ALTER_PROCEDURE(7pg16)

💅 ALTER PROCEDURE — the ALTER_PROCEDURE(7pg16) glow-up guide ✨

okay so bestie, you've got a procedure and it's fine but it's not giving what it needs to give. this is the PostgreSQL 16.15 documentation page that tells you how to change literally anything about it. no cap.

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

like, here's the whole menu of vibes:

ALTER PROCEDURE name [ ( [ [ argmode ] [ argname ] argtype [, ...] ] ) ]
    action [ ... ] [ RESTRICT ]
ALTER PROCEDURE name [ ( [ [ argmode ] [ argname ] argtype [, ...] ] ) ]
    RENAME TO new_name
ALTER PROCEDURE name [ ( [ [ argmode ] [ argname ] argtype [, ...] ] ) ]
    OWNER TO { new_owner | CURRENT_ROLE | CURRENT_USER | SESSION_USER }
ALTER PROCEDURE name [ ( [ [ argmode ] [ argname ] argtype [, ...] ] ) ]
    SET SCHEMA new_schema
ALTER PROCEDURE name [ ( [ [ argmode ] [ argname ] argtype [, ...] ] ) ]
    [ NO ] DEPENDS ON EXTENSION extension_name

and action is one of these iconic lil numbers:

[ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY INVOKER | [ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY DEFINER
SET configuration_parameter { TO | = } { value | DEFAULT }
SET configuration_parameter FROM CURRENT
RESET configuration_parameter
RESET ALL

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

ALTER PROCEDURE changes the definition of a procedure. that's it, that's the tweet. 💖

but okay, permissions check, because PostgreSQL is that friend who will ask to see the invite:

• you must own the procedure to use ALTER PROCEDURE.
• wanna change a procedure's schema? you also need CREATE privilege on the new schema.
• wanna alter the owner? you need to be able to SET ROLE to the new owning role, and that role must have CREATE privilege on the procedure's schema. (these restrictions enforce that altering the owner doesn't do anything you couldn't do by dropping and recreating the procedure. however — plot twist — a superuser can alter ownership of any procedure anyway. main character energy fr.)

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🎀 PARAMETERS 🎀

• name — the name of an existing procedure, optionally schema-qualified. if you don't give an argument list, the name has to be unique in its schema. iykyk.
• argmode — the mode of an argument: IN, OUT, INOUT, or VARIADIC. if you omit it, the default is IN.
• argname — the name of an argument. 🙈 heads up though: ALTER PROCEDURE does not actually pay any attention to argument names, since only the argument data types are used to determine the procedure's identity. so name them whatever, it literally doesn't care.
• argtype — the data type(s) of the procedure's arguments (optionally schema-qualified), if any. see DROP PROCEDURE (DROP_PROCEDURE(7)) for the details of how the procedure is looked up using the argument data type(s).
• new_name — the new name of the procedure. slay, rebrand.
• new_owner — the new owner of the procedure. ⚠️ note that if the procedure is marked SECURITY DEFINER, it will subsequently execute as the new owner. so like, choose wisely bestie.
• new_schema — the new schema for the procedure.
• extension_name — this form marks the procedure as dependent on the extension, or no longer dependent on the extension if NO is specified. a procedure that's marked as dependent on an extension is dropped when the extension is dropped, even if cascade is not specified. a procedure can depend upon multiple extensions, and will be dropped when any one of those extensions is dropped. 👑
• [ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY INVOKER / [ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY DEFINER — change whether the procedure is a security definer or not. the key word EXTERNAL is ignored for SQL conformance. see CREATE PROCEDURE (CREATE_PROCEDURE(7)) for more information about this capability.
• configuration_parameter, value — add or change the assignment to be made to a configuration parameter when the procedure is called. if value is DEFAULT or, equivalently, RESET is used, the procedure-local setting is removed, so that the procedure executes with the value present in its environment. use RESET ALL to clear all procedure-local settings. SET FROM CURRENT saves the value of the parameter that is current when ALTER PROCEDURE is executed as the value to be applied when the procedure is entered.

see SET(7) and Chapter 20 for more information about allowed parameter names and values. 🫶

• RESTRICT — ignored for conformance with the SQL standard. it's giving "i'm just here so i don't get fined."

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🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

wanna rename the procedure insert_data with two arguments of type integer to insert_record? periodt:

ALTER PROCEDURE insert_data(integer, integer) RENAME TO insert_record;

changing the owner of the procedure insert_data with two arguments of type integer to joe:

ALTER PROCEDURE insert_data(integer, integer) OWNER TO joe;

moving the procedure insert_data with two arguments of type integer to the accounting schema:

ALTER PROCEDURE insert_data(integer, integer) SET SCHEMA accounting;

marking the procedure insert_data(integer, integer) as being dependent on the extension myext:

ALTER PROCEDURE insert_data(integer, integer) DEPENDS ON EXTENSION myext;

adjusting the search path that is automatically set for a procedure:

ALTER PROCEDURE check_password(text) SET search_path = admin, pg_temp;

disabling automatic setting of search_path for a procedure:

ALTER PROCEDURE check_password(text) RESET search_path;

the procedure will now execute with whatever search path is used by its caller. lowkey chaotic but valid 💀

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💜 COMPATIBILITY 💜

this statement is partially compatible with the ALTER PROCEDURE statement in the SQL standard. the standard allows more properties of a procedure to be modified, but does not provide the ability to:

• rename a procedure
• make a procedure a security definer
• attach configuration parameter values to a procedure
• change the owner, schema, or volatility of a procedure

the standard also requires the RESTRICT key word, which is optional in PostgreSQL. we keep it chill like that. ✨

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🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

• CREATE PROCEDURE (CREATE_PROCEDURE(7))
• DROP PROCEDURE (DROP_PROCEDURE(7))
• ALTER FUNCTION (ALTER_FUNCTION(7))
• ALTER ROUTINE (ALTER_ROUTINE(7))

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and that's the whole page bestie, go forth and alter responsibly 🎀 this was PostgreSQL 16.15, dated 2026 — mwah, ily, bye 💖🦋