dropdb(1)

1DROPDB(1)                PostgreSQL 15.4 Documentation               DROPDB(1)
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NAME

6       dropdb - remove a PostgreSQL database
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SYNOPSIS

9       dropdb [connection-option...] [option...] dbname
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DESCRIPTION

12       dropdb destroys an existing PostgreSQL database. The user who executes
13       this command must be a database superuser or the owner of the database.
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15       dropdb is a wrapper around the SQL command DROP DATABASE. There is no
16       effective difference between dropping databases via this utility and
17       via other methods for accessing the server.
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OPTIONS

20       dropdb accepts the following command-line arguments:
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22       dbname
23           Specifies the name of the database to be removed.
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25       -e
26       --echo
27           Echo the commands that dropdb generates and sends to the server.
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29       -f
30       --force
31           Attempt to terminate all existing connections to the target
32           database before dropping it. See DROP DATABASE (DROP_DATABASE(7))
33           for more information on this option.
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35       -i
36       --interactive
37           Issues a verification prompt before doing anything destructive.
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39       -V
40       --version
41           Print the dropdb version and exit.
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43       --if-exists
44           Do not throw an error if the database does not exist. A notice is
45           issued in this case.
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47       -?
48       --help
49           Show help about dropdb command line arguments, and exit.
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51       dropdb also accepts the following command-line arguments for connection
52       parameters:
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54       -h host
55       --host=host
56           Specifies the host name of the machine on which the server is
57           running. If the value begins with a slash, it is used as the
58           directory for the Unix domain socket.
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60       -p port
61       --port=port
62           Specifies the TCP port or local Unix domain socket file extension
63           on which the server is listening for connections.
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65       -U username
66       --username=username
67           User name to connect as.
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69       -w
70       --no-password
71           Never issue a password prompt. If the server requires password
72           authentication and a password is not available by other means such
73           as a .pgpass file, the connection attempt will fail. This option
74           can be useful in batch jobs and scripts where no user is present to
75           enter a password.
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77       -W
78       --password
79           Force dropdb to prompt for a password before connecting to a
80           database.
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82           This option is never essential, since dropdb will automatically
83           prompt for a password if the server demands password
84           authentication. However, dropdb will waste a connection attempt
85           finding out that the server wants a password. In some cases it is
86           worth typing -W to avoid the extra connection attempt.
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88       --maintenance-db=dbname
89           Specifies the name of the database to connect to in order to drop
90           the target database. If not specified, the postgres database will
91           be used; if that does not exist (or is the database being dropped),
92           template1 will be used. This can be a connection string. If so,
93           connection string parameters will override any conflicting command
94           line options.
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ENVIRONMENT

97       PGHOST
98       PGPORT
99       PGUSER
100           Default connection parameters
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102       PG_COLOR
103           Specifies whether to use color in diagnostic messages. Possible
104           values are always, auto and never.
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106       This utility, like most other PostgreSQL utilities, also uses the
107       environment variables supported by libpq (see Section 34.15).
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DIAGNOSTICS

110       In case of difficulty, see DROP DATABASE (DROP_DATABASE(7)) and psql(1)
111       for discussions of potential problems and error messages. The database
112       server must be running at the targeted host. Also, any default
113       connection settings and environment variables used by the libpq
114       front-end library will apply.
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EXAMPLES

117       To destroy the database demo on the default database server:
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119           $ dropdb demo
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121       To destroy the database demo using the server on host eden, port 5000,
122       with verification and a peek at the underlying command:
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124           $ dropdb -p 5000 -h eden -i -e demo
125           Database "demo" will be permanently deleted.
126           Are you sure? (y/n) y
127           DROP DATABASE demo;
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