---
title: "Delete a Kubernetes cluster"
description: "Delete a TIR Kubernetes cluster with its nodes, volumes, and kubeconfig, and see what happens to billing, committed terms, and attached reserved IPs."
content_type: "how-to"
product: "tir-kubernetes"
platform: "TIR"
url: "/tir/tir-kubernetes/how-to/delete-a-cluster/"
topic: ["monitor-and-delete"]
---

# Delete a Kubernetes cluster

<!-- cspell:ignore kubeconfig kubectl -->

Delete a cluster when you have finished with it, or to clear one that ended at **Failed**. Deleting
removes the control plane, every worker pool and node, the cluster's storage with the volumes on
it, and its kubeconfig. Reserved IPs attached to the cluster go back to your project.

To remove only some capacity and keep the cluster, delete a worker pool instead; see
[Add and delete worker pools](/tir/tir-kubernetes/how-to/manage-worker-pools/).

## Before you begin

- Permission to delete Kubernetes clusters in the project.
- A cluster in any status except **Deleting**. You can delete a **Failed** cluster too.
- Copies of any data you need from the cluster's persistent volumes, which keep data across pod
  restarts but are deleted with the cluster. See
  [Use persistent volumes](/tir/tir-kubernetes/how-to/use-persistent-volumes/).

If any pool is on a committed plan, its whole term was paid upfront, and deleting the cluster before the term ends does not get any of it back.

## Delete the cluster

Deleting a cluster permanently removes its nodes, volumes, and kubeconfig.

1. Open **Delete Cluster** in one of two places:
   - In **Manage Kubernetes Cluster**, open the cluster's **Actions** menu and select **Delete
     Cluster**.
   - On **Kubernetes Cluster Details**, open the menu in the header and select **Delete Cluster**.
2. In **Delete Kubernetes Cluster**, tick the box that reads "I understand and want to delete
   cluster" followed by the cluster's name.
3. Select **Delete**, or **Delete Cluster** if you started from the list.

TIR queues the deletion, and the cluster is **Deleting**. When the deletion
finishes, the cluster leaves the list.

If the request fails, the cluster stays as it was. Try again. If it keeps failing, contact support with the cluster ID.

## What happens to billing

- Hourly worker pools stop being billed at the moment you ask to delete the cluster.
- The control plane is billed until the cluster is deleted, including while it shows **Failed** or
  **Deleting**. A **Failed** cluster keeps billing its control plane until you delete it, so delete it
  promptly.
- A committed pool's term was charged upfront and keeps running after the cluster is deleted. The
  remaining days are not refunded.

For how each pool is billed, see
[Billing options for TIR Kubernetes](/tir/tir-kubernetes/concepts/billing-options/).

## What stays after you delete

Reserved IPs attached to the cluster's LB IP pool go back to the project's reserved IPs. They stay
reserved, and keep their monthly charge, until you delete them on the **Reserve IP** page; see
[Delete a reserved IP](/tir/tir-reserved-ip/how-to/delete-a-reserved-ip/).

The kubeconfig file you downloaded stops working, because its cluster is gone. Remove the cluster's
context from your kubeconfig, or delete the file, so that `kubectl` stops pointing at it:

```bash
kubectl config get-contexts
kubectl config delete-context <context-name>
```

Here `<context-name>` is the cluster's context from the first command's list.

To build a replacement, see
[Create a Kubernetes cluster](/tir/tir-kubernetes/how-to/create-a-cluster/). For a cluster that
ended at **Failed**, check what to change first in
[Troubleshooting TIR Kubernetes](/tir/tir-kubernetes/troubleshooting/tir-kubernetes/#the-cluster-shows-failed).