions struct {
-	Targets             []storage.Storage
-	Safechars           bool
-	DBNames             []string
-	DBConn              *database.Connection
-	Compressor          compression.Compressor
-	Encryptor           encrypt.Encryptor
-	Exclude             []string
-	PreBackupScripts    string
-	PostBackupScripts   string
-	Compact             bool
-	Triggers            bool
-	Routines            bool
-	SuppressUseDatabase bool
-	SkipExtendedInsert  bool
-	MaxAllowedPacket    int
-	Run                 uuid.UUID
-	FilenamePattern     string
+	Targets                 []storage.Storage
+	Safechars               bool
+	DBNames                 []string
+	DBConn                  *database.Connection
+	Compressor              compression.Compressor
+	Encryptor               encrypt.Encryptor
+	Exclude                 []string
+	PreBackupScripts        string
+	PostBackupScripts       string
+	Compact                 bool
+	Triggers                bool
+	Routines                bool
+	SuppressUseDatabase     bool
+	SkipExtendedInsert      bool
+	IncludeGeneratedColumns bool
+	MaxAllowedPacket        int
+	Run                     uuid.UUID
+	FilenamePattern         string
 	// PostDumpDelay inafter each dump is complete, while holding connection open. Do not use outside of tests.
 	PostDumpDelay time.Duration
 	// Parallelism how many databases to back up at once, consuming that number of threads

pkg/database/dump.go

@@ -10,12 +10,13 @@ import (
 )
 
 type DumpOpts struct {
-	Compact             bool
-	Triggers            bool
-	Routines            bool
-	SuppressUseDatabase bool
-	SkipExtendedInsert  bool
-	MaxAllowedPacket    int
+	Compact                 bool
+	Triggers                bool
+	Routines                bool
+	SuppressUseDatabase     bool
+	SkipExtendedInsert      bool
+	MaxAllowedPacket        int
+	IncludeGeneratedColumns bool
 	// PostDumpDelay after each dump is complete, while holding connection open. Do not use outside of tests.
 	PostDumpDelay time.Duration
 	Parallelism   int
@@ -52,17 +53,18 @@ func Dump(ctx context.Context, dbconn *Connection, opts DumpOpts, writers []Dump
 			defer func() { <-sem }()
 			for _, schema := range writer.Schemas {
 				dumper := &mysql.Data{
-					Out:                 writer.Writer,
-					Connection:          db,
-					Schema:              schema,
-					Host:                dbconn.Host,
-					Compact:             opts.Compact,
-					Triggers:            opts.Triggers,
-					Routines:            opts.Routines,
-					SuppressUseDatabase: opts.SuppressUseDatabase,
-					SkipExtendedInsert:  opts.SkipExtendedInsert,
-					MaxAllowedPacket:    opts.MaxAllowedPacket,
-					PostDumpDelay:       opts.PostDumpDelay,
+					Out:                     writer.Writer,
+					Connection:              db,
+					Schema:                  schema,
+					Host:                    dbconn.Host,
+					Compact:                 opts.Compact,
+					Triggers:                opts.Triggers,
+					Routines:                opts.Routines,
+					SuppressUseDatabase:     opts.SuppressUseDatabase,
+					SkipExtendedInsert:      opts.SkipExtendedInsert,
+					MaxAllowedPacket:        opts.MaxAllowedPacket,
+					PostDumpDelay:           opts.PostDumpDelay,
+					IncludeGeneratedColumns: opts.IncludeGeneratedColumns,
 				}
 				// return on any error
 				if err := dumper.Dump(); err != nil {

pkg/database/mysql/dump.go

@@ -39,21 +39,22 @@ Data struct to configure dump behavior
 	LockTables:       Lock all tables for the duration of the dump
 */
 type Data struct {
-	Out                 io.Writer
-	Connection          *sql.DB
-	IgnoreTables        []string
-	MaxAllowedPacket    int
-	LockTables          bool
-	Schema              string
-	Compact             bool
-	Triggers            bool
-	Routines            bool
-	Host                string
-	SuppressUseDatabase bool
-	SkipExtendedInsert  bool
-	Charset             string
-	Collation           string
-	PostDumpDelay       time.Duration
+	Out                     io.Writer
+	Connection              *sql.DB
+	IgnoreTables            []string
+	MaxAllowedPacket        int
+	LockTables              bool
+	Schema                  string
+	Compact                 bool
+	Triggers                bool
+	Routines                bool
+	Host                    string
+	SuppressUseDatabase     bool
+	SkipExtendedInsert      bool
+	Charset                 string
+	Collation               string
+	PostDumpDelay           time.Duration
+	IncludeGeneratedColumns bool
 
 	tx                 *sql.Tx
 	headerTmpl         *template.Template

pkg/database/mysql/table.go

@@ -132,7 +132,17 @@ func (table *baseTable) initColumnData() error {
 		// Ignore the virtual columns and generated columns
 		// if there is an Extra column and it is a valid string, then only include this column if
 		// the column is not marked as VIRTUAL or GENERATED
-		if !info[extraIndex].Valid || (!strings.Contains(info[extraIndex].String, "VIRTUAL") && !strings.Contains(info[extraIndex].String, "GENERATED")) {
+		// Unless IncludeGeneratedColumns is true, in which case include them
+		shouldInclude := true
+		if info[extraIndex].Valid {
+			extra := info[extraIndex].String
+			if strings.Contains(extra, "VIRTUAL") {
+				shouldInclude = false
+			} else if strings.Contains(extra, "GENERATED") && !table.data.IncludeGeneratedColumns {
+				shouldInclude = false
+			}
+		}
+		if shouldInclude {
 			result = append(result, info[fieldIndex].String)
 		}
 	}