ALTER 
ROLE(7)						  PostgreSQL 9.2.7 Documentation					     ALTER ROLE(7)

NAME

       ALTER_ROLE - change a database role

SYNOPSIS

       ALTER ROLE name [ [ WITH ] option [ ... ] ]

       where option can be:

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

       ALTER ROLE name RENAME TO new_name

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

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, 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. 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.
       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.

PARAMETERS

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

       SUPERUSER, NOSUPERUSER, CREATEDB, NOCREATEDB, CREATEROLE, NOCREATEROLE, CREATEUSER, NOCREATEUSER, INHERIT, NOINHERIT, LOGIN, NOLOGIN,
       REPLICATION, NOREPLICATION, CONNECTION LIMIT connlimit, PASSWORD password, ENCRYPTED, UNENCRYPTED, 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 18, Server Configuration, in the documentation 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)), SET(7)

PostgreSQL 9.2.7						    2014-02-17							     ALTER ROLE(7)