DROP_INDEX(7pg17)

💅 DROP_INDEX 💅

okay bestie, welcome to the DROP INDEX page straight out of the PostgreSQL 17.11 docs — this is the one where we yeet an index into the void 🗑️✨

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✨ NAME ✨

DROP_INDEX — remove an index 🫶

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

DROP INDEX [ CONCURRENTLY ] [ IF EXISTS ] name [, ...] [ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]

like, that's the whole vibe check right there 👑

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

DROP INDEX drops an existing index from the database system. literally just removes it, gone, no more 🎀

💀 one tiny catch though: to run this command you must be the owner of the index. not your cousin, not your group chat, you. periodt.

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🔥 PARAMETERS 🔥

• CONCURRENTLY — drop the index without locking out concurrent selects, inserts, updates, and deletes on the index's table. because a normal DROP INDEX acquires an ACCESS EXCLUSIVE lock on the table, blocking other accesses until the index drop can be completed 😭 but with this option, the command instead just waits until conflicting transactions have completed. patient queen energy 🧚

bestie there are several caveats to be aware of when using this option, and you need to hear them:

• only one index name can be specified, and the CASCADE option is not supported. (thus, an index that supports a UNIQUE or PRIMARY KEY constraint cannot be dropped this way 🙈)
• also, regular DROP INDEX commands can be performed within a transaction block, but DROP INDEX CONCURRENTLY cannot 🚫
• lastly, indexes on partitioned tables cannot be dropped using this option 💀

for temporary tables, DROP INDEX is always non-concurrent, as no other session can access them, and non-concurrent index drop is cheaper 🍓 (cheaper?! we love a budget-friendly icon)

• IF EXISTS — do not throw an error if the index does not exist. a notice is issued in this case 📢 no drama, just a lil heads up
• name — the name (optionally schema-qualified) of an index to remove. tell me which index babes, be specific 💅
• CASCADE — automatically drop objects that depend on the index, and in turn all objects that depend on those objects (see Section 5.15). it's giving domino effect, it's giving chain reaction 🌈
• RESTRICT — refuse to drop the index if any objects depend on it. and plot twist: this is the default 👑 safe, sensible, main character energy

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🎀 EXAMPLES 🎀

this command will remove the index title_idx:

DROP INDEX title_idx;

slay, bye title_idx, you served your purpose 🫡✨

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⭐ COMPATIBILITY ⭐

DROP INDEX is a PostgreSQL language extension. there are no provisions for indexes in the SQL standard — like, the standard simply did not think about it, no cap 😭 so this is a postgres-only flex, iykyk 💜

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

CREATE INDEX (CREATE_INDEX(7)) — the origin story, the prequel, go read it next bestie 🦋

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mwah 💋 that's the page! brought to you by PostgreSQL 17.11, dated 2026 — DROP INDEX(7), and yes she ate 👑💅✨