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# How to Change the Password of a PostgreSQL User

**Summary**: in this tutorial, you will learn how to change the password for a user in PostgreSQL.

To change the password of a [PostgreSQL user](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-roles), you use the `ALTER ROLE` statement as follows:

```sql
ALTER ROLE username
WITH PASSWORD 'password';
```

In this statement, to change the password of a user:

- First, specify the `username` that you want to change the password.
- Second, provide a new `password` wrapped within single quotes (').

For example, the following statement changes the password of the `super` user to `secret123`.

```sql
ALTER ROLE super WITH PASSWORD 'secret123';
```

Sometimes, you want to set the password to be valid until a date and time. In this case, you use the `VALID UNTIL` clause:

```sql
ALTER ROLE username
WITH PASSWORD 'new_password'
VALID UNTIL timestamp;
```

The `VALID UNTIL` clause is optional. If you omit it, the password will have no expiration date.

The following statement uses the `ALTER ROLE` statement to set the expiration date for the password of  `super` user to `December 31 2050`:

```sql
ALTER ROLE bob
VALID UNTIL 'December 31, 2050';
```

To verify the result, you can use the `\du` command in psql to [view the detailed information of the user](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-list-users):

```text
\du super
```

Output:

```
 Role name |                 Attributes
-----------+---------------------------------------------
 super     | Password valid until 2050-12-31 00:00:00+07
```

Note that using the `ALTER ROLE` statement will transfer the password to the server in cleartext.

Additionally, the cleartext password may be logged in the psql's command history or the server log.

## Summary

- Use the `ALTER ROLE` statement to change the password of a PostgreSQL user.

---

## Related docs (Roles & Privileges)

- [Create Roles](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-roles)
- [Grant Privileges](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-grant)
- [Revoke Privileges](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-revoke)
- [Alter roles](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-alter-role)
- [Drop Roles](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-drop-role)
- [Role Membership](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-role-membership)
- [SET ROLE Statement](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-set-role)
- [CURRENT_USER](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-current_user)
- [List Roles](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-list-users)
- [Create Superusers](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/create-superuser-postgresql)
- [PostgreSQL Row-Level Security](https://neon.com/postgresql/postgresql-administration/postgresql-row-level-security)