# How to Delete Custom Images

Custom images are Linux and Unix-like images you import to DigitalOcean. You can create Droplets based custom images, which lets you migrate and scale your workloads without spending time recreating your environment from scratch.

## Delete a Custom Image using the Automation

## How to Delete a Custom Image Using the DigitalOcean CLI

1. [Install `doctl`](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/how-to/install/index.html.md), the official DigitalOcean CLI.
2. [Create a personal access token](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/create-personal-access-token/index.html.md) and save it for use with `doctl`.
3. Use the token to grant `doctl` access to your DigitalOcean account.

   ```shell
   doctl auth init
   ```
4. Finally, run `doctl compute image delete`. Basic usage looks like this, but you can [read the usage docs](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/compute/image/delete/index.html.md) for more details:

   ```shell
   doctl compute image delete <image-id> [flags]
   ```

   The following example deletes an image with the ID `386734086`:

   ```shell
   doctl compute image delete 386734086
   ```

## How to Delete a Custom Image Using the DigitalOcean API

1. [Create a personal access token](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/create-personal-access-token/index.html.md) and save it for use with the API.
2. Send a DELETE request to [`https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/images/{image_id}`](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/api/digitalocean//index.html.md#operation/images_delete).

### cURL

Using cURL:

```shell
curl -X DELETE \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/images/7938391"
```

### Go

Using [Godo](https://github.com/digitalocean/godo), the official DigitalOcean API client for Go:

```go
import (
    "context"
    "os"

    "github.com/digitalocean/godo"
)

func main() {
    token := os.Getenv("DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN")

    client := godo.NewFromToken(token)
    ctx := context.TODO()

    _, err := client.Images.Delete(ctx, 7938391)
}
```

### Ruby

Using [DropletKit](https://github.com/digitalocean/droplet_kit), the official DigitalOcean API client for Ruby:

```ruby
require 'droplet_kit'
token = ENV['DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN']
client = DropletKit::Client.new(access_token: token)

client.images.delete(id: 7938391)
```

### Python

Using [PyDo](https://github.com/digitalocean/pydo), the official DigitalOcean API client for Python:

```python
import os
from pydo import Client

client = Client(token=os.environ.get("DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN"))

resp = client.images.delete(image_id=134215)
```

## Delete a Custom Image using the Control Panel

To delete a custom image via the [control panel](https://cloud.digitalocean.com), in the left menu, click **Backups &amp; Snapshots**, then click the **Custom Images** tab.

![Custom Images page listing uploaded images with image details, and a More dropdown menu for starting a Droplet or deleting the image.](https://docs.digitalocean.com/screenshots/custom-images/overview.c7f454638be3817115f1c638d877b59ed3cd004f20fa6401d8193ad4a0b3ffa6.png)

Click the **More** menu for the custom image you want to delete, then choose **Delete**. A confirmation window titled **Confirm delete item** opens. Click **Delete Item** to confirm the deletion

Droplets you’ve created from a custom image are not deleted when you delete the image from your account. You can [destroy Droplets](https://docs.digitalocean.com/products/droplets/how-to/destroy/index.html.md) from the control panel separately.