REVOKE

Enterprise command reference.

Command Snapshot

Field	Value
Category	Security and Access Control
Mutates Data	Yes/Depends
Scope	Cluster / Object
Privilege Model	Requires administrative privilege for role, user, and privilege management.

Purpose

Manages permissions and access control behavior.

Syntax

REVOKE { { DQL | DML | DDL | AL [,...] } | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }
[ON {SCHEMA | TABLE | VIEW} identifier [, ...]]
FROM name [, ...];

Operational Notes

• Use schema-qualified identifiers in automation and automation pipelines.
• Validate behavior in staging for cluster-impacting or governance-impacting changes.
• Confirm runtime effects through system tables and metrics before and after execution.

When to Use

• Use to implement least-privilege access and role governance.
• Use when onboarding users/roles or changing permission boundaries.

When Not to Use

• Avoid broad wildcard grants/denials without impact review and audit traceability.

Common Errors and Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely Cause	Action
Permission denied / unauthorized	Missing privilege on object or cluster scope	Re-run with required grants or elevated admin role.
Analysis/parse error	Syntax variant or object shape mismatch	Compare with canonical syntax and object definition.
Runtime failure under load	Resource limits, breaker pressure, or node state transitions	Check sys.jobs, sys.operations, sys.checks, and retry after mitigation.

Cross-References

• SQL Command Catalog
• SQL Commands Index
• SQL Reference Overview

Detailed Reference

The REVOKE statement in MonkDB is a SQL command used to manage security by removing previously granted privileges or roles from users or roles. It ensures that access rights are appropriately controlled.

SQL Statement

REVOKE { { DQL | DML | DDL | AL [,...] } | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }
[ON {SCHEMA | TABLE | VIEW} identifier [, ...]]
FROM name [, ...];

REVOKE role_name_to_revoke [, ...] FROM name [, ...];

Key Components

• Privileges:
  • DQL: Data Query Language privileges (e.g., SELECT).
  • DML: Data Manipulation Language privileges (e.g., INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE).
  • DDL: Data Definition Language privileges (e.g., CREATE, DROP).
  • AL: Administrative privileges.
  • ALL PRIVILEGES: Revokes all privileges.
• Object Types:
  • SCHEMA, TABLE, VIEW: Specifies the type of database object from which privileges are revoked.
• Role Revocation: This removes a role from a user or another role, and the associated privileges inherited from the role are also revoked.
• Cluster-Level Revocation: If no object type is specified, privileges are revoked at the cluster level.

Description

The REVOKE statement operates in two main ways:

• Privilege Revocation: Removes specific permissions on database objects (e.g., tables, views) from users or roles.
• Role Revocation: Removes roles assigned to users or other roles, effectively revoking all inherited permissions.

For example, if a user has been granted a role with specific privileges, revoking the role will also revoke those privileges.

Parameters

• identifier:
  • Refers to the name of the object (e.g., table or view) for which permissions are being revoked.
  • Must be fully qualified if dealing with specific tables or views.
• role_name_to_revoke: Specifies the name of the role to be removed from a user or another role.
• name: Refers to the user or role from which privileges or roles are being revoked.

Examples

Example 1. Revoke Privileges on a Table

REVOKE SELECT ON SCHEMA.table_name FROM user_name;

This removes the SELECT privilege on a specific table from a user.

Example 2. Revoke All Privileges

REVOKE ALL PRIVILEGES FROM user_name;

This revokes all access rights from a user across all objects.

Example 3. Revoke Role

REVOKE role_name FROM user_name;

This removes the specified role and its associated privileges from a user.

Example 4. Cluster-Level Revocation

REVOKE DML FROM role_name;

Revokes DML privileges at the cluster level for a role.

Usage Notes

• The REVOKE statement is essential for maintaining database security and ensuring users and roles have only necessary access.
• It complements the GRANT statement, which is used to assign permissions.
• Administrators must have sufficient permissions to execute REVOKE.

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See Also

• Grant