Delete

Remove records using the DELETE operation.

Basic Syntax

:DELETE Entity WHERE condition
:DELETE FROM Entity WHERE condition

Both forms are valid. The FROM keyword is optional.

Delete Single Record

:DELETE User WHERE id = 1

Database	Output
PostgreSQL	`DELETE FROM users WHERE id = 1`
MySQL	`DELETE FROM users WHERE id = 1`
MongoDB	`db.users.deleteOne({ _id: 1 })`
Redis	`DEL users:1`

Delete with Conditions

:DELETE User WHERE status = "inactive" AND last_login < "2023-01-01"

Database	Output
PostgreSQL	`DELETE FROM users WHERE status = 'inactive' AND last_login < '2023-01-01'`
MongoDB	`db.users.deleteMany({ status: 'inactive', last_login: { $lt: '2023-01-01' } })`

Delete with IN

:DELETE User WHERE id IN (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Database	Output
PostgreSQL	`DELETE FROM users WHERE id IN (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)`
MongoDB	`db.users.deleteMany({ _id: { $in: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] } })`

Delete with LIKE

:DELETE Log WHERE message LIKE "%debug%"

Database	Output
PostgreSQL	`DELETE FROM logs WHERE message LIKE '%debug%'`
MongoDB	`db.logs.deleteMany({ message: { $regex: 'debug' } })`

Delete with NULL Check

:DELETE User WHERE email IS NULL

Database	Output
PostgreSQL	`DELETE FROM users WHERE email IS NULL`
MongoDB	`db.users.deleteMany({ email: null })`

Delete with BETWEEN

:DELETE Log WHERE created_at BETWEEN "2023-01-01" AND "2023-06-30"

Database	Output
PostgreSQL	`DELETE FROM logs WHERE created_at BETWEEN '2023-01-01' AND '2023-06-30'`

Complete Examples

Remove Expired Sessions

:DELETE Session WHERE expires_at < "2024-01-15T00:00:00Z"

Clean Up Old Logs

:DELETE Log WHERE created_at < "2023-01-01" AND level = "debug"

Remove Unverified Users

:DELETE User WHERE verified = false AND created_at < "2023-12-01"

Cancel Abandoned Orders

:DELETE Order WHERE status = "pending" AND created_at < "2024-01-01"

Remove Test Data

:DELETE User WHERE email LIKE "%@test.com"

Soft Delete Alternative

Instead of deleting, consider soft delete:

-- Soft delete (recommended)
:UPDATE User SET deleted_at:"2024-01-15T10:30:00Z", active:false WHERE id = 1

-- Hard delete (permanent)
:DELETE User WHERE id = 1

Truncate

Remove all records from a table. Both syntaxes work:

:TRUNCATE Log
:TRUNCATE TABLE Log

Database	Output
PostgreSQL	`TRUNCATE TABLE logs`
MySQL	`TRUNCATE TABLE logs`
MongoDB	`db.logs.deleteMany({})`

Warning: TRUNCATE removes ALL records and cannot be rolled back in most databases.

Warning

Always include a WHERE clause to avoid deleting all records accidentally.

-- DANGEROUS: Deletes ALL users
:DELETE User

-- SAFE: Deletes specific user
:DELETE User WHERE id = 1

Getting Started

Queries

Mutations

Schema

Control

Reference

Databases

Integration

Basic Syntax

Delete Single Record

Delete with Conditions

Delete with IN

Delete with LIKE

Delete with NULL Check

Delete with BETWEEN

Complete Examples

Remove Expired Sessions

Clean Up Old Logs

Remove Unverified Users

Cancel Abandoned Orders

Remove Test Data

Soft Delete Alternative

Truncate

Warning

Next Steps

Create Tables

Transactions

​Basic Syntax

​Delete Single Record

​Delete with Conditions

​Delete with IN

​Delete with LIKE

​Delete with NULL Check

​Delete with BETWEEN

​Complete Examples

​Remove Expired Sessions

​Clean Up Old Logs

​Remove Unverified Users

​Cancel Abandoned Orders

​Remove Test Data

​Soft Delete Alternative

​Truncate

​Warning

​Next Steps

Create Tables

Transactions

Basic Syntax

Delete Single Record

Delete with Conditions

Delete with IN

Delete with LIKE

Delete with NULL Check

Delete with BETWEEN

Complete Examples

Remove Expired Sessions

Clean Up Old Logs

Remove Unverified Users

Cancel Abandoned Orders

Remove Test Data

Soft Delete Alternative

Truncate

Warning

Next Steps