dropuser — remove a PostgreSQL user account
dropuser [connection-option...] [option...] [username]
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.
dropuser accepts the following command-line arguments:
usernameSpecifies 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--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.
dropuser also accepts the following command-line arguments for connection parameters:
-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.
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.
PGHOSTPGPORTPGUSERDefault connection parameters
PG_COLORSpecifies 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 34.15).
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.
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 joeRole "joe" will be permanently removed. Are you sure? (y/n)yDROP ROLE joe;
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