1SET ROLE(7) PostgreSQL 11.3 Documentation SET ROLE(7)
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6 SET_ROLE - set the current user identifier of the current session
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9 SET [ SESSION | LOCAL ] ROLE role_name
10 SET [ SESSION | LOCAL ] ROLE NONE
11 RESET ROLE
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14 This command sets the current user identifier of the current SQL
15 session to be role_name. The role name can be written as either an
16 identifier or a string literal. After SET ROLE, permissions checking
17 for SQL commands is carried out as though the named role were the one
18 that had logged in originally.
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20 The specified role_name must be a role that the current session user is
21 a member of. (If the session user is a superuser, any role can be
22 selected.)
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24 The SESSION and LOCAL modifiers act the same as for the regular SET(7)
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27 The NONE and RESET forms reset the current user identifier to be the
28 current session user identifier. These forms can be executed by any
29 user.
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32 Using this command, it is possible to either add privileges or restrict
33 one's privileges. If the session user role has the INHERITS attribute,
34 then it automatically has all the privileges of every role that it
35 could SET ROLE to; in this case SET ROLE effectively drops all the
36 privileges assigned directly to the session user and to the other roles
37 it is a member of, leaving only the privileges available to the named
38 role. On the other hand, if the session user role has the NOINHERITS
39 attribute, SET ROLE drops the privileges assigned directly to the
40 session user and instead acquires the privileges available to the named
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43 In particular, when a superuser chooses to SET ROLE to a non-superuser
44 role, they lose their superuser privileges.
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46 SET ROLE has effects comparable to SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION
47 (SET_SESSION_AUTHORIZATION(7)), but the privilege checks involved are
48 quite different. Also, SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION determines which roles
49 are allowable for later SET ROLE commands, whereas changing roles with
50 SET ROLE does not change the set of roles allowed to a later SET ROLE.
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52 SET ROLE does not process session variables as specified by the role's
53 ALTER ROLE (ALTER_ROLE(7)) settings; this only happens during login.
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55 SET ROLE cannot be used within a SECURITY DEFINER function.
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58 SELECT SESSION_USER, CURRENT_USER;
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60 session_user | current_user
61 --------------+--------------
62 peter | peter
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64 SET ROLE 'paul';
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66 SELECT SESSION_USER, CURRENT_USER;
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68 session_user | current_user
69 --------------+--------------
70 peter | paul
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73 PostgreSQL allows identifier syntax ("rolename"), while the SQL
74 standard requires the role name to be written as a string literal. SQL
75 does not allow this command during a transaction; PostgreSQL does not
76 make this restriction because there is no reason to. The SESSION and
77 LOCAL modifiers are a PostgreSQL extension, as is the RESET syntax.
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80 SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION (SET_SESSION_AUTHORIZATION(7))
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84PostgreSQL 11.3 2019 SET ROLE(7)