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' | PASSWORD NULL
           | 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_ROLE
         | 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. (All the possible attributes are covered, except that there are no options
       for adding or removing memberships; use GRANT and REVOKE for that.) Attributes not mentioned in the
       command retain their previous settings. Database superusers can change any of these settings for any
       role, except for changing the SUPERUSER property for the bootstrap superuser. Non-superuser roles having
       CREATEROLE privilege can change most of these properties, but only for non-superuser and non-replication
       roles for which they have been granted ADMIN OPTION. Non-superusers cannot change the SUPERUSER property
       and can change the CREATEDB, REPLICATION, and BYPASSRLS properties only if they possess the corresponding
       property themselves. 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 for which they have been granted ADMIN OPTION. 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 or SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION 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 for which they have been granted ADMIN OPTION. 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_ROLE
       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'
       PASSWORD NULL
       VALID UNTIL 'timestamp'
           These clauses alter attributes originally set by CREATE ROLE. 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 and SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION 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 to add new roles, and DROP ROLE to remove a role.

       ALTER ROLE cannot change a role's memberships. Use GRANT and REVOKE 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 manage other roles and create 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)

PostgreSQL 17.5                                       2025                                         ALTER ROLE(7)