NAME¶

ALTER_ROLE - change a database role

SYNOPSIS¶

ALTER ROLE name [ [ WITH ] option [ ... ] ]
where option can be:


      SUPERUSER | NOSUPERUSER


    | CREATEDB | NOCREATEDB


    | CREATEROLE | NOCREATEROLE


    | CREATEUSER | NOCREATEUSER


    | INHERIT | NOINHERIT


    | LOGIN | NOLOGIN


    | REPLICATION | NOREPLICATION


    | CONNECTION LIMIT connlimit


    | [ ENCRYPTED | UNENCRYPTED ] PASSWORD 'password'


    | VALID UNTIL 'timestamp'
ALTER ROLE name RENAME TO new_name
ALTER ROLE name [ IN DATABASE database_name ] SET configuration_parameter { TO | = } { value | DEFAULT }
ALTER ROLE name [ IN DATABASE database_name ] SET configuration_parameter FROM CURRENT
ALTER ROLE name [ IN DATABASE database_name ] RESET configuration_parameter
ALTER ROLE name [ IN DATABASE database_name ] RESET ALL

DESCRIPTION¶

ALTER ROLE changes the attributes of a PostgreSQL role.

The first variant of this command listed in the synopsis can change many of the role attributes that can be specified in CREATE ROLE (CREATE_ROLE(7)). (All the possible attributes are covered, except that there are no options for adding or removing memberships; use GRANT(7) and REVOKE(7) for that.) Attributes not mentioned in the command retain their previous settings. Database superusers can change any of these settings for any role. Roles having CREATEROLE privilege can change any of these settings, but only for non-superuser and non-replication roles. Ordinary roles can only change their own password.

The second variant changes the name of the role. Database superusers can rename any role. Roles having CREATEROLE privilege can rename non-superuser roles. The current session user cannot be renamed. (Connect as a different user if you need to do that.) Because MD5-encrypted passwords use the role name as cryptographic salt, renaming a role clears its password if the password is MD5-encrypted.

The remaining variants change a role's session default for a configuration variable, either for all databases or, when the IN DATABASE clause is specified, only for sessions in the named database. Whenever the role subsequently starts a new session, the specified value becomes the session default, overriding whatever setting is present in postgresql.conf or has been received from the postgres command line. This only happens at login time; executing SET ROLE (SET_ROLE(7)) or SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION (SET_SESSION_AUTHORIZATION(7)) does not cause new configuration values to be set. Settings set for all databases are overridden by database-specific settings attached to a role. Superusers can change anyone's session defaults. Roles having CREATEROLE privilege can change defaults for non-superuser roles. Ordinary roles can only set defaults for themselves. Certain configuration variables cannot be set this way, or can only be set if a superuser issues the command.

PARAMETERS¶

name

SUPERUSER, NOSUPERUSER, CREATEDB, NOCREATEDB, CREATEROLE, NOCREATEROLE, CREATEUSER, NOCREATEUSER, INHERIT, NOINHERIT, LOGIN, NOLOGIN, REPLICATION, NOREPLICATION, CONNECTION LIMIT connlimit, PASSWORD password, ENCRYPTED, UNENCRYPTED, VALID UNTIL 'timestamp'

new_name

database_name

configuration_parameter, value

NOTES¶

Use CREATE ROLE (CREATE_ROLE(7)) to add new roles, and DROP ROLE (DROP_ROLE(7)) to remove a role.

ALTER ROLE cannot change a role's memberships. Use GRANT(7) and REVOKE(7) to do that.

Caution must be exercised when specifying an unencrypted password with this command. The password will be transmitted to the server in cleartext, and it might also be logged in the client's command history or the server log. psql(1) contains a command \password that can be used to change a role's password without exposing the cleartext password.

It is also possible to tie a session default to a specific database rather than to a role; see ALTER DATABASE (ALTER_DATABASE(7)). If there is a conflict, database-role-specific settings override role-specific ones, which in turn override database-specific ones.

EXAMPLES¶

Change a role's password:

ALTER ROLE davide WITH PASSWORD 'hu8jmn3';

Remove a role's password:

ALTER ROLE davide WITH PASSWORD NULL;

Change a password expiration date, specifying that the password should expire at midday on 4th May 2015 using the time zone which is one hour ahead of UTC:

ALTER ROLE chris VALID UNTIL 'May 4 12:00:00 2015 +1';

Make a password valid forever:

ALTER ROLE fred VALID UNTIL 'infinity';

Give a role the ability to create other roles and new databases:

ALTER ROLE miriam CREATEROLE CREATEDB;

Give a role a non-default setting of the maintenance_work_mem parameter:

ALTER ROLE worker_bee SET maintenance_work_mem = 100000;

Give a role a non-default, database-specific setting of the client_min_messages parameter:

ALTER ROLE fred IN DATABASE devel SET client_min_messages = DEBUG;

COMPATIBILITY¶

The ALTER ROLE statement is a PostgreSQL extension.

SEE ALSO¶

CREATE ROLE (CREATE_ROLE(7)), DROP ROLE (DROP_ROLE(7)), SET(7)