DROPUSER(1)

💅 dropuser — bestie's guide to yeeting a PostgreSQL user 🎀

okay so this is the dropuser(1) page from the PostgreSQL 16.15 Documentation, and yes we're gonna make it cute but we are NOT gonna lose a single fact, periodt. ✨

---

✨ NAME ✨

dropuser — remove a PostgreSQL user account 🫶

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

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

💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

So dropuser literally removes an existing PostgreSQL user. That's it, that's the vibe. 💀

Here's the vibe check on permissions though, because this part matters:

• Superusers can use this command to remove any role. main character energy, they can do whatever.
• Otherwise, only non-superuser roles can be removed — and only by a user who has the CREATEROLE privilege and has been granted ADMIN OPTION on the target role. no cap, both. 🙈

And like, dropuser is just 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. same energy, different outfit. 💅

🔥 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. (both conditions, bestie, it's giving "and" not "or" 🎀)
• -e, --echo — Echo the commands that dropuser generates and sends to the server. so you can see exactly what it's doing behind your back 👀
• -i, --interactive — Prompt for confirmation before actually removing the user, and prompt for the user name if none is specified on the command line. double duty icon 💖
• -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. lowkey chill about it 🌈
• -?, --help — Show help about dropuser command line arguments, and exit.

---

🦋 connection parameters, aka the "how do I even reach the server" section 🦋

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. slash = socket directory, iykyk 💅
• -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). okay this trips everyone up so read it twice, bestie 😭 it's the connect user, not the victim user.
• -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. saving yourself a whole round trip? we love efficiency 🧚

⭐ 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 34.15).

💀 DIAGNOSTICS 💀

In case of difficulty, see DROP ROLE (DROP_ROLE(7)) and psql(1) 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.

like. if the server's not up, nothing is happening. no thoughts, no connection. 🫠

🍓 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;

look at that confirmation prompt doing its absolute job. iconic. 👑

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

createuser(1), DROP ROLE (DROP_ROLE(7))

---

and that's the whole page, bestie! 💖 This was PostgreSQL 16.15, dated 2026, and the manual is DROPUSER(1) — go forth and drop responsibly, mwah 🎀✨🦋