c8volt delete process-instance
Delete process instances by key or filters
Synopsis
Delete process instances by key or search filters.
c8volt validates the affected tree before any deletion, asks for confirmation, and waits until deletion is observed. Nonterminal instances block deletion unless –force is set.
–force allows cancellation when deletion encounters a nonterminal instance. Deletion traverses children first and retries after cancellation; the entire scope is not canceled before any deletion.
–tenant limits search-derived selection. An empty tenant or –all-tenants leaves discovery unfiltered across accessible tenants. Explicit –key and stdin keys use backend authorization without tenant filtering.
A –bpmn-process-id selector must match a visible process definition before instance discovery. An empty selection completes without confirmation or mutation.
Search mode plans all selected pages before one confirmation and deletion. –batch-size controls each discovery request; –limit caps the selected scope across all pages. –workers, –fail-fast, and –no-worker-limit control planning and deletion work.
Use –verbose to explain cancellation prerequisites, root escalation, accepted cancellation, confirmation waits, and deletion resumption. Use –debug for per-check state observations and HTTP diagnostics; it remains independent of –verbose. A confirmation timeout reports accepted cancellation as submitted but unconfirmed and does not claim that deletion resumed.
Use –dry-run to preview the affected family without deleting or cancelling. Use –auto-confirm for unattended deletion.
c8volt delete process-instance [flags]
Examples
./c8volt delete process-instance --key <process-instance-key> --force
./c8volt delete process-instance --key <process-instance-key> --dry-run
./c8volt --tenant tenant-a delete process-instance --key <process-instance-key> --dry-run
./c8volt --tenant tenant-a delete process-instance --state terminated --limit 5 --dry-run
./c8volt --tenant "" delete process-instance --state terminated --limit 5 --dry-run
./c8volt delete process-instance --state terminated --batch-size 250 --limit 5 --dry-run
./c8volt delete process-instance --state terminated --json --dry-run
./c8volt delete process-instance --state terminated --keys-only
./c8volt delete process-instance --state terminated --end-date-after 2026-05-01 --end-date-before 2026-05-31 --limit 5 --dry-run
./c8volt delete process-instance --bpmn-process-id <bpmn-process-id> --state terminated --batch-size 250 --limit 5 --dry-run
./c8volt --verbose delete process-instance --state terminated --limit 25 --auto-confirm
./c8volt --verbose --debug delete process-instance --key <process-instance-key> --force
./c8volt expect process-instance --key <process-instance-key> --state absent
Options
-n, --batch-size int32 number of process instances to inspect per discovery page; does not cap total frozen scope (max limit 1000 enforced by server) (default 1000)
-b, --bpmn-process-id string BPMN process ID to filter process instances
--dry-run preview delete scope without submitting deletion or cancel-before-delete requests
--end-date-after string only include process instances with end date >= YYYY-MM-DD
--end-date-before string only include process instances with end date <= YYYY-MM-DD
--end-date-newer-days int only include process instances with end date N days old or newer (0 means today) (default -1)
--end-date-older-days int only include process instances with end date N days old or older (default -1)
--fail-fast stop scheduling new instances after the first error
--force allow cancellation when deletion encounters nonterminal process instances
-h, --help help for process-instance
-k, --key strings process instance key(s) to delete; repeat or combine with stdin '-'
-l, --limit int32 maximum number of matching process instances to freeze for deletion across all pages; omit to continue through all matches
--no-state-check skip checking the current state of the process instance before deleting it
--no-wait return after deletion is accepted
--no-worker-limit use all queued jobs as workers when --workers is unset
--pd-version int32 process definition version
--pd-version-tag string process definition version tag
--start-date-after string only include process instances with start date >= YYYY-MM-DD
--start-date-before string only include process instances with start date <= YYYY-MM-DD
--start-date-newer-days int only include process instances N days old or newer (0 means today) (default -1)
--start-date-older-days int only include process instances N days old or older (default -1)
-s, --state string state to filter process instances: all, active, completed, canceled, terminated (default "all")
-w, --workers int maximum concurrent workers for queued work; mutation work uses root trees (default: min(queued work, 2*GOMAXPROCS, 32)); independent of discovery page size
Options inherited from parent commands
--all-tenants clear configured tenant filtering and search all tenants visible to the authenticated user; mutually exclusive with --tenant
-y, --auto-confirm auto-confirm prompts for non-interactive use
--automation enable non-interactive mode for commands that explicitly support it
--config string path to config file
--debug enable debug logging
-j, --json output as JSON (where applicable)
--keys-only output keys only (where applicable)
--log-level string log level (debug, info, warn, error) (default "info")
--no-indicator disable transient terminal activity indicators
--profile string config active profile name to use (e.g. dev, prod)
-q, --quiet suppress output except errors
--tenant string tenant ID for discovery/search, selection, create, deploy, and run flows; explicit empty values can clear configured discovery filters, and explicit keys/IDs remain backend-authorized
--timeout duration HTTP request timeout (default 30s)
-v, --verbose show additional output
SEE ALSO
- c8volt delete - Delete process instances or definitions