Provided by: postgresql-client-8.0_8.0.7-2build1_i386 bug

NAME
       ALTER USER - change a database user account


SYNOPSIS
       ALTER USER name [ [ WITH ] option [ ... ] ]

       where option can be:

           CREATEDB | NOCREATEDB
           | CREATEUSER | NOCREATEUSER
           | [ ENCRYPTED | UNENCRYPTED ] PASSWORD ’password’
           | VALID UNTIL ’abstime’

       ALTER USER name RENAME TO newname

       ALTER USER name SET parameter { TO | = } { value | DEFAULT }
       ALTER USER name RESET parameter


DESCRIPTION
       ALTER  USER  changes  the  attributes  of  a  PostgreSQL  user account.
       Attributes not mentioned in the command retain their previous settings.

       The  first  variant  of  this  command  listed  in the synopsis changes
       certain per-user privileges and authentication settings. (See below for
       details.)  Database superusers can change any of these settings for any
       user. Ordinary users can only change their own password.

       The second variant changes the  name  of  the  user.  Only  a  database
       superuser  can rename user accounts. The current session user cannot be
       renamed. (Connect as a different user if you need to do that.)  Because
       MD5-encrypted  passwords  use  the  user  name  as  cryptographic salt,
       renaming a user clears their MD5 password.

       The third and the fourth variant change a user’s session default for  a
       specified configuration variable. Whenever the user subsequently starts
       a new  session,  the  specified  value  becomes  the  session  default,
       overriding  whatever  setting is present in postgresql.conf or has been
       received from the postmaster command line.  Ordinary users  can  change
       their  own  session  defaults.   Superusers can change anyone’s session
       defaults.  Certain variables cannot be set this way, or can only be set
       by a superuser.


PARAMETERS
       name   The name of the user whose attributes are to be altered.

       CREATEDB

       NOCREATEDB
              These  clauses  define  a user’s ability to create databases. If
              CREATEDB is specified, the user will be allowed  to  create  his
              own  databases. Using NOCREATEDB will deny a user the ability to
              create databases. (If the user is also a  superuser,  then  this
              setting has no real effect.)

       CREATEUSER

       NOCREATEUSER
              These  clauses  determine  whether  a  user will be permitted to
              create new users himself. CREATEUSER will also make the  user  a
              superuser, who can override all access restrictions.

       password
              The new password to be used for this account.

       ENCRYPTED

       UNENCRYPTED
              These key words control whether the password is stored encrypted
              in  pg_shadow.  (See  CREATE  USER  [create_user(7)]  for   more
              information about this choice.)

       abstime
              The  date  (and,  optionally,  the  time)  at  which this user’s
              password is to expire. To set the password never to expire,  use
              ’infinity’.

       newname
              The new name of the user.

       parameter

       value  Set  this user’s session default for the specified configuration
              parameter  to  the  given  value.  If  value  is   DEFAULT   or,
              equivalently,  RESET is used, the user-specific variable setting
              is removed, so the user will  inherit  the  system-wide  default
              setting  in  new  sessions.  Use  RESET  ALL  to clear all user-
              specific settings.

              See SET [set(7)] and  the  documentation  for  more  information
              about allowed parameter names and values.


NOTES
       Use  CREATE  USER  [create_user(7)]  to  add  new  users, and DROP USER
       [drop_user(7)] to remove a user.

       ALTER USER cannot change a user’s group memberships.  Use  ALTER  GROUP
       [alter_group(7)] to do that.

       The  VALID UNTIL clause defines an expiration time for a password only,
       not for the user account per se. In particular, the expiration time  is
       not  enforced when logging in using a non-password-based authentication
       method.

       It is also possible to tie a session default  to  a  specific  database
       rather  than  to a user; see ALTER DATABASE [alter_database(7)].  User-
       specific  settings  override  database-specific  ones  if  there  is  a
       conflict.


EXAMPLES
       Change a user’s password:

       ALTER USER davide WITH PASSWORD ’hu8jmn3’;

       Change the expiration date of the user’s password:

       ALTER USER manuel VALID UNTIL ’Jan 31 2030’;

       Change  a password expiration date, specifying that the password should
       expire at midday on 4th May 2005 using the time zone which is one  hour
       ahead of UTC:

       ALTER USER chris VALID UNTIL ’May 4 12:00:00 2005 +1’;

       Make a password valid forever:

       ALTER USER fred VALID UNTIL ’infinity’;

       Give a user the ability to create other users and new databases:

       ALTER USER miriam CREATEUSER CREATEDB;


COMPATIBILITY
       The  ALTER  USER  statement is a PostgreSQL extension. The SQL standard
       leaves the definition of users to the implementation.


SEE ALSO
       CREATE USER [create_user(7)], DROP USER [drop_user(l)], SET [set(l)]