ALTER_DATABASE(7pg15)

✨ NAME ✨

ALTER_DATABASE — change a database 💅 (like, glow-up your database's whole vibe, bestie)

💅 SYNOPSIS 💅

ALTER DATABASE name [ [ WITH ] option [ ... ] ]

where option can be:

    ALLOW_CONNECTIONS allowconn
    CONNECTION LIMIT connlimit
    IS_TEMPLATE istemplate

ALTER DATABASE name RENAME TO new_name

ALTER DATABASE name OWNER TO { new_owner | CURRENT_ROLE | CURRENT_USER | SESSION_USER }

ALTER DATABASE name SET TABLESPACE new_tablespace

ALTER DATABASE name REFRESH COLLATION VERSION

ALTER DATABASE name SET configuration_parameter { TO | = } { value | DEFAULT }
ALTER DATABASE name SET configuration_parameter FROM CURRENT
ALTER DATABASE name RESET configuration_parameter
ALTER DATABASE name RESET ALL

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so ALTER DATABASE changes the attributes of a database. It's literally the main character of database customization. 💖

The first form changes certain per-database settings. (See below for details.) Only the database owner or a superuser can change these settings.

The second form changes the name of the database. Only the database owner or a superuser can rename a database; non-superuser owners must also have the CREATEDB privilege. The current database cannot be renamed. (Connect to a different database if you need to do that.) — like, you can't rename the database you're literally standing in, silly. 🙈

The third form changes the owner of the database. To alter the owner, you must own the database and also be a direct or indirect member of the new owning role, and you must have the CREATEDB privilege. (Note that superusers have all these privileges automatically.) — superusers just have main character energy, no cap. 👑

The fourth form changes the default tablespace of the database. Only the database owner or a superuser can do this; you must also have create privilege for the new tablespace. This command physically moves any tables or indexes in the database's old default tablespace to the new tablespace. The new default tablespace must be empty for this database, and no one can be connected to the database. Tables and indexes in non-default tablespaces are unaffected. — so like, the new spot has to be totally empty and nobody can be in the database while you move stuff. It's giving moving day but make it dramatic. 🚚💨

The remaining forms change the session default for a run-time configuration variable for a PostgreSQL database. Whenever a new session is subsequently started in that database, the specified value becomes the session default value. The database-specific default overrides whatever setting is present in postgresql.conf or has been received from the postgres command line. Only the database owner or a superuser can change the session defaults for a database. Certain variables cannot be set this way, or can only be set by a superuser. — so like, the database gets its own little override override, and it's literally slaying over the config file. ✨

🎀 PARAMETERS 🎀

• name — The name of the database whose attributes are to be altered. 🎯
• allowconn — If false then no one can connect to this database. 🙅‍♀️ (like, access denied, bestie)
• connlimit — How many concurrent connections can be made to this database. -1 means no limit. 🔢 (yes, negative one is the "yolo" setting)
• istemplate — If true, then this database can be cloned by any user with CREATEDB privileges; if false, then only superusers or the owner of the database can clone it. 🧬 (template energy)
• new_name — The new name of the database. ✨ (like, rebranding)
• new_owner — The new owner of the database. 👑 (passing the crown)
• new_tablespace — The new default tablespace of the database.

This form of the command cannot be executed inside a transaction block. — so like, no wrapping this in a BEGIN; ... COMMIT; situation. It's a standalone moment. 🚫

• REFRESH COLLATION VERSION — Update the database collation version. See Notes for background. — like, a little collation refresh, you know? 💆‍♀️
• configuration_parameter, value — Set this database's session default for the specified configuration parameter to the given value. If value is DEFAULT or, equivalently, RESET is used, the database-specific setting is removed, so the system-wide default setting will be inherited in new sessions. Use RESET ALL to clear all database-specific settings. SET FROM CURRENT saves the session's current value of the parameter as the database-specific value.

See SET(7) and Chapter 20 for more information about allowed parameter names and values. — so like, you can tune your database's vibe with config params, and it's all in the manual. 📚

🌸 NOTES 🌸

It is also possible to tie a session default to a specific role rather than to a database; see ALTER ROLE (ALTER_ROLE(7)). Role-specific settings override database-specific ones if there is a conflict. — so like, role settings are the drama queen that wins the argument. 💅

🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

To disable index scans by default in the database test:

ALTER DATABASE test SET enable_indexscan TO off;

like, imagine turning off index scans, no cap. That's a choice, bestie. 😭

💀 COMPATIBILITY 💀

The ALTER DATABASE statement is a PostgreSQL extension. — yeah, it's a PostgreSQL thing, not standard SQL. 🤷‍♀️

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

• CREATE DATABASE (CREATE_DATABASE(7)) 🍼 (making a new one)
• DROP DATABASE (DROP_DATABASE(7)) 🗑️ (yeeting it)
• SET(7) ⚙️ (config stuff)
• CREATE TABLESPACE (CREATE_TABLESPACE(7)) 📦 (storage vibes)

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PostgreSQL 15.19 💖 2026 💖 ALTER DATABASE(7) — like, that's the whole page, bestie. You're welcome. ✨