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The ALTER TYPE statement modifies a user-defined data type in the current database. The ALTER TYPE statement performs a schema change. For more information about how online schema changes work in CockroachDB, see Online Schema Changes.
You can only cancel ALTER TYPE schema change jobs that drop values. This is because when you drop a value, CockroachDB searches through every row that could contain the type’s value, which could take a long time.All other ALTER TYPE schema change jobs are non-cancellable.

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Synopsis

alter_type syntax diagram

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Parameters

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Required privileges

  • To alter a type, the user must be the owner of the type.
  • To set the schema of a user-defined type, the user must have the CREATE privilege on the schema and the DROP privilege on the type.
  • To alter the owner of a user-defined type:
    • The user executing the command must be a member of the new owner role.
    • The new owner role must have the CREATE privilege on the schema the type belongs to.

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Known limitations

  • You can only reference a user-defined type from the database that contains the type.

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Example

The following example uses a user-defined type.

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Add a value to a user-defined type

To add a value to the status type, use an ADD VALUE clause:

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Rename a value in a user-defined type

To rename a value in the status type, use a RENAME VALUE clause:

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Rename a user-defined type

To rename the status type, use a RENAME TO clause:

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Drop a value in a user-defined type

To drop a value from the account_status type, use a DROP VALUE clause:

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See also