---
title: influxctl database delete
description: The influxctl database delete command deletes a database from an InfluxDB cluster.
url: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/clustered/reference/cli/influxctl/database/delete/
estimated_tokens: 495
publisher: InfluxData
canonical: https://docs.influxdata.com/influxdb3/clustered/reference/cli/influxctl/database/delete/
date: '2025-06-30T15:05:37-06:00'
lastmod: '2025-06-30T15:05:37-06:00'
---

The `influxctl database delete` command deletes a database from an
InfluxDB cluster.

## Usage

```sh
influxctl database delete [command options] [--force] <DATABASE_NAME> [<DATABASE_NAME_N>...]
```

#### Cannot be undone

Deleting a database is a destructive action that cannot be undone.

#### Wait before writing to a new database with the same name

After deleting a database from your InfluxDB
cluster, you can reuse the name to create a new database, but **wait two to
three minutes** after deleting the previous database before writing to the new
database to allow write caches to clear.

#### Tokens still grant access to databases with the same name

[Database tokens](/influxdb3/clustered/admin/tokens/database/) are associated to
databases by name. If you create a new database with the same name, tokens
that granted access to the deleted database will also grant access to the new
database.

## Arguments

|     Argument     |         Description          |
|------------------|------------------------------|
|**DATABASE\_NAME**|Name of the database to delete|

## Flags

|Flag|         |                        Description                        |
|----|---------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|    |`--force`|Do not prompt for confirmation to delete (default is false)|
|`-h`|`--help` |                    Output command help                    |

*Also see [`influxctl` global flags](/influxdb3/clustered/reference/cli/influxctl/#global-flags).*

## Examples

##### Delete a database named “mydb”

```sh
influxctl database delete mydb
```

##### Delete multiple databases

```sh
influxctl database delete mydb1 mydb2
```
| Argument | Description |
| --- | --- |
| Argument | Description |
| DATABASE_NAME | Name of the database to delete |

| Flag |  | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Flag |  | Description |
|  | --force | Do not prompt for confirmation to delete (default is false) |
| -h | --help | Output command help |