# Change the interface language for many users via a database query?

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/change-the-interface-language-for-many-users-via-a-database-query/391635
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [December 18, 2025, 7:42am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/change-the-interface-language-for-many-users-via-a-database-query/391635 "2025-12-18T07:42:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![jahan\_gagan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/jahan_gagan/32/501948_2.png) [@jahan\_gagan](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jahan_gagan)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2025, 8:54am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/change-the-interface-language-for-many-users-via-a-database-query/391635/2 "2025-12-18T08:54:42Z")

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You can’t run `UPDATE` queries via the [Data Explorer](https://meta.discourse.org/t/32566?silent=true) plugin because it is strictly read-only.

For bulk updates like this, use the Rails console instead:

```plaintext
User.where(locale: 'en').update_all(locale: 'en_GB')

```

For more examples of updating user preferences in bulk, refer to:

> [@Edit a user preference for everyone or a subset of users](https://meta.discourse.org/t/edit-a-user-preference-for-everyone-or-a-subset-of-users/25162):
>
> bookmark This guide explains how to edit a user preference for everyone or a subset of users in Discourse. person_raising_hand Required user level: System Administrator warning Console access is required. If you need to update the user preference for all of your users or a large subset of users, you can do so via the rails console. Summary In this guide, you’ll learn: How to access the Rails console for making bulk changes Examples of modifying user preferences How to identify se…

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