ALTER 
USER(7)							   SQL Commands 						     ALTER USER(7)

NAME

       ALTER USER - change a database user account

SYNOPSIS

       ALTER USER username [ [ WITH ] option [ ... ] ]

       where option can be:

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

       ALTER USER username SET variable { TO | = } { value | DEFAULT }
       ALTER USER username RESET variable

DESCRIPTION

       ALTER  USER  is	used  to change the attributes of a PostgreSQL user account. Attributes not mentioned in the command retain their previous
       settings.

       The first variant of this command in the synopsis changes certain global user  privileges  and  authentication  settings.  (See	below  for
       details.)  Only	a database superuser can change privileges and password expiration with this command. Ordinary users can only change their
       own password.

       The second and the third 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.  Ordinary users can change their own session defaults.  Superusers can change anyone's session defaults.

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

       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  informa-
	      tion about this choice.)

       CREATEDB

       NOCREATEDB
	      These  clauses define a user's ability to create databases. If CREATEDB is specified, the user being defined will be allowed to cre-
	      ate his own databases. Using NOCREATEDB will deny a user the ability to create databases.

       CREATEUSER

       NOCREATEUSER
	      These clauses determine whether a user will be permitted to create new users himself. This option will also make the  user  a  supe-
	      ruser who can override all access restrictions.

       abstime
	      The date (and, optionally, the time) at which this user's password is to expire.

       variable

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

	      See SET [set(7)] and the Administrator's Guide for more information about allowed variable names and values.

DIAGNOSTICS

       ALTER USER
	      Message returned if the alteration was successful.

       ERROR: ALTER USER: user "username" does not exist
	      Error message returned if the specified user is not known to the database.

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.

       Using ALTER DATABASE [alter_database(7)], it is also possible to tie a session default to a specific database rather than a user.

EXAMPLES

       Change a user password:

       ALTER USER davide WITH PASSWORD 'hu8jmn3';

       Change a user's valid until date:

       ALTER USER manuel VALID UNTIL 'Jan 31 2030';

       Change  a  user's  valid until date, specifying that his authorization should expire at midday on 4th May 1998 using the time zone which is
       one hour ahead of UTC:

       ALTER USER chris VALID UNTIL 'May 4 12:00:00 1998 +1';

       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)]

SQL - Language Statements					    2002-11-22							     ALTER USER(7)