ALTER_SERVER(7pg13)

💅 ALTER SERVER (7pg13) — the glow-up your foreign server deserves ✨

Okay so like, this is the ALTER SERVER page from the PostgreSQL 13.23 Documentation bestie. It's literally the manual for changing up a foreign server's whole situation. Periodt. 🎀

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🌸 NAME 🌸

ALTER_SERVER — change the definition of a foreign server, no cap 💖

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

ALTER SERVER name [ VERSION 'new_version' ]
    [ OPTIONS ( [ ADD | SET | DROP ] option ['value'] [, ... ] ) ]
ALTER SERVER name OWNER TO { new_owner | CURRENT_USER | SESSION_USER }
ALTER SERVER name RENAME TO new_name

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So ALTER SERVER does exactly what it says on the tin bestie — it changes the definition of a foreign server. 💅

The first form changes the server version string or the generic options of the server (and like, you need at least one clause — you can't just slide in with nothing, that's not the vibe). 🫶

The second form changes the owner of the server. Main character ownership energy.

⚠️ Okay so listen: to alter the server you must be the owner of the server. And to alter the owner, you must own the server and also be a direct or indirect member of the new owning role, and you must have USAGE privilege on the server's foreign-data wrapper. (Not me listing three whole requirements 😭 — but note that superusers satisfy all these criteria automatically, so they're chilling.) 👑

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💜 PARAMETERS 💜

• name — the name of an existing server. Like, it's gotta already exist fr fr. 🍓
• new_version — new server version. Fresh version, new era. ✨
• OPTIONS ( [ ADD | SET | DROP ] option ['value'] [, ... ] ) — change options for the server. ADD, SET, and DROP specify the action to be performed. If you don't explicitly specify an operation, ADD is assumed (it's giving default behavior 😌). Option names must be unique — no gatekeeping the same name twice — and names and values are also validated using the server's foreign-data wrapper library. Iconic validation moment. 💯
• new_owner — the user name of the new owner of the foreign server. Handing over the crown. 👑
• new_name — the new name for the foreign server. Rebrand era. 🦋

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🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

Alter server foo, add connection options — watch her slay:

ALTER SERVER foo OPTIONS (host 'foo', dbname 'foodb');

Alter server foo, change version, change host option — the glow-up continues:

ALTER SERVER foo VERSION '8.4' OPTIONS (SET host 'baz');

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🌈 COMPATIBILITY 🌈

ALTER SERVER conforms to ISO/IEC 9075-9 (SQL/MED). Respectfully, standards queen. 💅

But lowkey — the OWNER TO and RENAME forms are PostgreSQL extensions, so don't come for standards compliance when those two are doing their own thing. 😌

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👀 SEE ALSO 👀

• CREATE SERVER (CREATE_SERVER(7)) — for when you're starting fresh, bestie
• DROP SERVER (DROP_SERVER(7)) — for when it's time to say bye 👋

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Alright that's the whole thing, no notes. 💖 This has been the ALTER SERVER(7) page, brought to you by PostgreSQL 13.23 — yes, 13.23, that's the version, dated 2025, and honestly? She ate. Periodt. 🎀✨