PostgreSQL Reference Manual - Volume 1 - SQL Language Reference by The PostgreSQL Global Development Group Paperback (6"x9"), 716 pages ISBN 0954612027 RRP £32.00 ($49.95) Sales of this book support the PostgreSQL project! Get a printed copy>>>

PostgreSQL Reference Manual Volume 1 Buy the book here! >>> learn more

12.4 ALTER DATABASE

Name

ALTER DATABASE -- change a database

Synopsis

ALTER DATABASE name [ [ WITH ] option [ ... ] ]

where option can be:

    CONNECTION LIMIT connlimit

ALTER DATABASE name SET parameter { TO | = } { value | DEFAULT }
ALTER DATABASE name RESET parameter

ALTER DATABASE name RENAME TO newname

ALTER DATABASE name OWNER TO new_owner

Description

ALTER DATABASE changes the attributes of a database.

The first form changes certain per-database settings. (See below for details.) Only the database owner or a superuser can change these settings.

The second and third forms change the session default for a run-time configuration variable for a PostgreSQL database. Whenever a new session is subsequently started in that database, the specified value becomes the session default value. The database-specific default overrides whatever setting is present in ‘postgresql.conf’ or has been received from the postgres command line. Only the database owner or a superuser can change the session defaults for a database. Certain variables cannot be set this way, or can only be set by a superuser.

The fourth form changes the name of the database. Only the database owner or a superuser can rename a database; non-superuser owners must also have the CREATEDB privilege. The current database cannot be renamed. (Connect to a different database if you need to do that.)

The fifth form changes the owner of the database. To alter the owner, you must own the database and also be a direct or indirect member of the new owning role, and you must have the CREATEDB privilege. (Note that superusers have all these privileges automatically.)

Parameters

name

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

connlimit

How many concurrent connections can be made to this database. -1 means no limit.

parameter

value

Set this database's session default for the specified configuration parameter to the given value. If value is DEFAULT or, equivalently, RESET is used, the database-specific setting is removed, so the system-wide default setting will be inherited in new sessions. Use RESET ALL to clear all database-specific settings. See SET and Volume 3: Server Configuration for more information about allowed parameter names and values.

newname

The new name of the database.

new_owner

The new owner of the database.

Notes

It is also possible to tie a session default to a specific user rather than to a database; see ALTER USER. User-specific settings override database-specific ones if there is a conflict.

Examples

To disable index scans by default in the database test:

ALTER DATABASE test SET enable_indexscan TO off;

Compatibility

The ALTER DATABASE statement is a PostgreSQL extension.

See Also

CREATE DATABASE, DROP DATABASE, SET