ALTER_ROLE(7)

1ALTER ROLE(7)            PostgreSQL 14.3 Documentation           ALTER ROLE(7)
2
3
4

NAME

6       ALTER_ROLE - change a database role
7

SYNOPSIS

9       ALTER ROLE role_specification [ WITH ] option [ ... ]
10
11       where option can be:
12
13             SUPERUSER | NOSUPERUSER
14           | CREATEDB | NOCREATEDB
15           | CREATEROLE | NOCREATEROLE
16           | INHERIT | NOINHERIT
17           | LOGIN | NOLOGIN
18           | REPLICATION | NOREPLICATION
19           | BYPASSRLS | NOBYPASSRLS
20           | CONNECTION LIMIT connlimit
21           | [ ENCRYPTED ] PASSWORD 'password' | PASSWORD NULL
22           | VALID UNTIL 'timestamp'
23
24       ALTER ROLE name RENAME TO new_name
25
26       ALTER ROLE { role_specification | ALL } [ IN DATABASE database_name ] SET configuration_parameter { TO | = } { value | DEFAULT }
27       ALTER ROLE { role_specification | ALL } [ IN DATABASE database_name ] SET configuration_parameter FROM CURRENT
28       ALTER ROLE { role_specification | ALL } [ IN DATABASE database_name ] RESET configuration_parameter
29       ALTER ROLE { role_specification | ALL } [ IN DATABASE database_name ] RESET ALL
30
31       where role_specification can be:
32
33           role_name
34         | CURRENT_ROLE
35         | CURRENT_USER
36         | SESSION_USER
37

DESCRIPTION

39       ALTER ROLE changes the attributes of a PostgreSQL role.
40
41       The first variant of this command listed in the synopsis can change
42       many of the role attributes that can be specified in CREATE ROLE. (All
43       the possible attributes are covered, except that there are no options
44       for adding or removing memberships; use GRANT and REVOKE for that.)
45       Attributes not mentioned in the command retain their previous settings.
46       Database superusers can change any of these settings for any role.
47       Roles having CREATEROLE privilege can change any of these settings
48       except SUPERUSER, REPLICATION, and BYPASSRLS; but only for
49       non-superuser and non-replication roles. Ordinary roles can only change
50       their own password.
51
52       The second variant changes the name of the role. Database superusers
53       can rename any role. Roles having CREATEROLE privilege can rename
54       non-superuser roles. The current session user cannot be renamed.
55       (Connect as a different user if you need to do that.) Because
56       MD5-encrypted passwords use the role name as cryptographic salt,
57       renaming a role clears its password if the password is MD5-encrypted.
58
59       The remaining variants change a role's session default for a
60       configuration variable, either for all databases or, when the IN
61       DATABASE clause is specified, only for sessions in the named database.
62       If ALL is specified instead of a role name, this changes the setting
63       for all roles. Using ALL with IN DATABASE is effectively the same as
64       using the command ALTER DATABASE ... SET ....
65
66       Whenever the role subsequently starts a new session, the specified
67       value becomes the session default, overriding whatever setting is
68       present in postgresql.conf or has been received from the postgres
69       command line. This only happens at login time; executing SET ROLE or
70       SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION does not cause new configuration values to be
71       set. Settings set for all databases are overridden by database-specific
72       settings attached to a role. Settings for specific databases or
73       specific roles override settings for all roles.
74
75       Superusers can change anyone's session defaults. Roles having
76       CREATEROLE privilege can change defaults for non-superuser roles.
77       Ordinary roles can only set defaults for themselves. Certain
78       configuration variables cannot be set this way, or can only be set if a
79       superuser issues the command. Only superusers can change a setting for
80       all roles in all databases.
81

PARAMETERS

83       name
84           The name of the role whose attributes are to be altered.
85
86       CURRENT_ROLE
87       CURRENT_USER
88           Alter the current user instead of an explicitly identified role.
89
90       SESSION_USER
91           Alter the current session user instead of an explicitly identified
92           role.
93
94       SUPERUSER
95       NOSUPERUSER
96       CREATEDB
97       NOCREATEDB
98       CREATEROLE
99       NOCREATEROLE
100       INHERIT
101       NOINHERIT
102       LOGIN
103       NOLOGIN
104       REPLICATION
105       NOREPLICATION
106       BYPASSRLS
107       NOBYPASSRLS
108       CONNECTION LIMIT connlimit
109       [ ENCRYPTED ] PASSWORD 'password'
110       PASSWORD NULL
111       VALID UNTIL 'timestamp'
112           These clauses alter attributes originally set by CREATE ROLE. For
113           more information, see the CREATE ROLE reference page.
114
115       new_name
116           The new name of the role.
117
118       database_name
119           The name of the database the configuration variable should be set
120           in.
121
122       configuration_parameter
123       value
124           Set this role's session default for the specified configuration
125           parameter to the given value. If value is DEFAULT or, equivalently,
126           RESET is used, the role-specific variable setting is removed, so
127           the role will inherit the system-wide default setting in new
128           sessions. Use RESET ALL to clear all role-specific settings.  SET
129           FROM CURRENT saves the session's current value of the parameter as
130           the role-specific value. If IN DATABASE is specified, the
131           configuration parameter is set or removed for the given role and
132           database only.
133
134           Role-specific variable settings take effect only at login; SET ROLE
135           and SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION do not process role-specific variable
136           settings.
137
138           See SET(7) and Chapter 20 for more information about allowed
139           parameter names and values.
140

NOTES

142       Use CREATE ROLE to add new roles, and DROP ROLE to remove a role.
143
144       ALTER ROLE cannot change a role's memberships. Use GRANT and REVOKE to
145       do that.
146
147       Caution must be exercised when specifying an unencrypted password with
148       this command. The password will be transmitted to the server in
149       cleartext, and it might also be logged in the client's command history
150       or the server log.  psql(1) contains a command \password that can be
151       used to change a role's password without exposing the cleartext
152       password.
153
154       It is also possible to tie a session default to a specific database
155       rather than to a role; see ALTER DATABASE (ALTER_DATABASE(7)). If there
156       is a conflict, database-role-specific settings override role-specific
157       ones, which in turn override database-specific ones.
158

EXAMPLES

160       Change a role's password:
161
162           ALTER ROLE davide WITH PASSWORD 'hu8jmn3';
163
164       Remove a role's password:
165
166           ALTER ROLE davide WITH PASSWORD NULL;
167
168       Change a password expiration date, specifying that the password should
169       expire at midday on 4th May 2015 using the time zone which is one hour
170       ahead of UTC:
171
172           ALTER ROLE chris VALID UNTIL 'May 4 12:00:00 2015 +1';
173
174       Make a password valid forever:
175
176           ALTER ROLE fred VALID UNTIL 'infinity';
177
178       Give a role the ability to create other roles and new databases:
179
180           ALTER ROLE miriam CREATEROLE CREATEDB;
181
182       Give a role a non-default setting of the maintenance_work_mem
183       parameter:
184
185           ALTER ROLE worker_bee SET maintenance_work_mem = 100000;
186
187       Give a role a non-default, database-specific setting of the
188       client_min_messages parameter:
189
190           ALTER ROLE fred IN DATABASE devel SET client_min_messages = DEBUG;
191

COMPATIBILITY

193       The ALTER ROLE statement is a PostgreSQL extension.
194