DROP_TABLE - remove a table

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.

DROPTABLE 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. DROPTABLE always removes any indexes, rules, triggers, and constraints that exist for the target table. However, to drop a table that is referenced 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.)

To destroy two tables, films and distributors: DROP TABLE films, distributors;

DROP_TABLE - remove a table

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 Section 5.15). RESTRICT Refuse to drop the table if any objects depend on it. This is the default.

ALTER TABLE (ALTER_TABLE(7)), CREATE TABLE (CREATE_TABLE(7)) PostgreSQL 17.5 2025 DROPTABLE(7)

DROP TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] name [, ...] [ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]