Re: [PATCH] Add ALTER SYSTEM RELOAD

[Chao Li]

> On Sep 24, 2026, at 17:35, Michael Banck <mba...@gmx.net> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> On Thu, Sep 24, 2026 at 03:39:22PM +0800, Chao Li wrote:
>> Is there a reason ALTER SYSTEM RELOAD needs stronger privileges than
>> pg_reload_conf()?
> 
> Well, it is clear that you won't be able to GRANT this on a SQL-level.
> 
> But what could be done is add the pg_maintain (or something similar)
> default role as an allowed user for running this command besides
> Superuser.
> 
> 
> Michael


Yeah, that could be a solution. But the current patch only allows super user:
```
+/*
+ * Execute ALTER SYSTEM RELOAD.
+ */
+void
+AlterSystemReloadConfig(void)
+{
+       if (!AllowAlterSystem)
+               ereport(ERROR,
+                               (errcode(ERRCODE_FEATURE_NOT_SUPPORTED),
+                                errmsg("ALTER SYSTEM is not allowed in this 
environment")));
+
+       if (!superuser())
+               ereport(ERROR,
+                               (errcode(ERRCODE_INSUFFICIENT_PRIVILEGE),
+                                errmsg("permission denied to perform ALTER 
SYSTEM RELOAD")));
+
+       if (kill(PostmasterPid, SIGHUP))
+               ereport(ERROR,
+                               (errmsg("failed to send signal to postmaster: 
%m")));
+}
```

That’s what I got the concern.

Best regards,
--
Chao Li (Evan)
HighGo Software Co., Ltd.
https://www.highgo.com/