ALTER ROLE SQL - Language Statements ALTER ROLE change a database role ALTER ROLE ALTER ROLE name [ [ WITH ] option [ ... ] ] where option can be: SUPERUSER | NOSUPERUSER | CREATEDB | NOCREATEDB | CREATEROLE | NOCREATEROLE | CREATEUSER | NOCREATEUSER | INHERIT | NOINHERIT | LOGIN | NOLOGIN | CONNECTION LIMIT connlimit | [ ENCRYPTED | UNENCRYPTED ] PASSWORD 'password' | VALID UNTIL 'timestamp' ALTER ROLE name RENAME TO newname ALTER ROLE name SET configuration_parameter { TO | = } { value | DEFAULT } ALTER ROLE name SET configuration_parameter FROM CURRENT ALTER ROLE name RESET configuration_parameter ALTER ROLE name RESET ALL 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 . (All the possible attributes are covered, except that there are no options for adding or removing memberships; use and 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, but only for non-superuser 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 specified configuration variable. 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. (For a role without LOGIN privilege, session defaults have no effect.) Ordinary roles can change their own session defaults. Superusers can change anyone's session defaults. Roles having CREATEROLE privilege can change defaults for non-superuser roles. Certain variables cannot be set this way, or can only be set if a superuser issues the command. name The name of the role whose attributes are to be altered. SUPERUSER NOSUPERUSER CREATEDB NOCREATEDB CREATEROLE NOCREATEROLE CREATEUSER NOCREATEUSER INHERIT NOINHERIT LOGIN NOLOGIN CONNECTION LIMIT connlimit PASSWORD password ENCRYPTED UNENCRYPTED VALID UNTIL 'timestamp' These clauses alter attributes originally set by . For more information, see the CREATE ROLE reference page. newname The new name of the role. 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. See and for more information about allowed parameter names and values. Use to add new roles, and to remove a role. ALTER ROLE cannot change a role's memberships. Use and 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. contains a command \password that can be used to safely change a role's password. It is also possible to tie a session default to a specific database rather than to a role; see . Role-specific settings override database-specific ones if there is a conflict. Change a role's password: ALTER ROLE davide WITH PASSWORD 'hu8jmn3'; 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 parameter: ALTER ROLE worker_bee SET maintenance_work_mem = 100000; The ALTER ROLE statement is a PostgreSQL extension.