Documentation

Delete a table

Use the influxdb3 delete table command or the HTTP API to delete a table from a specified database in InfluxDB 3 Core.

With InfluxDB 3 Core, tables and measurements are synonymous. By default, InfluxDB 3 Core performs a soft delete, which schedules the table for deletion and makes it unavailable for querying. You can also schedule a hard deletion to permanently remove the table and its data.

Deleting a table cannot be undone

Deleting a table is a destructive action. Once a table is deleted, data stored in that table cannot be recovered.

Delete a table using the influxdb3 CLI

  1. If you haven’t already, download and install the influxdb3 CLI.

  2. Use the influxdb3 delete table command to delete a table:

influxdb3 delete table \
  --database 
DATABASE_NAME
\
--token
AUTH_TOKEN
\
TABLE_NAME

Replace the following:

  • DATABASE_NAME: the name of the database containing the table
  • TABLE_NAME: the name of the table to delete
  • AUTH_TOKEN: your admin token

Hard delete a table immediately

To permanently delete a table and its data immediately, use the --hard-delete now flag:

influxdb3 delete table \
  --database 
DATABASE_NAME
\
--token
AUTH_TOKEN
\
--hard-delete now \
TABLE_NAME

Schedule a hard deletion

To schedule a table for hard deletion at a specific time, use the --hard-delete flag with a timestamp:

influxdb3 delete table \
  --database 
DATABASE_NAME
\
--token
AUTH_TOKEN
\
--hard-delete "2025-12-31T23:59:59Z" \
TABLE_NAME

Delete a table using the HTTP API

To delete a table using the HTTP API, send a DELETE request to the /api/v3/configure/table endpoint:

DELETE localhost:8181/api/v3/configure/table

Include the following in your request:

  • Query parameters:
    • db: Database name
    • table: Table name to delete
    • hard_delete_at: (Optional) Timestamp for hard deletion
  • Headers:
    • Authorization: Bearer with your authentication token

Soft delete a table

curl -X DELETE "localhost:8181/api/v3/configure/table?db=
DATABASE_NAME
&table=
TABLE_NAME
"
\
--header "Authorization: Bearer
AUTH_TOKEN
"

Replace the following:

  • DATABASE_NAME: the name of the database containing the table
  • TABLE_NAME: the name of the table to delete
  • AUTH_TOKEN: your admin token

Schedule a hard deletion

To schedule a hard deletion at a specific time, include the hard_delete_at parameter with an ISO 8601 timestamp:

curl -X DELETE "localhost:8181/api/v3/configure/table?db=
DATABASE_NAME
&table=
TABLE_NAME
&hard_delete_at=2025-12-31T23:59:59Z"
\
--header "Authorization: Bearer
AUTH_TOKEN
"

Response

A successful deletion returns HTTP status 200 with no content body.

Example error response

If the table doesn’t exist, the API returns HTTP status 404:

{
  "error": "Table not found"
}

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The future of Flux

Flux is going into maintenance mode. You can continue using it as you currently are without any changes to your code.

Read more

New in InfluxDB 3.4

Key enhancements in InfluxDB 3.4 and the InfluxDB 3 Explorer 1.2.

See the Blog Post

InfluxDB 3.4 is now available for both Core and Enterprise, which introduces offline token generation for use in automated deployments and configurable license type selection that lets you bypass the interactive license prompt. InfluxDB 3 Explorer 1.2 is also available, which includes InfluxDB cache management and other new features.

For more information, check out: