PostgreSQL: Drop PostgreSQL database through command line [closed]

Question

I'm trying to drop my database and create a new one through the command line.

I log in using psql -U username and then do a \connect template1, followed by a DROP DATABASE databasename;.

I get the error

database databasename is being accessed by other users

I shut down Apache and tried this again but I'm still getting this error. Am I doing something wrong?

Answer 1

You can run the dropdb command from the command line:

dropdb 'database name' 

Note that you have to be a superuser or the database owner to be able to drop it.

You can also check the pg_stat_activity view to see what type of activity is currently taking place against your database, including all idle processes.

SELECT * FROM pg_stat_activity WHERE datname='database name'; 

Note that from PostgreSQL v13 on, you can disconnect the users automatically with

DROP DATABASE dbname WITH (FORCE); 

or

dropdb -f dbname