DROP OPERATOR FAMILY
Read PG 18 manual ↗remove an operator family
Syntax
DROP OPERATOR FAMILY [ IF EXISTS ] name USING index_method [ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]
Syntax diagrams
Read left to right. Branches are choices, bypasses are optional, loops repeat. Select an underlined parameter to open its rule.
Description
DROP OPERATOR FAMILY drops an existing operator family. To execute this command you must be the owner of the operator family.
DROP OPERATOR FAMILY includes dropping any operator classes contained in the family, but it does not drop any of the operators or functions referenced by the family. If there are any indexes depending on operator classes within the family, you will need to specify CASCADE for the drop to complete.
Parameters
IF EXISTSDo not throw an error if the operator family does not exist. A notice is issued in this case.
nameThe name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing operator family.
index_methodThe name of the index access method the operator family is for.
CASCADEAutomatically drop objects that depend on the operator family, and in turn all objects that depend on those objects (see Section 5.15).
RESTRICTRefuse to drop the operator family if any objects depend on it. This is the default.
Examples
Remove the B-tree operator family float_ops:
DROP OPERATOR FAMILY float_ops USING btree;
This command will not succeed if there are any existing indexes that use operator classes within the family. Add CASCADE to drop such indexes along with the operator family.
Compatibility
There is no DROP OPERATOR FAMILY statement in the SQL standard.
See Also
ALTER OPERATOR FAMILY, CREATE OPERATOR FAMILY, ALTER OPERATOR CLASS, CREATE OPERATOR CLASS, DROP OPERATOR CLASSVersion history 4
- PG 19 → 20changed
- PG 18 → 19changed
- PG 16 → 17changed
- PG 11 → 12changed
Related entries
Definition snapshot: 2026-09-14T13:14:25.700916+00:00@99e6866c · English manual source