diff --git a/src/bin/pgcopydb/catalog.c b/src/bin/pgcopydb/catalog.c
index 02b025f4d..f0206018f 100644
--- a/src/bin/pgcopydb/catalog.c
+++ b/src/bin/pgcopydb/catalog.c
@@ -221,10 +221,7 @@ static char *sourceDBcreateDDLs[] = {
 	"create table sentinel("
 	"  id integer primary key check (id = 1), "
 	"  startpos pg_lsn, endpos pg_lsn, apply bool, "
-	" write_lsn pg_lsn, flush_lsn pg_lsn, replay_lsn pg_lsn)",
-
-	"create table timeline_history("
-	"  tli integer primary key, startpos pg_lsn, endpos pg_lsn)"
+	" write_lsn pg_lsn, flush_lsn pg_lsn, replay_lsn pg_lsn)"
 };
 
 
@@ -517,8 +514,7 @@ static char *sourceDBdropDDLs[] = {
 	"drop table if exists s_table_parts_done",
 	"drop table if exists s_table_indexes_done",
 
-	"drop table if exists sentinel",
-	"drop table if exists timeline_history"
+	"drop table if exists sentinel"
 };
 
 
@@ -9601,171 +9597,6 @@ catalog_count_bytes_fetch(SQLiteQuery *query)
 }
 
 
-/*
- * catalog_add_timeline_history inserts a timeline history entry to our
- * internal catalogs database.
- */
-bool
-catalog_add_timeline_history(DatabaseCatalog *catalog, TimelineHistoryEntry *entry)
-{
-	if (catalog == NULL)
-	{
-		log_error("BUG: catalog_add_timeline_history: catalog is NULL");
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	sqlite3 *db = catalog->db;
-
-	if (db == NULL)
-	{
-		log_error("BUG: catalog_add_timeline_history: db is NULL");
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	char *sql =
-		"insert or replace into timeline_history(tli, startpos, endpos)"
-		"values($1, $2, $3)";
-
-	SQLiteQuery query = { 0 };
-
-	if (!catalog_sql_prepare(db, sql, &query))
-	{
-		/* errors have already been logged */
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	char slsn[PG_LSN_MAXLENGTH] = { 0 };
-	char elsn[PG_LSN_MAXLENGTH] = { 0 };
-
-	sformat(slsn, sizeof(slsn), "%X/%X", LSN_FORMAT_ARGS(entry->begin));
-	sformat(elsn, sizeof(elsn), "%X/%X", LSN_FORMAT_ARGS(entry->end));
-
-	/* bind our parameters now */
-	BindParam params[] = {
-		{ BIND_PARAMETER_TYPE_INT, "tli", entry->tli, NULL },
-		{ BIND_PARAMETER_TYPE_TEXT, "startpos", 0, slsn },
-		{ BIND_PARAMETER_TYPE_TEXT, "endpos", 0, elsn }
-	};
-
-	int count = sizeof(params) / sizeof(params[0]);
-
-	if (!catalog_sql_bind(&query, params, count))
-	{
-		/* errors have already been logged */
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	/* now execute the query, which does not return any row */
-	if (!catalog_sql_execute_once(&query))
-	{
-		/* errors have already been logged */
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	return true;
-}
-
-
-/*
- * catalog_lookup_timeline_history fetches the current TimelineHistoryEntry
- * from our catalogs.
- */
-bool
-catalog_lookup_timeline_history(DatabaseCatalog *catalog,
-								int tli,
-								TimelineHistoryEntry *entry)
-{
-	sqlite3 *db = catalog->db;
-
-	if (db == NULL)
-	{
-		log_error("BUG: catalog_lookup_timeline_history: db is NULL");
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	SQLiteQuery query = {
-		.context = entry,
-		.fetchFunction = &catalog_timeline_history_fetch
-	};
-
-	char *sql =
-		"  select tli, startpos, endpos"
-		"    from timeline_history"
-		"   where tli = $1";
-
-
-	if (!catalog_sql_prepare(db, sql, &query))
-	{
-		/* errors have already been logged */
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	/* bind our parameters now */
-	BindParam params[] = {
-		{ BIND_PARAMETER_TYPE_INT, "tli", tli, NULL }
-	};
-
-	int count = sizeof(params) / sizeof(params[0]);
-
-	if (!catalog_sql_bind(&query, params, count))
-	{
-		/* errors have already been logged */
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	/* now execute the query, which return exactly one row */
-	if (!catalog_sql_execute_once(&query))
-	{
-		/* errors have already been logged */
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	return true;
-}
-
-
-/*
- * catalog_timeline_history_fetch fetches a TimelineHistoryEntry from a query
- * ppStmt result.
- */
-bool
-catalog_timeline_history_fetch(SQLiteQuery *query)
-{
-	TimelineHistoryEntry *entry = (TimelineHistoryEntry *) query->context;
-
-	bzero(entry, sizeof(TimelineHistoryEntry));
-
-	/* tli */
-	entry->tli = sqlite3_column_int(query->ppStmt, 0);
-
-	/* begin LSN */
-	if (sqlite3_column_type(query->ppStmt, 1) != SQLITE_NULL)
-	{
-		const char *startpos = (const char *) sqlite3_column_text(query->ppStmt, 1);
-
-		if (!parseLSN(startpos, &entry->begin))
-		{
-			log_error("Failed to parse LSN from \"%s\"", startpos);
-			return false;
-		}
-	}
-
-	/* end LSN */
-	if (sqlite3_column_type(query->ppStmt, 2) != SQLITE_NULL)
-	{
-		const char *endpos = (const char *) sqlite3_column_text(query->ppStmt, 2);
-
-		if (!parseLSN(endpos, &entry->end))
-		{
-			log_error("Failed to parse LSN from \"%s\"", endpos);
-			return false;
-		}
-	}
-
-	return true;
-}
-
-
 /*
  * catalog_execute executes sqlite query
  */
diff --git a/src/bin/pgcopydb/catalog.h b/src/bin/pgcopydb/catalog.h
index af91f1c70..e3f73f1d2 100644
--- a/src/bin/pgcopydb/catalog.h
+++ b/src/bin/pgcopydb/catalog.h
@@ -748,16 +748,6 @@ bool catalog_count_bytes(DatabaseCatalog *catalog, CatalogBytesCounts *count);
 bool catalog_count_bytes_fetch(SQLiteQuery *query);
 
 
-/*
- * Logical decoding
- */
-bool catalog_add_timeline_history(DatabaseCatalog *catalog,
-								  TimelineHistoryEntry *entry);
-bool catalog_lookup_timeline_history(DatabaseCatalog *catalog,
-									 int tli,
-									 TimelineHistoryEntry *entry);
-bool catalog_timeline_history_fetch(SQLiteQuery *query);
-
 /*
  * Internal tooling for catalogs management
  */
diff --git a/src/bin/pgcopydb/ld_stream.c b/src/bin/pgcopydb/ld_stream.c
index a12ce281e..0c3f3b51e 100644
--- a/src/bin/pgcopydb/ld_stream.c
+++ b/src/bin/pgcopydb/ld_stream.c
@@ -467,7 +467,6 @@ startLogicalStreaming(StreamSpecs *specs)
 	stream.closeFunction = &streamClose;
 	stream.feedbackFunction = &streamFeedback;
 	stream.keepaliveFunction = &streamKeepalive;
-	strlcpy(stream.cdcPathDir, specs->paths.dir, MAXPGPATH);
 
 	/*
 	 * Read possibly already existing file to initialize the start LSN from a
@@ -2855,10 +2854,46 @@ stream_fetch_current_lsn(uint64_t *lsn,
 }
 
 
-/*
- * stream_write_context writes the wal_segment_size and tli to files, as well as
- * populate our internal catalogs with information in the timeline history file.
- */
+static bool
+stream_check_timeline(StreamSpecs *specs, uint32_t timeline)
+{
+	if (!file_exists(specs->paths.tlifile))
+	{
+		return true;
+	}
+
+	char *contents = NULL;
+	long size = 0L;
+
+	if (!read_file(specs->paths.tlifile, &contents, &size))
+	{
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	uint32_t previous = 0;
+
+	if (!stringToUInt(contents, &previous))
+	{
+		log_error("Failed to parse timeline \"%s\" from \"%s\"",
+				  contents, specs->paths.tlifile);
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	if (previous == timeline)
+	{
+		return true;
+	}
+
+	log_error("Source timeline changed from %u to %u", previous, timeline);
+	log_error("The source was promoted or restored to an earlier point in time");
+	log_error("Changes already applied to the target may not exist on the "
+			  "timeline the source follows now");
+	log_error("Compare the source and the target, then start a new migration");
+
+	return false;
+}
+
+
 bool
 stream_write_context(StreamSpecs *specs, LogicalStreamClient *stream)
 {
@@ -2887,24 +2922,19 @@ stream_write_context(StreamSpecs *specs, LogicalStreamClient *stream)
 
 	bytes = sformat(tli, sizeof(tli), "%d", system->timeline);
 
-	if (!write_file(tli, bytes, specs->paths.tlifile))
+	if (!stream_check_timeline(specs, system->timeline))
 	{
-		/* errors have already been logged */
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	log_debug("Wrote tli %s timeline file \"%s\"", tli, specs->paths.tlifile);
-
-	/* read from the timeline history file and populate internal catalogs */
-	if (stream->system.timeline > 1 &&
-		!parse_timeline_history_file(stream->system.timelineHistoryFilename,
-									 specs->sourceDB,
-									 stream->system.timeline))
+	if (!write_file(tli, bytes, specs->paths.tlifile))
 	{
 		/* errors have already been logged */
 		return false;
 	}
 
+	log_debug("Wrote tli %s timeline file \"%s\"", tli, specs->paths.tlifile);
+
 	return true;
 }
 
@@ -3024,13 +3054,5 @@ stream_read_context(StreamSpecs *specs)
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	DatabaseCatalog *source = specs->sourceDB;
-	if (!catalog_lookup_timeline_history(source, system->timeline,
-										 &system->currentTimeline))
-	{
-		/* errors have already been logged */
-		return false;
-	}
-
 	return true;
 }
diff --git a/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql.c b/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql.c
index 2dc183db0..b0a034fb2 100644
--- a/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql.c
+++ b/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql.c
@@ -4154,7 +4154,7 @@ pgsql_start_replication(LogicalStreamClient *client)
 	}
 
 	/* fetch the source timeline */
-	if (!pgsql_identify_system(pgsql, &(client->system), client->cdcPathDir))
+	if (!pgsql_identify_system(pgsql, &(client->system)))
 	{
 		/* errors have already been logged */
 		destroyPQExpBuffer(query);
diff --git a/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql.h b/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql.h
index e02b73d20..32bb542a8 100644
--- a/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql.h
+++ b/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql.h
@@ -379,11 +379,6 @@ bool pg_copy_large_object(PGSQL *src,
 #define PG_LSN_MAXLENGTH 18
 
 /*
- * TimelineHistoryEntry is taken from Postgres definitions and adapted to
- * client-size code where we don't have all the necessary infrastruture. In
- * particular we don't define a XLogRecPtr data type nor do we define a
- * TimelineID data type.
- *
  * Zero is used indicate an invalid pointer. Bootstrap skips the first possible
  * WAL segment, initializing the first WAL page at WAL segment size, so no XLOG
  * record can begin at zero.
@@ -391,17 +386,10 @@ bool pg_copy_large_object(PGSQL *src,
 #define InvalidXLogRecPtr 0
 #define XLogRecPtrIsInvalid(r) ((r) == InvalidXLogRecPtr)
 
-typedef struct TimelineHistoryEntry
-{
-	uint32_t tli;
-	uint64_t begin;         /* inclusive */
-	uint64_t end;           /* exclusive, InvalidXLogRecPtr means infinity */
-} TimelineHistoryEntry;
-
 
 /*
  * The IdentifySystem contains information that is parsed from the
- * IDENTIFY_SYSTEM replication command, and then the TIMELINE_HISTORY result.
+ * IDENTIFY_SYSTEM replication command.
  */
 typedef struct IdentifySystem
 {
@@ -409,8 +397,6 @@ typedef struct IdentifySystem
 	uint32_t timeline;
 	char xlogpos[PG_LSN_MAXLENGTH];
 	char dbname[NAMEDATALEN];
-	TimelineHistoryEntry currentTimeline;
-	char timelineHistoryFilename[MAXPGPATH];
 } IdentifySystem;
 
 
@@ -470,7 +456,6 @@ typedef struct LogicalStreamClient
 {
 	PGSQL pgsql;
 	IdentifySystem system;
-	char cdcPathDir[MAXPGPATH];
 
 	char slotName[NAMEDATALEN];
 
diff --git a/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql_timeline.c b/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql_timeline.c
index 8fbc0686f..fccaadf1b 100644
--- a/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql_timeline.c
+++ b/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql_timeline.c
@@ -20,18 +20,7 @@ typedef struct IdentifySystemResult
 } IdentifySystemResult;
 
 
-typedef struct TimelineHistoryResult
-{
-	char sqlstate[6];
-	bool parsedOk;
-	char filename[MAXPGPATH];
-} TimelineHistoryResult;
-
 static void parseIdentifySystemResult(IdentifySystemResult *ctx, PGresult *result);
-static void parseTimelineHistoryResult(TimelineHistoryResult *context, PGresult *result,
-									   char *cdcPathDir);
-static bool writeTimelineHistoryFile(char *filename, char *content);
-static bool register_timeline_hook(void *ctx, char *line);
 
 
 /*
@@ -40,7 +29,7 @@ static bool register_timeline_hook(void *ctx, char *line);
  * contain the 'replication=1' parameter.
  */
 bool
-pgsql_identify_system(PGSQL *pgsql, IdentifySystem *system, char *cdcPathDir)
+pgsql_identify_system(PGSQL *pgsql, IdentifySystem *system)
 {
 	bool connIsOurs = pgsql->connection == NULL;
 
@@ -84,44 +73,6 @@ pgsql_identify_system(PGSQL *pgsql, IdentifySystem *system, char *cdcPathDir)
 		return false;
 	}
 
-	/* while at it, we also run the TIMELINE_HISTORY command */
-	if (system->timeline > 1)
-	{
-		TimelineHistoryResult hContext = { 0 };
-
-		char sql[BUFSIZE] = { 0 };
-		sformat(sql, sizeof(sql), "TIMELINE_HISTORY %d", system->timeline);
-
-		result = PQexec(connection, sql);
-
-		if (!is_response_ok(result))
-		{
-			log_error("Failed to request TIMELINE_HISTORY: %s",
-					  PQerrorMessage(connection));
-			PQclear(result);
-			clear_results(pgsql);
-
-			PQfinish(connection);
-
-			return false;
-		}
-
-		(void) parseTimelineHistoryResult((void *) &hContext, result, cdcPathDir);
-
-		PQclear(result);
-		clear_results(pgsql);
-
-		if (!hContext.parsedOk)
-		{
-			log_error("Failed to get result from TIMELINE_HISTORY");
-			PQfinish(connection);
-			return false;
-		}
-
-		/* store the filename for the timeline history file */
-		strlcpy(system->timelineHistoryFilename, hContext.filename, MAXPGPATH);
-	}
-
 	if (connIsOurs)
 	{
 		(void) pgsql_finish(pgsql);
@@ -131,20 +82,6 @@ pgsql_identify_system(PGSQL *pgsql, IdentifySystem *system, char *cdcPathDir)
 }
 
 
-/*
- * writeTimelineHistoryFile writes the content of a timeline history file to disk.
- * The filename is determined by the PostgreSQL TIMELINE_HISTORY command.
- */
-static bool
-writeTimelineHistoryFile(char *filename, char *content)
-{
-	log_debug("Writing timeline history file \"%s\"", filename);
-
-	size_t size = strlen(content);
-	return write_file(content, size, filename);
-}
-
-
 /*
  * parseIdentifySystemResult parses the result from a replication query
  * IDENTIFY_SYSTEM, and fills the given IdentifySystem structure.
@@ -203,192 +140,3 @@ parseIdentifySystemResult(IdentifySystemResult *context, PGresult *result)
 
 	context->parsedOk = true;
 }
-
-
-/*
- * parseTimelineHistoryResult parses the result of the TIMELINE_HISTORY
- * replication command. The content is written to disk, and the filename
- * is stored in the TimelineHistoryResult structure.
- */
-static void
-parseTimelineHistoryResult(TimelineHistoryResult *context, PGresult *result,
-						   char *cdcPathDir)
-{
-	if (PQnfields(result) != 2)
-	{
-		log_error("Query returned %d columns, expected 2", PQnfields(result));
-		context->parsedOk = false;
-		return;
-	}
-
-	if (PQntuples(result) == 0)
-	{
-		log_sql("parseTimelineHistoryResult: query returned no rows");
-		context->parsedOk = false;
-		return;
-	}
-
-	if (PQntuples(result) != 1)
-	{
-		log_error("Query returned %d rows, expected 1", PQntuples(result));
-		context->parsedOk = false;
-		return;
-	}
-
-	/* filename (text) */
-	char *value = PQgetvalue(result, 0, 0);
-	sformat(context->filename, sizeof(context->filename), "%s/%s", cdcPathDir, value);
-
-	/*
-	 * content (bytea)
-	 *
-	 * We do not want to store this value in memory. Instead we write it to disk
-	 * as it is.
-	 */
-	value = PQgetvalue(result, 0, 1);
-	if (!writeTimelineHistoryFile(context->filename, value))
-	{
-		log_error("Failed to write timeline history file \"%s\"", context->filename);
-		context->parsedOk = false;
-		return;
-	}
-
-	context->parsedOk = true;
-}
-
-
-typedef struct TimeLineHistoryContext
-{
-	DatabaseCatalog *catalog;
-	uint32_t prevtli;
-	uint32_t prevend;
-} TimelineHistoryContext;
-
-
-/*
- * parse_timeline_history_file is a wrapper for the iterator that prepares the
- * context etc.
- */
-bool
-parse_timeline_history_file(char *filename,
-							DatabaseCatalog *catalog,
-							uint32_t currentTimeline)
-{
-	/* step 1: prepare the context */
-	TimelineHistoryContext context =
-	{
-		.catalog = catalog,
-		.prevtli = 0,
-		.prevend = InvalidXLogRecPtr
-	};
-
-	/* step 2: iterate over the file */
-	if (!file_iter_lines(filename, BUFSIZE, &context, register_timeline_hook))
-	{
-		/* errors have already been logged */
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	/* step 3: add the current timeline to catalog */
-	if (currentTimeline != context.prevtli + 1)
-	{
-		log_warn("parse_timeline_history_file: Expected timeline %d, got %d",
-				 context.prevtli + 1, currentTimeline);
-	}
-
-	TimelineHistoryEntry entry = {
-		.tli = currentTimeline,
-		.begin = context.prevend,
-		.end = InvalidXLogRecPtr
-	};
-
-	if (!catalog_add_timeline_history(catalog, &entry))
-	{
-		log_error("Failed to add timeline history entry to catalog");
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	return true;
-}
-
-
-/* register_timeline_hook is the callback that is called for each line of a */
-/* timeline history file. */
-static bool
-register_timeline_hook(void *ctx, char *line)
-{
-	TimelineHistoryContext *context = (TimelineHistoryContext *) ctx;
-
-	char *ptr = line;
-
-	/* skip leading whitespace */
-	for (; *ptr; ptr++)
-	{
-		if (!isspace((unsigned char) *ptr))
-		{
-			break;
-		}
-	}
-
-	if (*ptr == '\0')
-	{
-		/* skip empty lines */
-		return true;
-	}
-
-	log_trace("register_timeline_hook: line is \"%s\"", line);
-
-	char *tabptr = strchr(ptr, '\t');
-
-	if (tabptr == NULL)
-	{
-		log_error("Failed to parse history file line \"%s\"", line);
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	*tabptr = '\0';
-
-	uint32_t current_tli = 0;
-	uint64_t current_lsn = InvalidXLogRecPtr;
-
-	if (!stringToUInt(ptr, &current_tli))
-	{
-		log_error("Failed to parse history timeline \"%s\"", line);
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	char *lsn = tabptr + 1;
-
-	for (char *lsnend = lsn; *lsnend; lsnend++)
-	{
-		if (!(isxdigit((unsigned char) *lsnend) || *lsnend == '/'))
-		{
-			*lsnend = '\0';
-			break;
-		}
-	}
-
-	if (!parseLSN(lsn, &current_lsn))
-	{
-		log_error("Failed to parse history timeline %d LSN \"%s\"",
-				  current_tli, lsn);
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	TimelineHistoryEntry entry = {
-		.tli = current_tli,
-		.begin = context->prevend,
-		.end = current_lsn
-	};
-
-	if (!catalog_add_timeline_history(context->catalog, &entry))
-	{
-		log_error("Failed to add timeline history entry to catalog");
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	context->prevtli = current_tli;
-	context->prevend = current_lsn;
-
-	return true;
-}
diff --git a/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql_timeline.h b/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql_timeline.h
index a3dabaee6..4c638df05 100644
--- a/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql_timeline.h
+++ b/src/bin/pgcopydb/pgsql_timeline.h
@@ -9,10 +9,6 @@
 #include "schema.h"
 
 /* pgsql_timeline.c */
-bool pgsql_identify_system(PGSQL *pgsql, IdentifySystem *system,
-						   char *cdcPathDir);
-bool parse_timeline_history_file(char *filename,
-								 DatabaseCatalog *catalog,
-								 uint32_t currentTimeline);
+bool pgsql_identify_system(PGSQL *pgsql, IdentifySystem *system);
 
 #endif /* PGSQL_TIMELINE_H */
diff --git a/tests/cdc-low-level/copydb.sh b/tests/cdc-low-level/copydb.sh
index 83518f4cb..82d0b8fcb 100755
--- a/tests/cdc-low-level/copydb.sh
+++ b/tests/cdc-low-level/copydb.sh
@@ -161,5 +161,30 @@ test "${rows}" -eq 25000
 # unpatched pgcopydb only syncs at COMMIT/EOF, which fails this assertion
 test "${syncs}" -ge 5
 
+TLIFILE=${SHAREDIR}/tli
+
+echo "recording timeline 2, as a source promoted before this run would"
+
+printf '2' > ${TLIFILE}
+
+psql -d ${PGCOPYDB_SOURCE_PGURI} -f /usr/src/pgcopydb/dml.sql
+
+lsn=`psql -At -d ${PGCOPYDB_SOURCE_PGURI} -c 'select pg_current_wal_lsn()'`
+
+set +e
+pgcopydb stream receive --resume --endpos "${lsn}" > /tmp/timeline.log 2>&1
+rc=$?
+set -e
+
+cat /tmp/timeline.log
+
+test "${rc}" -ne 0
+
+grep -q "Source timeline changed from 2 to 1" /tmp/timeline.log
+
+test "$(cat ${TLIFILE})" = "2"
+
+rm -f ${TLIFILE}
+
 # cleanup
 pgcopydb stream cleanup --verbose