43.45. pg_shadow

The view pg_shadow exists for backwards compatibility: it emulates a catalog that existed in PostgreSQL before version 8.1. It shows properties of all roles that are marked as rolcanlogin .

The name stems from the fact that this table should not be readable by the public since it contains passwords. pg_user is a publicly readable view on pg_shadow that blanks out the password field.

Table 43-45. pg_shadow Columns

Name Type References Description
usename name pg_authid .rolname User name
usesysid oid pg_authid .oid ID of this user
usecreatedb bool   User may create databases
usesuper bool   User is a superuser
usecatupd bool   User may update system catalogs. (Even a superuser may not do this unless this column is true.)
passwd text   Password (possibly encrypted)
valuntil abstime   Password expiry time (only used for password authentication)
useconfig text[]   Session defaults for run-time configuration variables