createuser - Online in the Cloud

PROGRAM:

NAME

createuser - define a new PostgreSQL user account

SYNOPSIS

createuser [connection-option...] [option...] [username]

DESCRIPTION

createuser creates a new PostgreSQL user (or more precisely, a role). Only superusers and
users with CREATEROLE privilege can create new users, so createuser must be invoked by
someone who can connect as a superuser or a user with CREATEROLE privilege.

If you wish to create a new superuser, you must connect as a superuser, not merely with
CREATEROLE privilege. Being a superuser implies the ability to bypass all access
permission checks within the database, so superuserdom should not be granted lightly.

createuser is a wrapper around the SQL command CREATE ROLE (CREATE_ROLE(7)). There is no
effective difference between creating users via this utility and via other methods for
accessing the server.

OPTIONS

createuser accepts the following command-line arguments:

username
Specifies the name of the PostgreSQL user to be created. This name must be different
from all existing roles in this PostgreSQL installation.

-c number
--connection-limit=number
Set a maximum number of connections for the new user. The default is to set no limit.

-d
--createdb
The new user will be allowed to create databases.

-D
--no-createdb
The new user will not be allowed to create databases. This is the default.

-e
--echo
Echo the commands that createuser generates and sends to the server.

-E
--encrypted
Encrypts the user's password stored in the database. If not specified, the default
password behavior is used.

-g role
--role=role
Indicates role to which this role will be added immediately as a new member. Multiple
roles to which this role will be added as a member can be specified by writing
multiple -g switches.

-i
--inherit
The new role will automatically inherit privileges of roles it is a member of. This is
the default.

-I
--no-inherit
The new role will not automatically inherit privileges of roles it is a member of.

--interactive
Prompt for the user name if none is specified on the command line, and also prompt for
whichever of the options -d/-D, -r/-R, -s/-S is not specified on the command line.
(This was the default behavior up to PostgreSQL 9.1.)

-l
--login
The new user will be allowed to log in (that is, the user name can be used as the
initial session user identifier). This is the default.

-L
--no-login
The new user will not be allowed to log in. (A role without login privilege is still
useful as a means of managing database permissions.)

-N
--unencrypted
Does not encrypt the user's password stored in the database. If not specified, the
default password behavior is used.

-P
--pwprompt
If given, createuser will issue a prompt for the password of the new user. This is not
necessary if you do not plan on using password authentication.

-r
--createrole
The new user will be allowed to create new roles (that is, this user will have
CREATEROLE privilege).

-R
--no-createrole
The new user will not be allowed to create new roles. This is the default.

-s
--superuser
The new user will be a superuser.

-S
--no-superuser
The new user will not be a superuser. This is the default.

-V
--version
Print the createuser version and exit.

--replication
The new user will have the REPLICATION privilege, which is described more fully in the
documentation for CREATE ROLE (CREATE_ROLE(7)).

--no-replication
The new user will not have the REPLICATION privilege, which is described more fully in
the documentation for CREATE ROLE (CREATE_ROLE(7)).

-?
--help
Show help about createuser command line arguments, and exit.

createuser also accepts the following command-line arguments for connection parameters:

-h host
--host=host
Specifies the host name of the machine on which the server is running. If the value
begins with a slash, it is used as the directory for the Unix domain socket.

-p port
--port=port
Specifies the TCP port or local Unix domain socket file extension on which the server
is listening for connections.

-U username
--username=username
User name to connect as (not the user name to create).

-w
--no-password
Never issue a password prompt. If the server requires password authentication and a
password is not available by other means such as a .pgpass file, the connection
attempt will fail. This option can be useful in batch jobs and scripts where no user
is present to enter a password.

-W
--password
Force createuser to prompt for a password (for connecting to the server, not for the
password of the new user).

This option is never essential, since createuser will automatically prompt for a
password if the server demands password authentication. However, createuser will waste
a connection attempt finding out that the server wants a password. In some cases it is
worth typing -W to avoid the extra connection attempt.

ENVIRONMENT

PGHOST
PGPORT
PGUSER
Default connection parameters

This utility, like most other PostgreSQL utilities, also uses the environment variables
supported by libpq (see Section 31.14, “Environment Variables”, in the documentation).

DIAGNOSTICS

In case of difficulty, see CREATE ROLE (CREATE_ROLE(7)) and psql(1) for discussions of
potential problems and error messages. The database server must be running at the targeted
host. Also, any default connection settings and environment variables used by the libpq
front-end library will apply.

EXAMPLES

To create a user joe on the default database server:

$ createuser joe

To create a user joe on the default database server with prompting for some additional
attributes:

$ createuser --interactive joe
Shall the new role be a superuser? (y/n) n
Shall the new role be allowed to create databases? (y/n) n
Shall the new role be allowed to create more new roles? (y/n) n

To create the same user joe using the server on host eden, port 5000, with attributes
explicitly specified, taking a look at the underlying command:

$ createuser -h eden -p 5000 -S -D -R -e joe
CREATE ROLE joe NOSUPERUSER NOCREATEDB NOCREATEROLE INHERIT LOGIN;

To create the user joe as a superuser, and assign a password immediately:

$ createuser -P -s -e joe
Enter password for new role: xyzzy
Enter it again: xyzzy
CREATE ROLE joe PASSWORD 'md5b5f5ba1a423792b526f799ae4eb3d59e' SUPERUSER CREATEDB CREATEROLE INHERIT LOGIN;

In the above example, the new password isn't actually echoed when typed, but we show what
was typed for clarity. As you see, the password is encrypted before it is sent to the
client. If the option --unencrypted is used, the password will appear in the echoed
command (and possibly also in the server log and elsewhere), so you don't want to use -e
in that case, if anyone else can see your screen.

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