phpman > man > SET_ROLE(7)

SET ROLE(7)                        PostgreSQL 14.23 Documentation                        SET ROLE(7)



NAME
       SET_ROLE - set the current user identifier of the current session

SYNOPSIS
       SET [ SESSION | LOCAL ] ROLE role_name
       SET [ SESSION | LOCAL ] ROLE NONE
       RESET ROLE

DESCRIPTION
       This command sets the current user identifier of the current SQL session to be role_name. The
       role name can be written as either an identifier or a string literal. After SET ROLE,
       permissions checking for SQL commands is carried out as though the named role were the one
       that had logged in originally.

       The specified role_name must be a role that the current session user is a member of. (If the
       session user is a superuser, any role can be selected.)

       The SESSION and LOCAL modifiers act the same as for the regular SET command.

       SET ROLE NONE sets the current user identifier to the current session user identifier, as
       returned by session_user.  RESET ROLE sets the current user identifier to the connection-time
       setting specified by the command-line options, ALTER ROLE, or ALTER DATABASE, if any such
       settings exist. Otherwise, RESET ROLE sets the current user identifier to the current session
       user identifier. These forms can be executed by any user.

NOTES
       Using this command, it is possible to either add privileges or restrict one's privileges. If
       the session user role has the INHERIT attribute, then it automatically has all the privileges
       of every role that it could SET ROLE to; in this case SET ROLE effectively drops all the
       privileges assigned directly to the session user and to the other roles it is a member of,
       leaving only the privileges available to the named role. On the other hand, if the session
       user role has the NOINHERIT attribute, SET ROLE drops the privileges assigned directly to the
       session user and instead acquires the privileges available to the named role.

       In particular, when a superuser chooses to SET ROLE to a non-superuser role, they lose their
       superuser privileges.

       SET ROLE has effects comparable to SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION, but the privilege checks
       involved are quite different. Also, SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION determines which roles are
       allowable for later SET ROLE commands, whereas changing roles with SET ROLE does not change
       the set of roles allowed to a later SET ROLE.

       SET ROLE does not process session variables as specified by the role's ALTER ROLE settings;
       this only happens during login.

       SET ROLE cannot be used within a SECURITY DEFINER function.

EXAMPLES
           SELECT SESSION_USER, CURRENT_USER;

            session_user | current_user
           --------------+--------------
            peter        | peter

           SET ROLE 'paul';

           SELECT SESSION_USER, CURRENT_USER;

            session_user | current_user
           --------------+--------------
            peter        | paul

COMPATIBILITY
       PostgreSQL allows identifier syntax ("rolename"), while the SQL standard requires the role
       name to be written as a string literal. SQL does not allow this command during a transaction;
       PostgreSQL does not make this restriction because there is no reason to. The SESSION and
       LOCAL modifiers are a PostgreSQL extension, as is the RESET syntax.

SEE ALSO
       SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION (SET_SESSION_AUTHORIZATION(7))



PostgreSQL 14.23                                2026                                     SET ROLE(7)