---
name: "UNLISTEN"
section: "7"
platform: "linux"
package: "postgresql"
version: "18.6-4"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/UNLISTEN"
---

# UNLISTEN(7)

stop listening for a notification

## NAME

UNLISTEN - stop listening for a notification

## SYNOPSIS

```
UNLISTEN { channel | * }
```

## DESCRIPTION

**UNLISTEN** is used to remove an existing registration for **NOTIFY** events. **UNLISTEN** cancels any existing registration of the current PostgreSQL session as a listener on the notification channel named *channel*. The special wildcard \* cancels all listener registrations for the current session.

[**NOTIFY**(7)](/NOTIFY/7.md) contains a more extensive discussion of the use of **LISTEN** and **NOTIFY**.

## PARAMETERS

*channel*

Name of a notification channel (any identifier).

\*

All current listen registrations for this session are cleared.

## NOTES

You can unlisten something you were not listening for; no warning or error will appear.

At the end of each session, **UNLISTEN \*** is automatically executed.

A transaction that has executed **UNLISTEN** cannot be prepared for two-phase commit.

## EXAMPLES

To make a registration:

```
LISTEN virtual;
NOTIFY virtual;
Asynchronous notification "virtual" received from server process with PID 8448.
```

Once **UNLISTEN** has been executed, further **NOTIFY** messages will be ignored:

```
UNLISTEN virtual;
NOTIFY virtual;
-- no NOTIFY event is received
```

## COMPATIBILITY

There is no **UNLISTEN** command in the SQL standard.

## SEE ALSO

[**LISTEN**(7)](/LISTEN/7.md), [**NOTIFY**(7)](/NOTIFY/7.md)