ERROR 42501: Permission denied for table in Postgres
Error Message
ERROR: permission denied for table users
Description
This error occurs when a user attempts to perform an operation on a table without having the necessary privileges. It can happen during SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE operations or when accessing tables through JOINs.
Causes
- User lacks required permissions for the operation
- Missing schema usage permissions
- Incorrect search path configuration
- Role membership issues
- Row-level security policies blocking access
Solutions
-
Grant appropriate permissions:
-- Grant specific permission GRANT SELECT ON table_name TO user_name; -- Grant multiple permissions GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE ON table_name TO user_name;
-
Grant schema permissions:
GRANT USAGE ON SCHEMA schema_name TO user_name;
-
Check current permissions:
-- For tables SELECT grantee, privilege_type FROM information_schema.role_table_grants WHERE table_name = 'mytable';
-
Add user to role:
GRANT role_name TO user_name;
Cloud database providers typically don't allow superuser privileges. Check with your provider about their specific permission model.
For more details on Postgres permission management, see How to Manage Postgres Users and Roles.