Create a new database
Medium risk
What do risk levels mean?
- Read-only
- Inspects state without changing anything.
- Low risk
- Reversible with a routine follow-up command.
- Medium risk
- Changes state; undo path documented.
- Destructive
- Deletes or overwrites; confirmation required.
Creates a new, empty PostgreSQL database owned by the current user, ready for schema and data.
postgresqlcreatedatabasesetup
Parameters
Name for the new database.
Commands
Check whether a database with this name already exists
psql -c "SELECT datname FROM pg_database WHERE datname = '<database_name>';"Create the new database owned by the current user
createdb <database_name>Verification
psql -c "\l" | grep -w <database_name>The new database name appears in the listing.
Undo
Remove the database and all of its objects
dropdb <database_name>Pitfalls
- Requires CREATEDB privilege for the current user.
- Creating a database with a name that already exists will fail; the inspection step catches this.
- The new database inherits the template1 template; any objects in template1 will be copied.