Delete a VM


This page describes how to delete an instance. If you don't want to delete an instance but want to temporarily stop it, read Stopping and starting an instance or Suspending and resuming an instance.

Delete an instance to remove the instance and the associated resources from your project. If the instance is part of an instance group, the group might try to recreate an identical instance to maintain a certain group size. Resize the instance group or reconfigure the autoscaler instead.

Before you begin

  • If you haven't already, set up authentication. Authentication is the process by which your identity is verified for access to Google Cloud services and APIs. To run code or samples from a local development environment, you can authenticate to Compute Engine as follows.

    Select the tab for how you plan to use the samples on this page:

    Console

    When you use the Google Cloud console to access Google Cloud services and APIs, you don't need to set up authentication.

    gcloud

    1. Install the Google Cloud CLI, then initialize it by running the following command:

      gcloud init
    2. Set a default region and zone.

    C#

    To use the .NET samples on this page from a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.

    1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.
    2. To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

      gcloud init
    3. Create local authentication credentials for your Google Account:

      gcloud auth application-default login

    For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

    Go

    To use the Go samples on this page from a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.

    1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.
    2. To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

      gcloud init
    3. Create local authentication credentials for your Google Account:

      gcloud auth application-default login

    For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

    Java

    To use the Java samples on this page from a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.

    1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.
    2. To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

      gcloud init
    3. Create local authentication credentials for your Google Account:

      gcloud auth application-default login

    For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

    Node.js

    To use the Node.js samples on this page from a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.

    1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.
    2. To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

      gcloud init
    3. Create local authentication credentials for your Google Account:

      gcloud auth application-default login

    For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

    PHP

    To use the PHP samples on this page from a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.

    1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.
    2. To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

      gcloud init
    3. Create local authentication credentials for your Google Account:

      gcloud auth application-default login

    For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

    Python

    To use the Python samples on this page from a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.

    1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.
    2. To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

      gcloud init
    3. Create local authentication credentials for your Google Account:

      gcloud auth application-default login

    For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

    Ruby

    To use the Ruby samples on this page from a local development environment, install and initialize the gcloud CLI, and then set up Application Default Credentials with your user credentials.

    1. Install the Google Cloud CLI.
    2. To initialize the gcloud CLI, run the following command:

      gcloud init
    3. Create local authentication credentials for your Google Account:

      gcloud auth application-default login

    For more information, see Set up authentication for a local development environment.

    REST

    To use the REST API samples on this page in a local development environment, you use the credentials you provide to the gcloud CLI.

      Install the Google Cloud CLI, then initialize it by running the following command:

      gcloud init

Delete an instance

Delete an instance using Google Cloud console , the Google Cloud CLI, or the API.

Console

  1. Go to the VM Instances page in the Google Cloud console.

    Go to the VM Instances page

  2. Check the instances you want to delete.
  3. Click the Delete button.

gcloud

Use the gcloud compute instances delete command. When you delete an instance in this way, the instance shuts down and is removed from the list of instances, and all resources attached to the instance are released, such as persistent disks and any static IP addresses.

To delete an instance, use the following command:

gcloud compute instances delete example-instance [example-instance-2 example-instance-3..]

C#


using Google.Cloud.Compute.V1;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

public class DeleteInstanceAsyncSample
{
    public async Task DeleteInstanceAsync(
        // TODO(developer): Set your own default values for these parameters or pass different values when calling this method.
        string projectId = "your-project-id",
        string zone = "us-central1-a",
        string machineName = "test-machine")
    {

        // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
        // once, and can be reused for multiple requests.
        InstancesClient client = await InstancesClient.CreateAsync();

        // Make the request to delete a VM instance.
        var instanceDeletion = await client.DeleteAsync(projectId, zone, machineName);

        // Wait for the operation to complete using client-side polling.
        await instanceDeletion.PollUntilCompletedAsync();
    }
}

Go

import (
	"context"
	"fmt"
	"io"

	compute "cloud.google.com/go/compute/apiv1"
	computepb "google.golang.org/genproto/googleapis/cloud/compute/v1"
)

// deleteInstance sends a delete request to the Compute Engine API and waits for it to complete.
func deleteInstance(w io.Writer, projectID, zone, instanceName string) error {
	// projectID := "your_project_id"
	// zone := "europe-central2-b"
	// instanceName := "your_instance_name"
	ctx := context.Background()
	instancesClient, err := compute.NewInstancesRESTClient(ctx)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("NewInstancesRESTClient: %w", err)
	}
	defer instancesClient.Close()

	req := &computepb.DeleteInstanceRequest{
		Project:  projectID,
		Zone:     zone,
		Instance: instanceName,
	}

	op, err := instancesClient.Delete(ctx, req)
	if err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to delete instance: %w", err)
	}

	if err = op.Wait(ctx); err != nil {
		return fmt.Errorf("unable to wait for the operation: %w", err)
	}

	fmt.Fprintf(w, "Instance deleted\n")

	return nil
}

Java


import com.google.api.gax.longrunning.OperationFuture;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.DeleteInstanceRequest;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.InstancesClient;
import com.google.cloud.compute.v1.Operation;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;

public class DeleteInstance {

  public static void main(String[] args)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException, TimeoutException {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String project = "your-project-id";
    String zone = "zone-name";
    String instanceName = "instance-name";
    deleteInstance(project, zone, instanceName);
  }

  // Delete the instance specified by `instanceName`
  // if it's present in the given project and zone.
  public static void deleteInstance(String project, String zone, String instanceName)
      throws IOException, InterruptedException, ExecutionException, TimeoutException {
    // Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
    // once, and can be reused for multiple requests. After completing all of your requests, call
    // the `instancesClient.close()` method on the client to safely
    // clean up any remaining background resources.
    try (InstancesClient instancesClient = InstancesClient.create()) {

      System.out.printf("Deleting instance: %s ", instanceName);

      // Describe which instance is to be deleted.
      DeleteInstanceRequest deleteInstanceRequest = DeleteInstanceRequest.newBuilder()
          .setProject(project)
          .setZone(zone)
          .setInstance(instanceName).build();

      OperationFuture<Operation, Operation> operation = instancesClient.deleteAsync(
          deleteInstanceRequest);
      // Wait for the operation to complete.
      Operation response = operation.get(3, TimeUnit.MINUTES);

      if (response.hasError()) {
        System.out.println("Instance deletion failed ! ! " + response);
        return;
      }
      System.out.println("Operation Status: " + response.getStatus());
    }
  }
}

Node.js

/**
 * TODO(developer): Uncomment these variables before running the sample.
 */
// const projectId = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID';
// const zone = 'europe-central2-b'
// const instanceName = 'YOUR_INSTANCE_NAME';

const compute = require('@google-cloud/compute');

// Delete the instance specified by `instanceName` if it's present in the given project and zone.
async function deleteInstance() {
  const instancesClient = new compute.InstancesClient();

  console.log(`Deleting ${instanceName} from ${zone}...`);

  const [response] = await instancesClient.delete({
    project: projectId,
    zone,
    instance: instanceName,
  });
  let operation = response.latestResponse;
  const operationsClient = new compute.ZoneOperationsClient();

  // Wait for the delete operation to complete.
  while (operation.status !== 'DONE') {
    [operation] = await operationsClient.wait({
      operation: operation.name,
      project: projectId,
      zone: operation.zone.split('/').pop(),
    });
  }

  console.log('Instance deleted.');
}

deleteInstance();

PHP

use Google\Cloud\Compute\V1\Client\InstancesClient;
use Google\Cloud\Compute\V1\DeleteInstanceRequest;

/**
 * Delete an instance.
 *
 * @param string $projectId Your Google Cloud project ID.
 * @param string $zone Zone where the instance you want to delete is (like "us-central1-a").
 * @param string $instanceName Unique name for the Compute instance to delete.
 *
 * @throws \Google\ApiCore\ApiException if the remote call fails.
 * @throws \Google\ApiCore\ValidationException if local error occurs before remote call.
 */
function delete_instance(
    string $projectId,
    string $zone,
    string $instanceName
) {
    // Delete the Compute Engine instance using InstancesClient.
    $instancesClient = new InstancesClient();
    $request = (new DeleteInstanceRequest())
        ->setInstance($instanceName)
        ->setProject($projectId)
        ->setZone($zone);
    $operation = $instancesClient->delete($request);

    // Wait for the operation to complete.
    $operation->pollUntilComplete();
    if ($operation->operationSucceeded()) {
        printf('Deleted instance %s' . PHP_EOL, $instanceName);
    } else {
        $error = $operation->getError();
        printf('Failed to delete instance: %s' . PHP_EOL, $error?->getMessage());
    }
}

Python

from __future__ import annotations

import sys
from typing import Any

from google.api_core.extended_operation import ExtendedOperation
from google.cloud import compute_v1


def wait_for_extended_operation(
    operation: ExtendedOperation, verbose_name: str = "operation", timeout: int = 300
) -> Any:
    """
    Waits for the extended (long-running) operation to complete.

    If the operation is successful, it will return its result.
    If the operation ends with an error, an exception will be raised.
    If there were any warnings during the execution of the operation
    they will be printed to sys.stderr.

    Args:
        operation: a long-running operation you want to wait on.
        verbose_name: (optional) a more verbose name of the operation,
            used only during error and warning reporting.
        timeout: how long (in seconds) to wait for operation to finish.
            If None, wait indefinitely.

    Returns:
        Whatever the operation.result() returns.

    Raises:
        This method will raise the exception received from `operation.exception()`
        or RuntimeError if there is no exception set, but there is an `error_code`
        set for the `operation`.

        In case of an operation taking longer than `timeout` seconds to complete,
        a `concurrent.futures.TimeoutError` will be raised.
    """
    result = operation.result(timeout=timeout)

    if operation.error_code:
        print(
            f"Error during {verbose_name}: [Code: {operation.error_code}]: {operation.error_message}",
            file=sys.stderr,
            flush=True,
        )
        print(f"Operation ID: {operation.name}", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)
        raise operation.exception() or RuntimeError(operation.error_message)

    if operation.warnings:
        print(f"Warnings during {verbose_name}:\n", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)
        for warning in operation.warnings:
            print(f" - {warning.code}: {warning.message}", file=sys.stderr, flush=True)

    return result


def delete_instance(project_id: str, zone: str, machine_name: str) -> None:
    """
    Send an instance deletion request to the Compute Engine API and wait for it to complete.

    Args:
        project_id: project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
        zone: name of the zone you want to use. For example: “us-west3-b”
        machine_name: name of the machine you want to delete.
    """
    instance_client = compute_v1.InstancesClient()

    print(f"Deleting {machine_name} from {zone}...")
    operation = instance_client.delete(
        project=project_id, zone=zone, instance=machine_name
    )
    wait_for_extended_operation(operation, "instance deletion")
    print(f"Instance {machine_name} deleted.")

Ruby


require "google/cloud/compute/v1"

# Sends an instance deletion request to the Compute Engine API and waits for it to complete.
#
# @param [String] project project ID or project number of the Cloud project you want to use.
# @param [String] zone name of the zone you want to use. For example: "us-west3-b"
# @param [String] instance_name name of the instance you want to delete.
def delete_instance project:, zone:, instance_name:
  # Initialize client that will be used to send requests. This client only needs to be created
  # once, and can be reused for multiple requests.
  client = ::Google::Cloud::Compute::V1::Instances::Rest::Client.new

  puts "Deleting #{instance_name} from #{zone}..."
  begin
    # Make the request to delete a VM instance.
    operation = client.delete project: project, zone: zone, instance: instance_name
    # Wait for the delete operation to complete.
    operation = wait_until_done operation: operation

    if operation.error?
      warn "Error during deletion:", operation.error
    else
      compute_operation = operation.operation
      warn "Warning during creation:", compute_operation.warnings unless compute_operation.warnings.empty?
      puts "Instance #{instance_name} deleted."
    end
  rescue ::Google::Cloud::Error => e
    warn "Exception during deletion:", e
  end
end

REST

Use the delete method:

DELETE https://compute.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/example-project/zones/us-central1-f/instances/example-instance

Billing implications

After you delete a VM instance, you are no longer billed for that instance unless any of the following situations apply:

  • If you delete a VM that is hosted on a sole-tenant node, you continue to pay for the sole-tenant node itself instead of the individual VMs hosted on the node.
  • If you have a committed use contract, you continue to pay for the resources you committed to, whether or not you use those resources.
  • If you retain any resources that were attached to the VM instance, you continue to be charged for those resources until you delete them, too. For example, if you delete the VM instance but keep its persistent disk, you continue to be charged for the persistent disk.

For more details on pricing information, see VM instances pricing.

Shutdown period

When you stop or delete an instance, Compute Engine sends the ACPI Power Off signal to the instance and waits a short period of time for your instance to shut down cleanly. If your instance is still running after this grace period, Compute Engine forcefully terminates it even if your shutdown script is still running.

The length of the shutdown period depends on the type of your instance.

  • Normal instances have a shutdown period that usually lasts at least 90 seconds, but could be longer.
  • Preemptible instances have a shutdown period that lasts 30 seconds, which is the same length as the shutdown period that happens during the preemption process.

If you choose to run a shutdown script during this period, your shutdown script must finish running within this time period so that the operating system has time to complete its shutdown and flush buffers to disk.

What's next