How to unplug a PDB in Oracle Multitenant

Unplug a PDB into an XML manifest (or a .pdb archive) so it can be plugged into another CDB. Run from the root.

The PDB must be closed first. Once unplugged it cannot be opened in this CDB until it is dropped (keeping datafiles) or plugged back in.

ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE &&pdb_name CLOSE IMMEDIATE;

ALTER PLUGGABLE DATABASE &pdb_name
  UNPLUG INTO '/u01/app/oracle/oradata/&pdb_name/manifest.xml';

-- Then remove it from this CDB but keep the datafiles:
-- DROP PLUGGABLE DATABASE &pdb_name KEEP DATAFILES;

-- Verify (read-only): open_mode should be MOUNTED
SELECT name, open_mode FROM v$pdbs WHERE name = UPPER('&pdb_name');