NAME

       ALTER_ROLE - change a database role

SYNOPSIS

       ALTER ROLE role_specification [ WITH ] option [ ... ]

       where option can be:

             SUPERUSER | NOSUPERUSER
           | CREATEDB | NOCREATEDB
           | CREATEROLE | NOCREATEROLE
           | INHERIT | NOINHERIT
           | LOGIN | NOLOGIN
           | REPLICATION | NOREPLICATION
           | BYPASSRLS | NOBYPASSRLS
           | CONNECTION LIMIT connlimit
           | [ ENCRYPTED ] PASSWORD 'password'
           | VALID UNTIL 'timestamp'

       ALTER ROLE name RENAME TO new_name

       ALTER ROLE { role_specification | ALL } [ IN DATABASE database_name ] SET configuration_parameter { TO | = } { value | DEFAULT }
       ALTER ROLE { role_specification | ALL } [ IN DATABASE database_name ] SET configuration_parameter FROM CURRENT
       ALTER ROLE { role_specification | ALL } [ IN DATABASE database_name ] RESET configuration_parameter
       ALTER ROLE { role_specification | ALL } [ IN DATABASE database_name ] RESET ALL

       where role_specification can be:

           role_name
         | CURRENT_USER
         | SESSION_USER

DESCRIPTION

       ALTER ROLE changes the attributes of a PostgreSQL role.

       The first variant of this command listed in the synopsis can change many of the role
       attributes that can be specified in CREATE ROLE (CREATE_ROLE(7)). (All the possible
       attributes are covered, except that there are no options for adding or removing
       memberships; use GRANT(7) and REVOKE(7) for that.) Attributes not mentioned in the command
       retain their previous settings. Database superusers can change any of these settings for
       any role. Roles having CREATEROLE privilege can change any of these settings except
       SUPERUSER, REPLICATION, and BYPASSRLS; but only for non-superuser and non-replication
       roles. Ordinary roles can only change their own password.

       The second variant changes the name of the role. Database superusers can rename any role.
       Roles having CREATEROLE privilege can rename non-superuser roles. The current session user
       cannot be renamed. (Connect as a different user if you need to do that.) Because
       MD5-encrypted passwords use the role name as cryptographic salt, renaming a role clears
       its password if the password is MD5-encrypted.

       The remaining variants change a role's session default for a configuration variable,
       either for all databases or, when the IN DATABASE clause is specified, only for sessions
       in the named database. If ALL is specified instead of a role name, this changes the
       setting for all roles. Using ALL with IN DATABASE is effectively the same as using the
       command ALTER DATABASE ... SET ....

       Whenever the role 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 postgres command line. This only happens at login time; executing SET
       ROLE (SET_ROLE(7)) or SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION (SET_SESSION_AUTHORIZATION(7)) does not
       cause new configuration values to be set. Settings set for all databases are overridden by
       database-specific settings attached to a role. Settings for specific databases or specific
       roles override settings for all roles.

       Superusers can change anyone's session defaults. Roles having CREATEROLE privilege can
       change defaults for non-superuser roles. Ordinary roles can only set defaults for
       themselves. Certain configuration variables cannot be set this way, or can only be set if
       a superuser issues the command. Only superusers can change a setting for all roles in all
       databases.

PARAMETERS

       name
           The name of the role whose attributes are to be altered.

       CURRENT_USER
           Alter the current user instead of an explicitly identified role.

       SESSION_USER
           Alter the current session user instead of an explicitly identified role.

       SUPERUSER
       NOSUPERUSER
       CREATEDB
       NOCREATEDB
       CREATEROLE
       NOCREATEROLE
       INHERIT
       NOINHERIT
       LOGIN
       NOLOGIN
       REPLICATION
       NOREPLICATION
       BYPASSRLS
       NOBYPASSRLS
       CONNECTION LIMIT connlimit
       [ ENCRYPTED ] PASSWORD password
       VALID UNTIL 'timestamp'
           These clauses alter attributes originally set by CREATE ROLE (CREATE_ROLE(7)). For
           more information, see the CREATE ROLE reference page.

       new_name
           The new name of the role.

       database_name
           The name of the database the configuration variable should be set in.

       configuration_parameter
       value
           Set this role's session default for the specified configuration parameter to the given
           value. If value is DEFAULT or, equivalently, RESET is used, the role-specific variable
           setting is removed, so the role will inherit the system-wide default setting in new
           sessions. Use RESET ALL to clear all role-specific settings.  SET FROM CURRENT saves
           the session's current value of the parameter as the role-specific value. If IN
           DATABASE is specified, the configuration parameter is set or removed for the given
           role and database only.

           Role-specific variable settings take effect only at login; SET ROLE (SET_ROLE(7)) and
           SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION (SET_SESSION_AUTHORIZATION(7)) do not process role-specific
           variable settings.

           See SET(7) and Chapter 19 for more information about allowed parameter names and
           values.

NOTES

       Use CREATE ROLE (CREATE_ROLE(7)) to add new roles, and DROP ROLE (DROP_ROLE(7)) to remove
       a role.

       ALTER ROLE cannot change a role's memberships. Use GRANT(7) and REVOKE(7) to do that.

       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.  psql(1) contains a command \password that
       can be used to change a role's password without exposing the cleartext password.

       It is also possible to tie a session default to a specific database rather than to a role;
       see ALTER DATABASE (ALTER_DATABASE(7)). If there is a conflict, database-role-specific
       settings override role-specific ones, which in turn override database-specific ones.

EXAMPLES

       Change a role's password:

           ALTER ROLE davide WITH PASSWORD 'hu8jmn3';

       Remove a role's password:

           ALTER ROLE davide WITH PASSWORD NULL;

       Change a password expiration date, specifying that the password should expire at midday on
       4th May 2015 using the time zone which is one hour ahead of UTC:

           ALTER ROLE chris VALID UNTIL 'May 4 12:00:00 2015 +1';

       Make a password valid forever:

           ALTER ROLE fred VALID UNTIL 'infinity';

       Give a role the ability to create other roles and new databases:

           ALTER ROLE miriam CREATEROLE CREATEDB;

       Give a role a non-default setting of the maintenance_work_mem parameter:

           ALTER ROLE worker_bee SET maintenance_work_mem = 100000;

       Give a role a non-default, database-specific setting of the client_min_messages parameter:

           ALTER ROLE fred IN DATABASE devel SET client_min_messages = DEBUG;

COMPATIBILITY

       The ALTER ROLE statement is a PostgreSQL extension.

SEE ALSO

       CREATE ROLE (CREATE_ROLE(7)), DROP ROLE (DROP_ROLE(7)), ALTER DATABASE
       (ALTER_DATABASE(7)), SET(7)