The invalid_grantor error occurs when the role issuing a GRANT does not hold membership in the role it claims to grant from.
invalid_grantor appears when the GRANT command uses a GRANTED BY role that the current user does not belong to. Make the session role a member of the grantor role or omit GRANTED BY to resolve the error.
invalid_grantor
PostgreSQL raises invalid_grantor (SQLSTATE 0L000) when a GRANT or REVOKE statement specifies a grantor role that the executing user does not belong to.
The server blocks the statement to preserve permission integrity and role hierarchy. Fixing the issue is critical because failed GRANT statements leave required privileges unassigned and can break application access.
The error fires most often when GRANT ... GRANTED BY or REVOKE ...
GRANTED BY names a role the current user lacks membership in.
Another trigger is SET ROLE followed by GRANT, where the original login role is not a member of the set role.
Add the session user to the specified grantor role with ALTER ROLE ... IN ROLE.
Alternatively, drop the GRANTED BY clause and let PostgreSQL default the grantor to the current role.
Automated deployment scripts often hardcode GRANTED BY superuser.
Run the script as superuser or adjust the clause.
In multi-tenant SaaS databases, delegated admin roles may attempt cross-schema grants.
Ensure membership is correctly cascaded.
Standardize role hierarchies so every granting user belongs to the admin role it represents.
Test migration scripts in staging with least-privilege roles to catch grantor issues early.
role_does_not_exist appears when the target role is missing; create the role first.
insufficient_privilege occurs when the granting role lacks privilege on the object; grant the privilege to the role before delegation.
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Yes. A superuser can execute GRANT with any grantor role, but using superuser regularly is discouraged for security.
No. Indirect membership via role nesting also satisfies the requirement.
No. If omitted, PostgreSQL uses the current session role as the grantor.
Galaxy's AI copilot flags invalid GRANT syntax and highlights missing role membership in real time, preventing invalid_grantor before execution.
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