Deleting a cluster

This page explains how to delete a Google Kubernetes Engine cluster.

Overview

When you delete a cluster, the following resources are deleted:

The master resources
All of the node instances in the cluster
Any Pods that are running on those instances
Any firewalls and routes created by GKE at the time of cluster creation
Data stored in host hostPath and emptyDir volumes

The following resources are not deleted:

External load balancers created by the cluster
Persistent disk volumes

Before you begin

Before you start, make sure you have performed the following tasks:

Ensure that you have enabled the Google Kubernetes Engine API.

Enable Google Kubernetes Engine API

Ensure that you have installed the Cloud SDK.

Set up default gcloud settings using one of the following methods:

Using gcloud init, if you want to be walked through setting defaults.
Using gcloud config, to individually set your project ID, zone, and region.

Using gcloud init

Run gcloud init and follow the directions:
```
gcloud init
```
If you are using SSH on a remote server, use the --console-only flag to prevent the command from launching a browser:
```
gcloud init --console-only
```
Follow the instructions to authorize gcloud to use your Google Cloud account.
Create a new configuration or select an existing one.
Choose a Google Cloud project.
Choose a default Compute Engine zone.

Note: You can override these default settings in gcloud commands using the --project, --zone, and --region flags.

Using gcloud config

Set your default project ID:
```
gcloud config set project [PROJECT_ID]
```
If you are working with zonal clusters, set your default compute zone:
```
gcloud config set compute/zone [COMPUTE_ZONE]
```
If you are working with regional clusters, set your default compute region:
```
gcloud config set compute/region [COMPUTE_REGION]
```
Update gcloud to the latest version:
```
gcloud components update
```

Note: You can override these default settings in gcloud commands using the --project, --zone, and --region flags.

Deleting a cluster

gcloud

To delete a cluster using the gcloud command-line tool, run the following command:

gcloud container clusters delete [CLUSTER_NAME]

For more information, refer to the gcloud container clusters delete documentation.

Console

To delete a cluster using the Cloud Console, perform the following steps:

Visit the Google Kubernetes Engine menu in Cloud Console.

Visit the Google Kubernetes Engine menu
Click the Delete icon (it looks like a trash can) next to the cluster you want to delete.
When prompted to confirm, click Delete again.

To delete multiple clusters at once, select them and click the Delete button near the top of the screen. When prompted to confirm, click Delete again.

What's next

Learn more about clusters.