Destroying a guest erases it from Proxmox VE for good: its configuration, every disk it owns and every snapshot. Backups of the guest are kept. Because there is no way back, Aprox asks you to stop the guest first and to type its VMID before the button works. Destroying guests is part of Aprox Pro.

Where to find it

  • Sidebar › guest › Summary › Actions › Destroy (shown in red).
  • Or long-press the guest in the sidebar (right-click on a Mac) › Destroy….

On the free plan the button carries a lock (menus show "(Pro)"), and tapping it opens an overview of Aprox Pro.

Destroy a guest

  1. Shut the guest down. A running guest cannot be destroyed; the sheet says Stop the guest before destroying it.
  2. Open Destroy.
  3. Read the warning: "Every disk, every snapshot and the configuration are erased. Backups taken of this guest are kept. This cannot be undone."
  4. Under Options, decide:
    • Purge from job configurations: "Also removes the guest from backup jobs, replication and HA rules that name it." With this off, "Backup jobs, replication and HA rules keep referring to a VMID that no longer exists."
    • Destroy unreferenced disks: also deletes disks on enabled storages that carry this guest's VMID in their name but are not listed in its configuration, for example leftovers from an earlier guest with the same ID.
  5. Under Confirmation, type the guest's VMID into Confirm VMID, for example 102 for windows-lab. "Type the guest's VMID to enable the button."
  6. Tap Destroy. Aprox shows Destroying….

Warning

Destroying cannot be undone. Make sure you have a current backup if there is any chance you need the guest again. See Back up now.

Follow the destroy

  • iPhone: a Live Activity shows "Destroying …" until it ends. See Live Activities.
  • Android: a progress notification.
  • Everywhere: the task in Cluster Tasks.

When it finishes, the guest disappears from the sidebar.

Requirements on the server

  • Privilege: typically VM.Allocate on the guest.
  • Protection must be off. A guest with protection turned on cannot be destroyed. For containers you can switch it off in Hardware › General › Protection; for virtual machines, in the Proxmox web UI under the VM › Options › Protection.
  • A template with linked clones cannot be destroyed while the clones exist.

Good to know

  • Backups stay. Backups on your storages and on a Proxmox Backup Server are not touched. You can restore the guest from them later, even under the same VMID.
  • Free the VMID. After destroying, the VMID is free again for new guests.