How to Use CURRENT_USER in PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL CURRENT_USER Guide

Use CURRENT_USER to quickly identify the role executing your SQL statements, enforce row-level security, or audit activity without extra joins.

What does CURRENT_USER return?

CURRENT_USER outputs the sessions authorization identifierthe role originally used to connect, even after SET ROLE.

How do I call CURRENT_USER?

Call it like any SQL function or use it in expressions, WHERE clauses, and DDL statements. No parentheses needed.

Example: show current login

SELECT CURRENT_USER;

When should I prefer CURRENT_USER over SESSION_USER or USER?

Pick CURRENT_USER for security checks because it respects SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION while still reflecting the original role, unlike USER (alias for CURRENT_USER) or SESSION_USER (never changes).

Can I use CURRENT_USER in policies?

Yes. RowLevel Security (RLS) policies commonly reference CURRENT_USER to restrict rows to their owners.

CREATE POLICY owner_only
USING (owner = CURRENT_USER);

Does CURRENT_USER accept parameters?

No parametersit is a SQL keyword that returns text.

Best practices

2 Store usernames in lower case to avoid casesensitive comparisons.
2 Combine with COALESCE for robust auditing tables.

Full syntax

CURRENT_USER | USER -- both keywords are equivalent