DROP_ACCESS_METHOD(7)

💖 DROP ACCESS METHOD 💖

okay bestie, so this is the PostgreSQL 18.6 manual page for DROP ACCESS METHOD, and it's genuinely so simple you're gonna be obsessed. it's giving "one line of SQL and the whole access method is gone" energy ✨

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✨ NAME ✨

DROP_ACCESS_METHOD — bestie, this is the one that removes an access method. that's it. that's the whole job. 💅

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

DROP ACCESS METHOD [ IF EXISTS ] name [ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]

look at her. short. iconic. no notes. 🎀

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

DROP ACCESS METHOD yeets an existing access method out of existence. gone. deleted. no cap. 💀

but listen — only superusers can drop access methods. if you're not a superuser, this is not your moment, bestie. know your lane 🫶

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👑 PARAMETERS 👑

• IF EXISTS — don't throw an error if the access method doesn't exist, because honestly? sometimes it just isn't there and that's fine. instead of yelling at you, PostgreSQL issues a notice. lowkey polite of her fr fr.
• name — the name of an existing access method. like, the actual one you want gone. you do have to name her, she's not gonna guess. 🙈
• CASCADE — this one has main character energy and it does the most. it automatically drops all the objects that depend on the access method — think operator classes, operator families, and indexes — and then, in turn, all the objects that depend on those objects. yes, it cascades. yes, it keeps going. (see Section 5.15 for the full tea ☕). this is the "burn it all down" option, so vibe check before you commit 🔥
• RESTRICT — the shy one. it refuses to drop the access method if any objects depend on it. nothing gets collateral-damaged, nothing sneaks out the back door. this is the default, so if you don't say anything, this is what you get. safe queen. 💜

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🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

drop the access method heptree, just like that:

DROP ACCESS METHOD heptree;

ate. no crumbs. she's gone. 💅✨

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⭐ COMPATIBILITY ⭐

DROP ACCESS METHOD is a PostgreSQL extension. so if you go wandering into some other database expecting this exact command, that's a you problem bestie, iykyk 🧚

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💖 SEE ALSO 💖

• CREATE ACCESS METHOD (CREATE_ACCESS_METHOD(7)) — the birth, if you will. you can't have a drop without a create, that's just science 🌸

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! 🥳

sign-off time: this masterpiece is straight outta the PostgreSQL 18.6 documentation, dated 2026, and yes, the title up top is DROP ACCESS METHOD(7) — remember it, love it, cite it. mwah 💋🫶