> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ionos.com/cloud/tools-cli/subcommands/object-storage/object/delete.md). # delete Delete a single object, or empty a whole bucket ## Usage ``` ionosctl object-storage object delete [flags] ``` ## Aliases For `object-storage` command: ``` [os] ``` For `object` command: ``` [obj] ``` For `delete` command: ``` [d] ``` ## Description Delete one object by key, or empty the entire bucket with --all. Versioning changes what "delete" means: * On a versioning-enabled bucket, deleting a key WITHOUT --version-id does not remove data: it inserts a "delete marker" that hides the key, while all prior versions remain recoverable. * Passing --version-id permanently removes that one specific version (this cannot be undone). Deleting a delete-marker version un-hides the key. * On a bucket without versioning, the object is simply removed. \--all empties the bucket: it deletes every current object AND every historical version AND every delete marker, so the bucket ends up truly empty. This is destructive and irreversible - it is guarded by a confirmation prompt (use -f/--force to skip it in scripts). Object Lock: objects protected by a retention or legal hold cannot be deleted. GOVERNANCE-mode retention can be overridden with --bypass-governance-retention (requires the appropriate permission); COMPLIANCE-mode retention and active legal holds can never be bypassed. ## Options ``` -a, --all Empty the entire bucket: delete every object, version and delete marker. Destructive and irreversible -u, --api-url string Override default host URL. If contains placeholder, location will be embedded. Preferred over the config file override 'objectstorage' and env var 'IONOS_API_URL' (default "https://s3.%s.ionoscloud.com") --bypass-governance-retention Override GOVERNANCE-mode Object Lock retention so locked objects can be deleted (needs bypass permission). Has no effect on COMPLIANCE-mode retention or legal holds --cols strings Set of columns to be printed on output Available columns: [Key ContentType ContentLength LastModified ETag] -c, --config string Configuration file used for authentication (default "$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/ionosctl/config.yaml") -D, --depth int Level of detail for response objects (default 1) -F, --filters strings Limit results to results containing the specified filter:KEY1=VALUE1,KEY2=VALUE2 -f, --force Force command to execute without user input -h, --help Print usage -k, --key string Key of the object to delete. Mutually exclusive with --all --limit int Maximum number of items to return per request (default 50) -l, --location string Location of the resource to operate on. When unset, list commands query all locations. Can be one of: eu-central-3, eu-central-4, us-central-1. A facility inside one of these metro regions (e.g. de/fra/1) is also accepted and served by its metro region's endpoint. Defaults to eu-central-3 -n, --name string Name of the bucket to delete from (required) --no-headers Don't print table headers when table output is used --offset int Number of items to skip before starting to collect the results --order-by string Property to order the results by -o, --output string Desired output format [text|json|api-json] (default "text") --query string JMESPath query string to filter the output -q, --quiet Quiet output -t, --timeout int Timeout in seconds for --wait and other wait operations (default 600) -v, --verbose count Increase verbosity level [-v, -vv, -vvv] --version-id string Permanently delete this specific version (irreversible). Without it, deleting on a versioned bucket only inserts a delete marker -w, --wait Wait for the resource to reach AVAILABLE state after the command completes. No-op for list commands ``` ## Examples ``` # Delete one object (inserts a delete marker on a versioned bucket) ionosctl object-storage object delete --name my-bucket --key photos/image.jpg # Permanently delete one specific version ionosctl object-storage object delete --name my-bucket --key photos/image.jpg --version-id -f # Empty the whole bucket (all objects, versions and delete markers) ionosctl object-storage object delete --name my-bucket --all -f # Empty a bucket, overriding GOVERNANCE-mode Object Lock protection ionosctl object-storage object delete --name my-bucket --all --bypass-governance-retention -f ``` --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. 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