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dropuser

dropuser — remove a PostgreSQL user account

Reading PostgreSQL 18.6.

Description

dropuser — remove a PostgreSQL user account

Documented executable
dropuser
Executable version
18.6
Reference inventory
Client applications
Option definition groups
10

Usage

dropuser [ connection-option ...] [ option ...] [ username ]

Documented options

Option and argumentsDescription
-e --echoEcho the commands that dropuser generates and sends to the server.
-i --interactivePrompt for confirmation before actually removing the user, and prompt for the user name if none is specified on the command line.
-V --versionPrint the dropuser version and exit.
--if-existsDo not throw an error if the user does not exist. A notice is issued in this case.
-? --helpShow help about dropuser command line arguments, and exit.
-h host --host= hostSpecifies the host name of the machine on which the server is running. If the value begins with a slash, it is used as the directory for the Unix domain socket.
-p port --port= portSpecifies the TCP port or local Unix domain socket file extension on which the server is listening for connections.
-U username --username= usernameUser name to connect as (not the user name to drop).
-w --no-passwordNever issue a password prompt. If the server requires password authentication and a password is not available by other means such as a .pgpass file, the connection attempt will fail. This option can be useful in batch jobs and scripts where no user is present to enter a password.
-W --passwordForce dropuser to prompt for a password before connecting to a database.

Environment variables

VariableMeaning
PGHOST PGPORT PGUSERDefault connection parameters
PG_COLORSpecifies whether to use color in diagnostic messages. Possible values are always , auto and never .

Manual definition

dropuser

dropuser — remove a PostgreSQL user account

Synopsis

dropuser [connection-option...] [option...] [username]

Description

dropuser removes an existing PostgreSQL user. Superusers can use this command to remove any role; otherwise, only non-superuser roles can be removed, and only by a user who possesses the CREATEROLE privilege and has been granted ADMIN OPTION on the target role.

dropuser is a wrapper around the SQL command DROP ROLE. There is no effective difference between dropping users via this utility and via other methods for accessing the server.

Options

dropuser accepts the following command-line arguments:

username

Specifies the name of the PostgreSQL user to be removed. You will be prompted for a name if none is specified on the command line and the -i/--interactive option is used.

-e
--echo

Echo the commands that dropuser generates and sends to the server.

-i
--interactive

Prompt for confirmation before actually removing the user, and prompt for the user name if none is specified on the command line.

-V
--version

Print the dropuser version and exit.

--if-exists

Do not throw an error if the user does not exist. A notice is issued in this case.

-?
--help

Show help about dropuser command line arguments, and exit.

dropuser also accepts the following command-line arguments for connection parameters:

-h host
--host=host

Specifies the host name of the machine on which the server is running. If the value begins with a slash, it is used as the directory for the Unix domain socket.

-p port
--port=port

Specifies the TCP port or local Unix domain socket file extension on which the server is listening for connections.

-U username
--username=username

User name to connect as (not the user name to drop).

-w
--no-password

Never issue a password prompt. If the server requires password authentication and a password is not available by other means such as a .pgpass file, the connection attempt will fail. This option can be useful in batch jobs and scripts where no user is present to enter a password.

-W
--password

Force dropuser to prompt for a password before connecting to a database.

This option is never essential, since dropuser will automatically prompt for a password if the server demands password authentication. However, dropuser will waste a connection attempt finding out that the server wants a password. In some cases it is worth typing -W to avoid the extra connection attempt.

Environment

PGHOST
PGPORT
PGUSER

Default connection parameters

PG_COLOR

Specifies whether to use color in diagnostic messages. Possible values are always, auto and never.

This utility, like most other PostgreSQL utilities, also uses the environment variables supported by libpq (see Section 32.15).

Diagnostics

In case of difficulty, see DROP ROLE and psql for discussions of potential problems and error messages. The database server must be running at the targeted host. Also, any default connection settings and environment variables used by the libpq front-end library will apply.

Examples

To remove user joe from the default database server:

$ dropuser joe

To remove user joe using the server on host eden, port 5000, with verification and a peek at the underlying command:

$ dropuser -p 5000 -h eden -i -e joe
Role "joe" will be permanently removed.
Are you sure? (y/n) y
DROP ROLE joe;

See Also

createuser, DROP ROLE

Documentation and source

Source build
Version
18.6
Build
https://ftp.postgresql.org/pub/source/v18.6/postgresql-18.6.tar.bz2
Source fingerprint
ee8d1a3612338fd9adf250730cb640fcc5233b5491337cc00a316a44e3a0b9f8

Compare versions

PostgreSQL 17 → 18: unchanged.

Compares recorded interfaces and attributes. Source fingerprints and build metadata are excluded; an absent sample is not proof of the introduction or removal release.

Related entries

Export JSON · Back to Command-line Tools · Recorded in PostgreSQL 10 through 20; the first sample is not necessarily its introduction.