---
title: "pg_shadow"
id: view-pg-shadow
pg_version: "20devel"
---

<a id="view-pg-shadow"></a>

## 53.28. pg_shadow

The view pg_shadow exists for backwards compatibility: it emulates a catalog that existed in PostgreSQL before version 8.1. It shows properties of all roles that are marked as `rolcanlogin` in [pg_authid](catalog-pg-authid.md). 

The name stems from the fact that this table should not be readable by the public since it contains passwords. [pg_user](view-pg-user.md) is a publicly readable view on pg_shadow that blanks out the password field. 

**pg_shadow Columns**

| Column Type | Description | 
| --- | --- |
| `usename` `name` (references [pg_authid](catalog-pg-authid.md).`rolname`) | User name |
| `usesysid` `oid` (references [pg_authid](catalog-pg-authid.md).`oid`) | ID of this user |
| `usecreatedb` `bool` | User can create databases |
| `usesuper` `bool` | User is a superuser |
| `userepl` `bool` | User can initiate streaming replication and put the system in and out of backup mode. |
| `usebypassrls` `bool` | User bypasses every row-level security policy, see [Section 5.10](ddl-rowsecurity.md) for more information. |
| `passwd` `text` | Encrypted password; null if none. See [pg_authid](catalog-pg-authid.md) for details of how encrypted passwords are stored. |
| `valuntil` `timestamptz` | Password expiry time (only used for password authentication) |
| `useconfig` `text[]` | Session defaults for run-time configuration variables |