DELETE Operations

The ITSM-NG REST API supports deleting items using the DELETE method. Items can be soft-deleted (moved to trash) or permanently purged depending on the itemtype and parameters.

Delete Item(s)

Delete one or more items from ITSM-NG.

Endpoint

DELETE /apirest.php/:itemtype/:id

Headers

Session-Token

string

required

Session token obtained from initSession

App-Token

string

Optional authorization string from API configuration

Content-Type

string

required

Must be application/json

URL Parameters

integer

The unique identifier of the item to delete. Optional if provided in the request body.

Query Parameters

force_purge

boolean

default:false

If the itemtype has a trashbin, set to true to permanently delete (purge) instead of soft delete

history

boolean

default:true

Set to false to disable saving deletion in global history

Request Body (Alternative)

input

object | array

For single item: an object with id fieldFor multiple items: an array of objects, each containing an id field

force_purge

boolean

default:false

Force permanent deletion (can also be set via query parameter)

history

boolean

default:true

Enable/disable history logging (can also be set via query parameter)

The id parameter in the URL takes precedence over the id in the request body.

Response

boolean

true if deletion succeeded, false if failed

message

string

Status message or error description

Returns an array of objects with deletion status for each item.

Response Codes

200 OK - Multiple items deleted
204 No Content - Single item deleted successfully
207 Multi-Status - Bulk operation with some failures
400 Bad Request - Invalid input parameters
401 Unauthorized - Invalid or missing session token
404 Not Found - Item not found

Delete Single Item (URL ID)

Delete a single item by specifying the ID in the URL.

Example Request

curl -X DELETE \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
-H "App-Token: f7g3csp8mgatg5ebc5elnazakw20i9fyev1qopya7" \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/16?force_purge=true'

Example Response

[
  {
    "16": true,
    "message": ""
  }
]

Delete Single Item (Body ID)

Delete a single item by specifying the ID in the request body.

Example Request

curl -X DELETE \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
-H "App-Token: f7g3csp8mgatg5ebc5elnazakw20i9fyev1qopya7" \
-d '{"input": {"id": 11}, "force_purge": true}' \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/'

Example Response

[
  {
    "11": true,
    "message": ""
  }
]

Delete Multiple Items (Bulk)

Delete multiple items in a single request.

Example Request

curl -X DELETE \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
-H "App-Token: f7g3csp8mgatg5ebc5elnazakw20i9fyev1qopya7" \
-d '{"input": [{"id": 16}, {"id": 17}]}' \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/'

Example Response

[
  {
    "16": true,
    "message": ""
  },
  {
    "17": false,
    "message": "Item not found"
  }
]

Bulk deletion returns a 207 Multi-Status response. Check each item’s status individually to identify failures.

Soft Delete vs. Permanent Delete

Soft Delete (Trashbin)

Many itemtypes support soft deletion (moving to trash).

Default Behavior

curl -X DELETE \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/16'

This marks the item as deleted (is_deleted = 1) but keeps it in the database. The item can be restored from the trashbin.

Permanent Delete (Purge)

Force permanent deletion using force_purge=true.

Example Request

curl -X DELETE \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/16?force_purge=true'

This permanently removes the item from the database. This action cannot be undone.

Permanent deletion (force_purge=true) cannot be undone. Use with caution.

Two-Step Deletion

Some items must be soft-deleted before they can be purged.

Step 1: Soft Delete

curl -X DELETE \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/16'

Step 2: Purge

curl -X DELETE \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/16?force_purge=true'

If you try to purge an item that hasn’t been soft-deleted first, you may receive an ERROR_NOT_DELETED error.

Disabling History

By default, all deletions are recorded in GLPI’s history. You can disable this for performance reasons.

Example Request

curl -X DELETE \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/16?force_purge=true&history=false'

Disabling history can improve performance for bulk deletions but removes audit trail capabilities.

Itemtype-Specific Behavior

Items with Trashbin

These itemtypes support soft deletion:

Computer
Monitor
Printer
NetworkEquipment
Peripheral
Phone
Ticket
Problem
Change
User
Group
And most other asset/ITIL types

Items without Trashbin

Some itemtypes are always permanently deleted:

Log entries
Links (relations between items)
Configuration items
Some system tables

For these items, force_purge is ignored as deletion is always permanent.

Cascading Deletions

Deleting certain items triggers cascading effects:

Computer Deletion

Deleting a computer also removes:

Associated devices (processors, memory, etc.)
Network ports
Software installations
Connections to peripherals

User Deletion

Deleting a user affects:

Assigned tickets (reassigned or unassigned)
Group memberships
Authorizations

Entity Deletion

Deleting an entity cascades to:

All items within the entity
Sub-entities (if recursive)

Cascading deletions can affect many related items. Review dependencies before deleting critical items.

Error Handling

Common Errors

ERROR_GLPI_DELETE

error

Unable to delete the item. Check GLPI logs for details.

ERROR_GLPI_PARTIAL_DELETE

error

Some items in bulk operation failed. Check the response array for individual results.

ERROR_ITEM_NOT_FOUND

error

The specified item ID does not exist or has already been deleted.

ERROR_RIGHT_MISSING

error

User lacks permission to delete items of this type.

ERROR_NOT_DELETED

error

You must soft-delete the item before permanently purging it.

Handling Partial Failures

When deleting multiple items, some may succeed while others fail:

[
  {
    "16": true,
    "message": ""
  },
  {
    "17": false,
    "message": "Item not found"
  },
  {
    "18": false,
    "message": "You don't have permission to perform this action."
  }
]

Parse the response array to identify which items were successfully deleted.

Best Practices

Verify Before Purge: Always verify items before using force_purge=true. Permanent deletions cannot be recovered.

Use Soft Delete: Prefer soft deletion (default) over permanent deletion to maintain data integrity and audit trails.

Check Dependencies: Before deleting items with many relationships (users, entities, etc.), review dependencies to avoid unintended cascading effects.

Bulk Deletions: Use bulk deletion for multiple items instead of individual requests to improve performance.

Permission Checks: Ensure users have appropriate delete permissions. Some profiles may only have soft-delete rights, not purge rights.

Restore Capability: Items that are soft-deleted can be restored from the GLPI interface or via API by updating the is_deleted field to 0.

History Management: Keep history enabled (history=true) in production environments for compliance and audit purposes.

Restoring Deleted Items

To restore a soft-deleted item, use the UPDATE endpoint to set is_deleted to false:

curl -X PUT \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
-d '{"input": {"id": 16, "is_deleted": false}}' \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/'

This only works for items that were soft-deleted. Purged items cannot be restored.

Advanced Examples

Delete with Query Parameters

curl -X DELETE \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/16?force_purge=true&history=false'

Delete with Body Parameters

curl -X DELETE \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
-d '{
  "input": {"id": 16},
  "force_purge": true,
  "history": false
}' \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/'

Bulk Delete with Mixed Parameters

curl -X DELETE \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-H "Session-Token: 83af7e620c83a50a18d3eac2f6ed05a3ca0bea62" \
-d '{
  "input": [
    {"id": 16},
    {"id": 17},
    {"id": 18}
  ],
  "force_purge": false,
  "history": true
}' \
'http://path/to/glpi/apirest.php/Computer/'

Getting Started

Session Management

Resources

CRUD Operations

​Delete Item(s)

​Endpoint

​Headers

​URL Parameters

​Query Parameters

​Request Body (Alternative)

​Response

​Response Codes

​Delete Single Item (URL ID)

​Example Request

​Example Response

​Delete Single Item (Body ID)

​Example Request

​Example Response

​Delete Multiple Items (Bulk)

​Example Request

​Example Response

​Soft Delete vs. Permanent Delete

​Soft Delete (Trashbin)

​Default Behavior

​Permanent Delete (Purge)

​Example Request

​Two-Step Deletion

​Step 1: Soft Delete

​Step 2: Purge

​Disabling History

​Example Request

​Itemtype-Specific Behavior

​Items with Trashbin

​Items without Trashbin

​Cascading Deletions

​Computer Deletion

​User Deletion

​Entity Deletion

​Error Handling

​Common Errors

​Handling Partial Failures

​Best Practices

​Restoring Deleted Items

​Advanced Examples

​Delete with Query Parameters

​Delete with Body Parameters

​Bulk Delete with Mixed Parameters

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Delete Item(s)

Endpoint

Headers

URL Parameters

Query Parameters

Request Body (Alternative)

Response

Response Codes

Delete Single Item (URL ID)

Example Request

Example Response

Delete Single Item (Body ID)

Example Request

Example Response

Delete Multiple Items (Bulk)

Example Request

Example Response

Soft Delete vs. Permanent Delete

Soft Delete (Trashbin)

Default Behavior

Permanent Delete (Purge)

Example Request

Two-Step Deletion

Step 1: Soft Delete

Step 2: Purge

Disabling History

Example Request

Itemtype-Specific Behavior

Items with Trashbin

Items without Trashbin

Cascading Deletions

Computer Deletion

User Deletion

Entity Deletion

Error Handling

Common Errors

Handling Partial Failures

Best Practices

Restoring Deleted Items

Advanced Examples

Delete with Query Parameters

Delete with Body Parameters

Bulk Delete with Mixed Parameters