DangerThis cannot be undone

Deletion removes the site's files, its database and its staging copy. If you need them, take a backup first and check that its restore test passed.

Delete from the panel

1. Open the site.
2. Open the More menu (the three dots next to Visit) and choose Delete.
3. Type the site's domain to confirm and choose Delete.

The site's status becomes deleting and the Site deletion task starts. When it ends, the site leaves the list. A second deletion request for the same site joins the task already running.

With cgctl:

bash

cgctl --wait sites delete <id>

What goes

In the order the server removes it:

1. the vhost, the page-cache zone and the staging password: the site stops answering;
2. every process of the site: its PHP, running scheduled tasks, wp-cli commands;
3. the site's PHP service and its configuration;
4. the scheduled tasks;
5. the database and its user;
6. the Let's Encrypt certificate and the custom certificate;
7. the site's SSH shell, then its system user and its group;
8. the page cache, the logs and the site's folder.

The server runs every step even when one fails, and reports all the errors together at the end. Running the deletion again is safe: each step removes only what is still there.

The site's releases, backups, scheduled tasks and operator assignments also leave the panel.

NoteThe snapshots stay in the repository

Deletion does not touch the restic repository: the site's snapshots stay there, but the panel no longer shows them and cannot restore them. To free the space, remove them yourself with restic, on the server as root:

bash

export RESTIC_REPOSITORY=<repository> RESTIC_PASSWORD_FILE=<password-file>
restic snapshots --tag site:<domain>
restic forget --prune <id> <id>

<repository> is the Repository in Settings, <domain> the deleted site's domain, <id> the IDs the first command lists. For an S3 repository, also export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY.

If deletion fails

The site stays in the list as error and the task names the step that did not work. Fix the cause and choose Delete again.

Deleting a production site deletes its staging copy first. If you cancel the task between the two, production stays and gets its previous status back.

Next step

The lifecycle of a site explains what happens between creation and deletion.