CLI Reference

c8volt delete process-instance

Delete process instances by key or filters

Synopsis

Delete process instances by key or search filters, optionally cancelling first.

By default c8volt validates the complete affected tree before submitting any delete request, prompts before deletion, and waits until deletion is observed. If any affected process instance is not in a final state, the whole delete batch is refused before mutation. Use –force to cancel the affected scope first, then delete it.

Tenant contract: –tenant scopes search-derived candidate discovery where supported. Explicit –key and stdin keys are backend-authorized admin input; existing dry-run, confirmation, force, and wait safety checks still apply.

When –bpmn-process-id is set, c8volt validates that the process definition is visible before searching process instances. A missing selector fails with a local diagnostic before paging, dry-run planning, confirmation, cancellation, or deletion; –json, –automation, and non-TTY runs never prompt for recovery output. If the selector is visible but no matching instances are found, no deletion request is submitted.

Use –dry-run to preview selected, in-scope, final-state, non-final, and partial-scope instances without deleting or cancelling.

Use –auto-confirm for unattended destructive runs.

c8volt delete process-instance [flags]

Examples 

  ./c8volt delete pi --key <process-instance-key> --force
  ./c8volt delete pi --key <process-instance-key> --dry-run
  ./c8volt delete pi --state terminated --batch-size 250 --limit 5 --dry-run
  ./c8volt delete pi --state terminated --end-date-after 2026-05-01 --end-date-before 2026-05-31 --limit 5 --dry-run
  ./c8volt delete pi --bpmn-process-id <bpmn-process-id> --state terminated --batch-size 250 --limit 5 --dry-run
  ./c8volt expect pi --key <process-instance-key> --state absent

Options 

  -n, --batch-size int32            number of process instances to process per page (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                       force cancellation of the process instance(s), prior to deletion
  -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 process across all pages
      --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 when --batch-size > 1 (default: min(batch-size, 2*GOMAXPROCS, 32))

Options inherited from parent commands 

  -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 keys/IDs remain backend-authorized
      --timeout duration   HTTP request timeout (default 30s)
  -v, --verbose            show additional output

SEE ALSO