How to Destroy a Droplet from the DigitalOcean Control Panel
Validated on 11 Apr 2019 • Last edited on 22 May 2023
DigitalOcean Droplets are Linux-based virtual machines (VMs) that run on top of virtualized hardware. Each Droplet you create is a new server you can use, either standalone or as part of a larger, cloud-based infrastructure.
Deleting a Droplet permanently and irreversibly destroys the Droplet and its contents, and its automated backups. Optionally, you can also destroy a Droplet and its associated snapshots, volumes, and volume snapshots. To save one or more of the backup images, convert the backup into a snapshot before deleting the Droplet.
Automate the Destruction of a Droplet
How to destroy a Droplet using the DigitalOcean CLI
To destroy a Droplet via the command-line, follow these steps:
Use the token to grant doctl access to your
DigitalOcean account.
doctl auth init
Finally, destroy a Droplet with
doctl compute droplet delete. The basic usage looks
like this, but you'll want to read the usage docs for more details:
To destroy a Droplet from the control panel, open the Droplet’s More menu and click Destroy. Alternately, you can click the Droplet’s name to access its main page and select Destroy from the left menu.
On the Destroy page, there are two headings: Destroy Droplet and backups and Rebuild Droplet. Under Destroy Droplet and backups, you can choose to destroy the Droplet and its backups. If the Droplet has associated resources, you can also choose to delete some or all of them, but they are not destroyed by default.
Destroy Droplet and its Associated Resources in the Control Panel
To destroy a Droplet and any of its associated resources, click the Show associated resources checkbox.
In their respective resource sections, select any of the Droplet’s associated snapshots, volumes, or volume snapshots you would like to destroy along with the Droplet. Once you’ve selected the resources to destroy, click Destroy this Droplet, backups, and X selected resources (“X” being the number of resources you’ve selected).
In the confirmation window, review the list of resources to be destroyed, then enter the Droplet’s name into the confirmation field and click Destroy. Your Droplet, any automated backups, and the selected resources will be permanently destroyed.
Remaining Resources
Any resources that you do not destroy will appear in their respective category in the control panel’s Manage section. Direct links are listed below in the order they appear in the menu.