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$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ref/createuser.sgml,v 1.26 2002/07/28 15:22:20 petere Exp $
PostgreSQL documentation
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<refentry id="APP-CREATEUSER">
 <refmeta>
  <refentrytitle id="APP-CREATEUSER-TITLE"><application>createuser</application></refentrytitle>
  <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
  <refmiscinfo>Application</refmiscinfo>
 </refmeta>

 <refnamediv>
  <refname>createuser</refname>
  <refpurpose>define a new <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> user account</refpurpose>
 </refnamediv>

 <refsynopsisdiv>
  <cmdsynopsis>
   <command>createuser</command>
   <arg rep="repeat"><replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
   <arg><replaceable>username</replaceable></arg>
  </cmdsynopsis>
 </refsynopsisdiv>
  

 <refsect1>
  <title>Description</title>
  <para>
   <application>createuser</application> creates a 
   new <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> user.  
   Only superusers (users with <literal>usesuper</literal> set in
   the <literal>pg_shadow</literal> table) can create 
   new <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> users,
   so <application>createuser</application> must be
   invoked by someone who is a <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
   superuser.
  </para>

  <para>
   Being a superuser also implies the ability to bypass access permission
   checks within the database, so superuser-dom should not be granted lightly.
  </para>

  <para>
   <application>createuser</application> is a shell script wrapper around the
   <acronym>SQL</acronym> command
   <xref linkend="SQL-CREATEUSER" endterm="SQL-CREATEUSER-title"> via
   the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> interactive terminal
   <xref linkend="APP-PSQL">. Thus, there is nothing
   special about creating users via this or other methods. This means
   that the <application>psql</application> application must be found by the
   script and that 
   a database server must be running at the targeted host. Also, any default
   settings and environment variables used by <application>psql</application>
   and the <application>libpq</application> front-end library will apply.
  </para>

 </refsect1>


 <refsect1>
  <title>Options</title>

    <variablelist>
     <varlistentry>
      <term>-h, --host <replaceable class="parameter">host</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Specifies the host name of the machine on which the 
	server
	is running.  If host begins with a slash, it is used 
	as the directory for the Unix domain socket.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-p, --port <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Specifies the Internet TCP/IP port or local Unix domain socket file 
	extension on which the server
	is listening for connections.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-e, --echo</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Echo the queries that <application>createuser</application> generates
	and sends to the server.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-q, --quiet</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Do not display a response.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-d, --createdb</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	The new user is allowed to create databases.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-D, --no-createdb</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	The new user is not allowed to create databases.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-a, --adduser</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	The new user is allowed to create other users.
	(Note: actually, this makes the new user a <firstterm>superuser</>.
	The option is poorly named.)
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-A, --no-adduser</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	The new user is not allowed to create other users (i.e.,
	the new user is a regular user not a superuser).
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-P, --pwprompt</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
       If given, <application>createuser</application> will issue a prompt for
       the password of the new user. This is not necessary if you do not plan
       on using password authentication.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-i, --sysid <replaceable class="parameter">uid</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
       Allows you to pick a non-default user id for the new user. This is not
       necessary, but some people like it.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-E, --encrypted</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Encrypts the user's password stored in the database. If not
	specified, the default is used.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-N, --unencrypted</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Does not encrypt the user's password stored in the database. If
	not specified, the default is used.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Specifies the name of the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> user to be created. 
	This name must be unique among all <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> users.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>  
    </variablelist>

   <para>
    You will be prompted for a name and other missing information if it is not
    specified on the command line.
    </para>

    <para>
    The options <literal>-h</literal>, <literal>-p</literal>, and <literal>-e</literal>,
    are passed on literally to <xref linkend="APP-PSQL">. The
    <application>psql</application> options <literal>-U</literal> and <literal>-W</literal>
    are available as well, but their use can be confusing in this context.
   </para>
 </refsect1>


 <refsect1>
  <title>Environment</title>

  <variablelist>
   <varlistentry>
    <term><envar>PGHOST</envar></term>
    <term><envar>PGPORT</envar></term>
    <term><envar>PGUSER</envar></term>

    <listitem>
     <para>
      Default connection parameters
     </para>
    </listitem>
   </varlistentry>
  </variablelist>
 </refsect1>


 <refsect1>
  <title>Diagnostics</title>

    <variablelist>
     <varlistentry>
      <term><computeroutput>CREATE USER</computeroutput></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        All is well.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><computeroutput>createuser: creation of user "<replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable>" failed</computeroutput></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Something went wrong. The user was not created.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

   <para>
    If there is an error condition, the backend error message will be displayed.
    See <xref linkend="SQL-CREATEUSER" endterm="SQL-CREATEUSER-title">
    and <xref linkend="APP-PSQL"> for possibilities.
   </para>
 </refsect1>


 <refsect1>
  <title>Examples</title>

  <informalexample>
   <para>
    To create a user <literal>joe</literal> on the default database
    server:
<screen>
<prompt>$ </prompt><userinput>createuser joe</userinput>
<computeroutput>Is the new user allowed to create databases? (y/n) </computeroutput><userinput>n</userinput>
<computeroutput>Shall the new user be allowed to create more new users? (y/n) </computeroutput><userinput>n</userinput>
<computeroutput>CREATE USER</computeroutput>
</screen>
   </para>
  </informalexample>

  <informalexample>
   <para>
    To create the same user <literal>joe</literal> using the
    server on host <literal>eden</>, port 5000, avoiding the prompts and
    taking a look at the underlying query:
<screen>
<prompt>$ </prompt><userinput>createuser -p 5000 -h eden -D -A -e joe</userinput>
<computeroutput>CREATE USER "joe" NOCREATEDB NOCREATEUSER</computeroutput>
<computeroutput>CREATE USER</computeroutput>
</screen>
   </para>
  </informalexample>
 </refsect1>


 <refsect1>
  <title>See Also</title>

  <simplelist type="inline">
   <member><xref linkend="app-dropuser"></member>
   <member><xref linkend="sql-createuser" endterm="sql-createuser-title"></member>
  </simplelist>
 </refsect1>

</refentry>

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