---
title: Reload schema and rotate secret
description: base_reload_schema refreshes the Data API's schema cache after DDL run outside base_run_sql; base_rotate_secret replaces the secret key immediately.
---

# Reload schema and rotate secret

Two maintenance tools for a database that already has the Data API
enabled.

## base_reload_schema

```
base_reload_schema({ database })
```

PostgREST caches the database's schema. If you run DDL — a new table
or column — over the direct or pooler connection, or over
`base_run_sql`, that change may not be visible to the Data API right
away. Calling `base_reload_schema` refreshes the cache without waiting
for it to notice on its own.

Calling it before the Data API is enabled for that database returns a
clear error telling you to run `base_enable_api` first, rather than a
confusing one.

## base_rotate_secret

```
base_rotate_secret({ database, confirm })
```

Rotates the database's Data API secret key. `confirm` must exactly
equal `database`, or the call fails before anything rotates. The new
secret key is returned once — save it immediately, since it can't be
retrieved again — and the old secret key stops working immediately, not
after some grace period.

Rotate this whenever the secret key may have leaked: it bypasses
row-level security entirely, so treat it the same way you'd treat a
compromised server credential anywhere else.

## Next

[Enable on older databases](/sherbase/enable-on-older-databases).