DROP TABLE(7) PostgreSQL 18.6 Documentation DROP TABLE(7) NAME DROP_TABLE - remove a table SYNOPSIS DROP TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] name [, ...] [ CASCADE | RESTRICT ] DESCRIPTION DROP TABLE removes tables from the database. Only the table owner, the schema owner, and superuser can drop a table. To empty a table of rows without destroying the table, use DELETE or TRUNCATE. DROP TABLE always removes any indexes, rules, triggers, and constraints that exist for the target table. However, to drop a table that is refer- enced by a view or a foreign-key constraint of another table, CASCADE must be specified. (CASCADE will remove a dependent view entirely, but in the foreign-key case it will only remove the foreign-key constraint, not the other table entirely.) PARAMETERS IF EXISTS Do not throw an error if the table does not exist. A notice is issued in this case. name The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to drop. CASCADE Automatically drop objects that depend on the table (such as views), and in turn all objects that depend on those objects (see Sec- tion 5.15). RESTRICT Refuse to drop the table if any objects depend on it. This is the de- fault. EXAMPLES To destroy two tables, films and distributors: DROP TABLE films, distributors; COMPATIBILITY This command conforms to the SQL standard, except that the standard only allows one table to be dropped per command, and apart from the IF EXISTS option, which is a PostgreSQL extension. SEE ALSO ALTER TABLE (ALTER_TABLE(7)), CREATE TABLE (CREATE_TABLE(7)) PostgreSQL 18.6 2026 DROP TABLE(7)
NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | PARAMETERS | EXAMPLES | COMPATIBILITY | SEE ALSO
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