---
page_title: terraform workspace delete command reference
description: The terraform workspace delete command deletes the specified workspace.
---

# `terraform workspace delete` command

The `terraform workspace delete` command deletes the specified workspace.

## Usage

Usage: `terraform workspace delete [OPTIONS] NAME [DIR]`

This command will delete the specified workspace.

To delete a workspace, it must already exist, it must not be tracking resources,
and it must not be your current workspace. If the workspace is tracking resources,
Terraform will not allow you to delete it unless the `-force` flag is specified.

Additionally, different [backends](/terraform/language/backend#backend-types) may implement other
restrictions on whether a workspace is considered safe to delete without the `-force` flag, such as whether the workspace is locked.

If you delete a workspace which is tracking resources (via `-force`), then resources
may become "dangling". These are resources that physically exist but that
Terraform can no longer manage. This is sometimes preferred: you may want
Terraform to stop managing resources, so they can be managed some other way.
Most of the time, however, this is not intended and so Terraform protects you
from getting into this situation.

The command-line flags are all optional. The only supported flags are:

* `-force` - Delete the workspace even if it is tracking resources. After deletion, Terraform can no longer track or manage the workspace's infrastructure. Defaults to false.
* `-lock=false` - Don't hold a state lock during the operation. This is
  dangerous if others might concurrently run commands against the same
  workspace.
* `-lock-timeout=DURATION` - Duration to retry a state lock. Default 0s.

## Example

```
$ terraform workspace delete example
Deleted workspace "example".
```
