dropdb

dropdb
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dropdb — remove a PostgreSQL database

Synopsis

dropdb [connection-option...] [option...] dbname

Description

+ dropdb destroys an existing + PostgreSQL database. + The user who executes this command must be a database + superuser or the owner of the database. +

+ dropdb is a wrapper around the + SQL command DROP DATABASE. + There is no effective difference between dropping databases via + this utility and via other methods for accessing the server. +

Options

+ dropdb accepts the following command-line arguments: + +

dbname: + Specifies the name of the database to be removed. +
-e --echo: + Echo the commands that dropdb generates + and sends to the server. +
-f --force: + Attempt to terminate all existing connections to the target database + before dropping it. See DROP DATABASE for more + information on this option. +
-i --interactive: + Issues a verification prompt before doing anything destructive. +
-V --version: + Print the dropdb version and exit. +
--if-exists: + Do not throw an error if the database does not exist. A notice is issued + in this case. +
-? --help: + Show help about dropdb command line + arguments, and exit. +

+ +

+ dropdb 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. +

-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 dropdb to prompt for a + password before connecting to a database. +

+ This option is never essential, since + dropdb will automatically prompt + for a password if the server demands password authentication. + However, dropdb 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. +

--maintenance-db=dbname

+ Specifies the name of the database to connect to in order to drop the + target database. If not specified, the postgres + database will be used; if that does not exist (or is the database + being dropped), template1 will be used. + This can be a connection + string. If so, connection string parameters will override any + conflicting command line options. +

Environment

PGHOST PGPORT PGUSER: + Default connection parameters +
PG_COLOR: + Specifies whether to use color in diagnostic messages. Possible values + are always, auto and + never. +

+ This utility, like most other PostgreSQL utilities, + also uses the environment variables supported by libpq + (see Section 34.15). +

Diagnostics

+ In case of difficulty, see DROP DATABASE + and psql 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 destroy the database demo on the default + database server: +

+$ dropdb demo
+

+ To destroy the database demo using the + server on host eden, port 5000, with verification and a peek + at the underlying command: +

+$ dropdb -p 5000 -h eden -i -e demo
+Database "demo" will be permanently deleted.
+Are you sure? (y/n) y
+DROP DATABASE demo;
+