SQL COMMANDS / TYPES & OPERATORS

ALTER OPERATOR CLASS

change the definition of an operator class

Syntax

ALTER OPERATOR CLASS name USING index_method
RENAME TO new_name

ALTER OPERATOR CLASS name USING index_method
OWNER TO { new_owner | CURRENT_ROLE | CURRENT_USER | SESSION_USER }

ALTER OPERATOR CLASS name USING index_method
SET SCHEMA new_schema

Syntax diagrams

Read left to right. Branches are choices, bypasses are optional, loops repeat. Select an underlined parameter to open its rule.

ALTER OPERATOR CLASS · Syntax 2

ALTER OPERATOR CLASS · Syntax 3

Description

ALTER OPERATOR CLASS changes the definition of an operator class.

You must own the operator class to use ALTER OPERATOR CLASS. To alter the owner, you must be able to SET ROLE to the new owning role, and that role must have CREATE privilege on the operator class's schema. (These restrictions enforce that altering the owner doesn't do anything you couldn't do by dropping and recreating the operator class. However, a superuser can alter ownership of any operator class anyway.)

Parameters

name: The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing operator class.
index_method: The name of the index method this operator class is for.
new_name: The new name of the operator class.
new_owner: The new owner of the operator class.
new_schema: The new schema for the operator class.

Compatibility

There is no ALTER OPERATOR CLASS statement in the SQL standard.

Related entries

Definition snapshot: 2026-09-14T13:14:25.700916+00:00@99e6866c · English manual source