<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>ALTER ROLE</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet.css" /><link rev="made" href="pgsql-docs@lists.postgresql.org" /><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets Vsnapshot" /><link rel="prev" href="sql-alterpublication.html" title="ALTER PUBLICATION" /><link rel="next" href="sql-alterroutine.html" title="ALTER ROUTINE" /></head><body><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/transitional" class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="5" align="center">ALTER ROLE</th></tr><tr><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="sql-alterpublication.html" title="ALTER PUBLICATION">Prev</a> </td><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="u" href="sql-commands.html" title="SQL Commands">Up</a></td><th width="60%" align="center">SQL Commands</th><td width="10%" align="right"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 11.5 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="10%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="sql-alterroutine.html" title="ALTER ROUTINE">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr></hr></div><div class="refentry" id="SQL-ALTERROLE"><div class="titlepage"></div><a id="id-1.9.3.26.1" class="indexterm"></a><div class="refnamediv"><h2><span class="refentrytitle">ALTER ROLE</span></h2><p>ALTER ROLE — change a database role</p></div><div class="refsynopsisdiv"><h2>Synopsis</h2><pre class="synopsis">
ALTER ROLE <em class="replaceable"><code>role_specification</code></em> [ WITH ] <em class="replaceable"><code>option</code></em> [ ... ]
<span class="phrase">where <em class="replaceable"><code>option</code></em> can be:</span>
SUPERUSER | NOSUPERUSER
| CREATEDB | NOCREATEDB
| CREATEROLE | NOCREATEROLE
| INHERIT | NOINHERIT
| LOGIN | NOLOGIN
| REPLICATION | NOREPLICATION
| BYPASSRLS | NOBYPASSRLS
| CONNECTION LIMIT <em class="replaceable"><code>connlimit</code></em>
| [ ENCRYPTED ] PASSWORD '<em class="replaceable"><code>password</code></em>' | PASSWORD NULL
| VALID UNTIL '<em class="replaceable"><code>timestamp</code></em>'
ALTER ROLE <em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em> RENAME TO <em class="replaceable"><code>new_name</code></em>
ALTER ROLE { <em class="replaceable"><code>role_specification</code></em> | ALL } [ IN DATABASE <em class="replaceable"><code>database_name</code></em> ] SET <em class="replaceable"><code>configuration_parameter</code></em> { TO | = } { <em class="replaceable"><code>value</code></em> | DEFAULT }
ALTER ROLE { <em class="replaceable"><code>role_specification</code></em> | ALL } [ IN DATABASE <em class="replaceable"><code>database_name</code></em> ] SET <em class="replaceable"><code>configuration_parameter</code></em> FROM CURRENT
ALTER ROLE { <em class="replaceable"><code>role_specification</code></em> | ALL } [ IN DATABASE <em class="replaceable"><code>database_name</code></em> ] RESET <em class="replaceable"><code>configuration_parameter</code></em>
ALTER ROLE { <em class="replaceable"><code>role_specification</code></em> | ALL } [ IN DATABASE <em class="replaceable"><code>database_name</code></em> ] RESET ALL
<span class="phrase">where <em class="replaceable"><code>role_specification</code></em> can be:</span>
<em class="replaceable"><code>role_name</code></em>
| CURRENT_USER
| SESSION_USER
</pre></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.26.5"><h2>Description</h2><p>
<code class="command">ALTER ROLE</code> changes the attributes of a
<span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> role.
</p><p>
The first variant of this command listed in the synopsis can change
many of the role attributes that can be specified in
<a class="xref" href="sql-createrole.html" title="CREATE ROLE"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE ROLE</span></a>.
(All the possible attributes are covered,
except that there are no options for adding or removing memberships; use
<a class="xref" href="sql-grant.html" title="GRANT"><span class="refentrytitle">GRANT</span></a> and
<a class="xref" href="sql-revoke.html" title="REVOKE"><span class="refentrytitle">REVOKE</span></a> 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 <code class="literal">CREATEROLE</code> privilege can change any of these
settings, but only for non-superuser and non-replication roles.
Ordinary roles can only change their own password.
</p><p>
The second variant changes the name of the role.
Database superusers can rename any role.
Roles having <code class="literal">CREATEROLE</code> 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 <code class="literal">MD5</code>-encrypted passwords use the role name as
cryptographic salt, renaming a role clears its password if the
password is <code class="literal">MD5</code>-encrypted.
</p><p>
The remaining variants change a role's session default for a configuration
variable, either for all databases or, when the <code class="literal">IN
DATABASE</code> clause is specified, only for sessions in the named
database. If <code class="literal">ALL</code> is specified instead of a role name,
this changes the setting for all roles. Using <code class="literal">ALL</code>
with <code class="literal">IN DATABASE</code> is effectively the same as using the
command <code class="literal">ALTER DATABASE ... SET ...</code>.
</p><p>
Whenever the role subsequently
starts a new session, the specified value becomes the session
default, overriding whatever setting is present in
<code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code> or has been received from the <code class="command">postgres</code>
command line. This only happens at login time; executing
<a class="xref" href="sql-set-role.html" title="SET ROLE"><span class="refentrytitle">SET ROLE</span></a> or
<a class="xref" href="sql-set-session-authorization.html" title="SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION"><span class="refentrytitle">SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION</span></a> does not cause new
configuration values to be set.
Settings set for all databases are overridden by database-specific settings
attached to a role. Settings for specific databases or specific roles override
settings for all roles.
</p><p>
Superusers can change anyone's session defaults. Roles having
<code class="literal">CREATEROLE</code> 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. Only superusers can change a setting
for all roles in all databases.
</p></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.26.6"><h2>Parameters</h2><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>name</code></em></span></dt><dd><p>
The name of the role whose attributes are to be altered.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">CURRENT_USER</code></span></dt><dd><p>
Alter the current user instead of an explicitly identified role.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">SESSION_USER</code></span></dt><dd><p>
Alter the current session user instead of an explicitly identified
role.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><code class="literal">SUPERUSER</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">NOSUPERUSER</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">CREATEDB</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">NOCREATEDB</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">CREATEROLE</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">NOCREATEROLE</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">INHERIT</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">NOINHERIT</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">LOGIN</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">NOLOGIN</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">REPLICATION</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">NOREPLICATION</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">BYPASSRLS</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">NOBYPASSRLS</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">CONNECTION LIMIT</code> <em class="replaceable"><code>connlimit</code></em><br /></span><span class="term">[ <code class="literal">ENCRYPTED</code> ] <code class="literal">PASSWORD</code> '<em class="replaceable"><code>password</code></em>'<br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">PASSWORD NULL</code><br /></span><span class="term"><code class="literal">VALID UNTIL</code> '<em class="replaceable"><code>timestamp</code></em>'</span></dt><dd><p>
These clauses alter attributes originally set by
<a class="xref" href="sql-createrole.html" title="CREATE ROLE"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE ROLE</span></a>. For more information, see the
<code class="command">CREATE ROLE</code> reference page.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>new_name</code></em></span></dt><dd><p>
The new name of the role.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>database_name</code></em></span></dt><dd><p>
The name of the database the configuration variable should be set in.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>configuration_parameter</code></em><br /></span><span class="term"><em class="replaceable"><code>value</code></em></span></dt><dd><p>
Set this role's session default for the specified configuration
parameter to the given value. If
<em class="replaceable"><code>value</code></em> is <code class="literal">DEFAULT</code>
or, equivalently, <code class="literal">RESET</code> is used, the
role-specific variable setting is removed, so the role will
inherit the system-wide default setting in new sessions. Use
<code class="literal">RESET ALL</code> to clear all role-specific settings.
<code class="literal">SET FROM CURRENT</code> saves the session's current value of
the parameter as the role-specific value.
If <code class="literal">IN DATABASE</code> is specified, the configuration
parameter is set or removed for the given role and database only.
</p><p>
Role-specific variable settings take effect only at login;
<a class="xref" href="sql-set-role.html" title="SET ROLE"><span class="refentrytitle">SET ROLE</span></a> and
<a class="xref" href="sql-set-session-authorization.html" title="SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION"><span class="refentrytitle">SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION</span></a>
do not process role-specific variable settings.
</p><p>
See <a class="xref" href="sql-set.html" title="SET"><span class="refentrytitle">SET</span></a> and <a class="xref" href="runtime-config.html" title="Chapter 19. Server Configuration">Chapter 19</a> for more information about allowed
parameter names and values.
</p></dd></dl></div></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.26.7"><h2>Notes</h2><p>
Use <a class="xref" href="sql-createrole.html" title="CREATE ROLE"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE ROLE</span></a>
to add new roles, and <a class="xref" href="sql-droprole.html" title="DROP ROLE"><span class="refentrytitle">DROP ROLE</span></a> to remove a role.
</p><p>
<code class="command">ALTER ROLE</code> cannot change a role's memberships.
Use <a class="xref" href="sql-grant.html" title="GRANT"><span class="refentrytitle">GRANT</span></a> and
<a class="xref" href="sql-revoke.html" title="REVOKE"><span class="refentrytitle">REVOKE</span></a>
to do that.
</p><p>
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. <a class="xref" href="app-psql.html" title="psql"><span class="refentrytitle"><span class="application">psql</span></span></a>
contains a command
<code class="command">\password</code> that can be used to change a
role's password without exposing the cleartext password.
</p><p>
It is also possible to tie a
session default to a specific database rather than to a role; see
<a class="xref" href="sql-alterdatabase.html" title="ALTER DATABASE"><span class="refentrytitle">ALTER DATABASE</span></a>.
If there is a conflict, database-role-specific settings override role-specific
ones, which in turn override database-specific ones.
</p></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.26.8"><h2>Examples</h2><p>
Change a role's password:
</p><pre class="programlisting">
ALTER ROLE davide WITH PASSWORD 'hu8jmn3';
</pre><p>
</p><p>
Remove a role's password:
</p><pre class="programlisting">
ALTER ROLE davide WITH PASSWORD NULL;
</pre><p>
</p><p>
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 <acronym class="acronym">UTC</acronym>:
</p><pre class="programlisting">
ALTER ROLE chris VALID UNTIL 'May 4 12:00:00 2015 +1';
</pre><p>
</p><p>
Make a password valid forever:
</p><pre class="programlisting">
ALTER ROLE fred VALID UNTIL 'infinity';
</pre><p>
</p><p>
Give a role the ability to create other roles and new databases:
</p><pre class="programlisting">
ALTER ROLE miriam CREATEROLE CREATEDB;
</pre><p>
</p><p>
Give a role a non-default setting of the
<a class="xref" href="runtime-config-resource.html#GUC-MAINTENANCE-WORK-MEM">maintenance_work_mem</a> parameter:
</p><pre class="programlisting">
ALTER ROLE worker_bee SET maintenance_work_mem = 100000;
</pre><p>
</p><p>
Give a role a non-default, database-specific setting of the
<a class="xref" href="runtime-config-client.html#GUC-CLIENT-MIN-MESSAGES">client_min_messages</a> parameter:
</p><pre class="programlisting">
ALTER ROLE fred IN DATABASE devel SET client_min_messages = DEBUG;
</pre></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.26.9"><h2>Compatibility</h2><p>
The <code class="command">ALTER ROLE</code> statement is a
<span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> extension.
</p></div><div class="refsect1" id="id-1.9.3.26.10"><h2>See Also</h2><span class="simplelist"><a class="xref" href="sql-createrole.html" title="CREATE ROLE"><span class="refentrytitle">CREATE ROLE</span></a>, <a class="xref" href="sql-droprole.html" title="DROP ROLE"><span class="refentrytitle">DROP ROLE</span></a>, <a class="xref" href="sql-alterdatabase.html" title="ALTER DATABASE"><span class="refentrytitle">ALTER DATABASE</span></a>, <a class="xref" href="sql-set.html" title="SET"><span class="refentrytitle">SET</span></a></span></div></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="sql-alterpublication.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="sql-commands.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="sql-alterroutine.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">ALTER PUBLICATION </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> ALTER ROUTINE</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
