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><H1
><A
NAME="SQL-CREATEROLE"
></A
>CREATE ROLE</H1
><DIV
CLASS="REFNAMEDIV"
><A
NAME="AEN58017"
></A
><H2
>Name</H2
>CREATE ROLE -- define a new database role</DIV
><A
NAME="AEN58020"
></A
><DIV
CLASS="REFSYNOPSISDIV"
><A
NAME="AEN58022"
></A
><H2
>Synopsis</H2
><PRE
CLASS="SYNOPSIS"
>CREATE ROLE <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>name</I
></TT
> [ [ WITH ] <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>option</I
></TT
> [ ... ] ]
where <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>option</I
></TT
> can be:
SUPERUSER | NOSUPERUSER
| CREATEDB | NOCREATEDB
| CREATEROLE | NOCREATEROLE
| CREATEUSER | NOCREATEUSER
| INHERIT | NOINHERIT
| LOGIN | NOLOGIN
| CONNECTION LIMIT <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>connlimit</I
></TT
>
| [ ENCRYPTED | UNENCRYPTED ] PASSWORD '<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>password</I
></TT
>'
| VALID UNTIL '<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>timestamp</I
></TT
>'
| IN ROLE <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
> [, ...]
| IN GROUP <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
> [, ...]
| ROLE <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
> [, ...]
| ADMIN <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
> [, ...]
| USER <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
> [, ...]
| SYSID <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>uid</I
></TT
> </PRE
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="REFSECT1"
><A
NAME="AEN58036"
></A
><H2
>Description</H2
><P
> <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE ROLE</TT
> adds a new role to a
<SPAN
CLASS="PRODUCTNAME"
>PostgreSQL</SPAN
> database cluster. A role is
an entity that can own database objects and have database privileges;
a role can be considered a <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"user"</SPAN
>, a <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"group"</SPAN
>, or both
depending on how it is used. Refer to
<A
HREF="user-manag.html"
>Chapter 20</A
> and <A
HREF="client-authentication.html"
>Chapter 19</A
> for information about managing
users and authentication. You must have <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEROLE</TT
>
privilege or be a database superuser to use this command.
</P
><P
> Note that roles are defined at the database cluster
level, and so are valid in all databases in the cluster.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="REFSECT1"
><A
NAME="AEN58047"
></A
><H2
>Parameters</H2
><P
></P
><DIV
CLASS="VARIABLELIST"
><DL
><DT
><TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>name</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> The name of the new role.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>SUPERUSER</TT
><BR><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOSUPERUSER</TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> These clauses determine whether the new role is a <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"superuser"</SPAN
>,
who can override all access restrictions within the database.
Superuser status is dangerous and should be used only when really
needed. You must yourself be a superuser to create a new superuser.
If not specified,
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOSUPERUSER</TT
> is the default.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEDB</TT
><BR><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOCREATEDB</TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> These clauses define a role's ability to create databases. If
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEDB</TT
> is specified, the role being
defined will be allowed to create new databases. Specifying
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOCREATEDB</TT
> will deny a role the ability to
create databases. If not specified,
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOCREATEDB</TT
> is the default.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEROLE</TT
><BR><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOCREATEROLE</TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> These clauses determine whether a role will be permitted to
create new roles (that is, execute <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE ROLE</TT
>).
A role with <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEROLE</TT
> privilege can also alter
and drop other roles.
If not specified,
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOCREATEROLE</TT
> is the default.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEUSER</TT
><BR><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOCREATEUSER</TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> These clauses are an obsolete, but still accepted, spelling of
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>SUPERUSER</TT
> and <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOSUPERUSER</TT
>.
Note that they are <SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>not</I
></SPAN
> equivalent to
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEROLE</TT
> as one might naively expect!
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>INHERIT</TT
><BR><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOINHERIT</TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> These clauses determine whether a role <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"inherits"</SPAN
> the
privileges of roles it is a member of.
A role with the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>INHERIT</TT
> attribute can automatically
use whatever database privileges have been granted to all roles
it is directly or indirectly a member of.
Without <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>INHERIT</TT
>, membership in another role
only grants the ability to <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>SET ROLE</TT
> to that other role;
the privileges of the other role are only available after having
done so.
If not specified,
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>INHERIT</TT
> is the default.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>LOGIN</TT
><BR><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOLOGIN</TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> These clauses determine whether a role is allowed to log in;
that is, whether the role can be given as the initial session
authorization name during client connection. A role having
the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>LOGIN</TT
> attribute can be thought of as a user.
Roles without this attribute are useful for managing database
privileges, but are not users in the usual sense of the word.
If not specified,
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOLOGIN</TT
> is the default, except when
<TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE ROLE</TT
> is invoked through its alternative spelling
<TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE USER</TT
>.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CONNECTION LIMIT</TT
> <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>connlimit</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> If role can log in, this specifies how many concurrent connections
the role can make. -1 (the default) means no limit.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>PASSWORD</TT
> <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>password</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> Sets the role's password. (A password is only of use for
roles having the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>LOGIN</TT
> attribute, but you
can nonetheless define one for roles without it.) If you do
not plan to use password authentication you can omit this
option. If no password is specified, the password will be set
to null and password authentication will always fail for that
user. A null password can optionally be written explicitly as
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>PASSWORD NULL</TT
>.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>ENCRYPTED</TT
><BR><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>UNENCRYPTED</TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> These key words control whether the password is stored
encrypted in the system catalogs. (If neither is specified,
the default behavior is determined by the configuration
parameter <A
HREF="runtime-config-connection.html#GUC-PASSWORD-ENCRYPTION"
>password_encryption</A
>.) If the
presented password string is already in MD5-encrypted format,
then it is stored encrypted as-is, regardless of whether
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>ENCRYPTED</TT
> or <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>UNENCRYPTED</TT
> is specified
(since the system cannot decrypt the specified encrypted
password string). This allows reloading of encrypted
passwords during dump/restore.
</P
><P
> Note that older clients might lack support for the MD5
authentication mechanism that is needed to work with passwords
that are stored encrypted.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>VALID UNTIL</TT
> '<TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>timestamp</I
></TT
>'</DT
><DD
><P
> The <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>VALID UNTIL</TT
> clause sets a date and
time after which the role's password is no longer valid. If
this clause is omitted the password will be valid for all time.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>IN ROLE</TT
> <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> The <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>IN ROLE</TT
> clause lists one or more existing
roles to which the new role will be immediately added as a new
member. (Note that there is no option to add the new role as an
administrator; use a separate <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>GRANT</TT
> command to do that.)
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>IN GROUP</TT
> <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>IN GROUP</TT
> is an obsolete spelling of
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>IN ROLE</TT
>.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>ROLE</TT
> <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> The <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>ROLE</TT
> clause lists one or more existing
roles which are automatically added as members of the new role.
(This in effect makes the new role a <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"group"</SPAN
>.)
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>ADMIN</TT
> <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> The <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>ADMIN</TT
> clause is like <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>ROLE</TT
>,
but the named roles are added to the new role <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>WITH ADMIN
OPTION</TT
>, giving them the right to grant membership in this role
to others.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>USER</TT
> <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> The <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>USER</TT
> clause is an obsolete spelling of
the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>ROLE</TT
> clause.
</P
></DD
><DT
><TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>SYSID</TT
> <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>uid</I
></TT
></DT
><DD
><P
> The <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>SYSID</TT
> clause is ignored, but is accepted
for backwards compatibility.
</P
></DD
></DL
></DIV
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="REFSECT1"
><A
NAME="AEN58198"
></A
><H2
>Notes</H2
><P
> Use <A
HREF="sql-alterrole.html"
><I
>ALTER ROLE</I
></A
> to
change the attributes of a role, and <A
HREF="sql-droprole.html"
><I
>DROP ROLE</I
></A
> to remove a role. All the attributes
specified by <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE ROLE</TT
> can be modified by later
<TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>ALTER ROLE</TT
> commands.
</P
><P
> The preferred way to add and remove members of roles that are being
used as groups is to use
<A
HREF="sql-grant.html"
><I
>GRANT</I
></A
> and
<A
HREF="sql-revoke.html"
><I
>REVOKE</I
></A
>.
</P
><P
> The <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>VALID UNTIL</TT
> clause defines an expiration time for a
password only, not for the role <I
CLASS="FOREIGNPHRASE"
>per se</I
>. In
particular, the expiration time is not enforced when logging in using
a non-password-based authentication method.
</P
><P
> The <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>INHERIT</TT
> attribute governs inheritance of grantable
privileges (that is, access privileges for database objects and role
memberships). It does not apply to the special role attributes set by
<TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE ROLE</TT
> and <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>ALTER ROLE</TT
>. For example, being
a member of a role with <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEDB</TT
> privilege does not immediately
grant the ability to create databases, even if <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>INHERIT</TT
> is set;
it would be necessary to become that role via
<A
HREF="sql-set-role.html"
><I
>SET ROLE</I
></A
> before
creating a database.
</P
><P
> The <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>INHERIT</TT
> attribute is the default for reasons of backwards
compatibility: in prior releases of <SPAN
CLASS="PRODUCTNAME"
>PostgreSQL</SPAN
>,
users always had access to all privileges of groups they were members of.
However, <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOINHERIT</TT
> provides a closer match to the semantics
specified in the SQL standard.
</P
><P
> Be careful with the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEROLE</TT
> privilege. There is no concept of
inheritance for the privileges of a <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEROLE</TT
>-role. That
means that even if a role does not have a certain privilege but is allowed
to create other roles, it can easily create another role with different
privileges than its own (except for creating roles with superuser
privileges). For example, if the role <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"user"</SPAN
> has the
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEROLE</TT
> privilege but not the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEDB</TT
> privilege,
nonetheless it can create a new role with the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEDB</TT
>
privilege. Therefore, regard roles that have the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CREATEROLE</TT
>
privilege as almost-superuser-roles.
</P
><P
> <SPAN
CLASS="PRODUCTNAME"
>PostgreSQL</SPAN
> includes a program <A
HREF="app-createuser.html"
><I
><I
>createuser</I
></I
></A
> that has
the same functionality as <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE ROLE</TT
> (in fact,
it calls this command) but can be run from the command shell.
</P
><P
> The <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CONNECTION LIMIT</TT
> option is only enforced approximately;
if two new sessions start at about the same time when just one
connection <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"slot"</SPAN
> remains for the role, it is possible that
both will fail. Also, the limit is never enforced for superusers.
</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. The command <A
HREF="app-createuser.html"
><I
><I
>createuser</I
></I
></A
>, however, transmits
the password encrypted. Also, <A
HREF="app-psql.html"
><I
><I
>psql</I
></I
></A
> contains a command
<TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>\password</TT
> that can be used to safely change the
password later.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="REFSECT1"
><A
NAME="AEN58241"
></A
><H2
>Examples</H2
><P
> Create a role that can log in, but don't give it a password:
</P><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>CREATE ROLE jonathan LOGIN;</PRE
><P>
</P
><P
> Create a role with a password:
</P><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>CREATE USER davide WITH PASSWORD 'jw8s0F4';</PRE
><P>
(<TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE USER</TT
> is the same as <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE ROLE</TT
> except
that it implies <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>LOGIN</TT
>.)
</P
><P
> Create a role with a password that is valid until the end of 2004.
After one second has ticked in 2005, the password is no longer
valid.
</P><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>CREATE ROLE miriam WITH LOGIN PASSWORD 'jw8s0F4' VALID UNTIL '2005-01-01';</PRE
><P>
</P
><P
>
Create a role that can create databases and manage roles:
</P><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>CREATE ROLE admin WITH CREATEDB CREATEROLE;</PRE
><P>
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="REFSECT1"
><A
NAME="AEN58254"
></A
><H2
>Compatibility</H2
><P
> The <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE ROLE</TT
> statement is in the SQL standard,
but the standard only requires the syntax
</P><PRE
CLASS="SYNOPSIS"
>CREATE ROLE <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>name</I
></TT
> [ WITH ADMIN <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
> ]</PRE
><P>
Multiple initial administrators, and all the other options of
<TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE ROLE</TT
>, are
<SPAN
CLASS="PRODUCTNAME"
>PostgreSQL</SPAN
> extensions.
</P
><P
> The SQL standard defines the concepts of users and roles, but it
regards them as distinct concepts and leaves all commands defining
users to be specified by each database implementation. In
<SPAN
CLASS="PRODUCTNAME"
>PostgreSQL</SPAN
> we have chosen to unify
users and roles into a single kind of entity. Roles therefore
have many more optional attributes than they do in the standard.
</P
><P
> The behavior specified by the SQL standard is most closely approximated
by giving users the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>NOINHERIT</TT
> attribute, while roles are
given the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>INHERIT</TT
> attribute.
</P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="REFSECT1"
><A
NAME="AEN58268"
></A
><H2
>See Also</H2
><A
HREF="sql-set-role.html"
><I
>SET ROLE</I
></A
>, <A
HREF="sql-alterrole.html"
><I
>ALTER ROLE</I
></A
>, <A
HREF="sql-droprole.html"
><I
>DROP ROLE</I
></A
>, <A
HREF="sql-grant.html"
><I
>GRANT</I
></A
>, <A
HREF="sql-revoke.html"
><I
>REVOKE</I
></A
>, <A
HREF="app-createuser.html"
><SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>createuser</SPAN
></A
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