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
If you haven’t already, download and install the
influxdb3
CLI.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 tableTABLE_NAME
: the name of the table to deleteAUTH_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 nametable
: Table name to deletehard_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 tableTABLE_NAME
: the name of the table to deleteAUTH_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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Support and feedback
Thank you for being part of our community! We welcome and encourage your feedback and bug reports for InfluxDB 3 Core and this documentation. To find support, use the following resources:
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