> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://cloudinary.com/documentation/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Delete assets with the Node.js SDK (video tutorial)

[githublink]: https://github.com/cloudinary-devs/delete-assets-node

## Overview

In this tutorial, you'll learn about the different ways to delete your resources from Cloudinary, including a deep dive into the Node.js SDK methods.

To follow along with the tutorial, clone the [delete-assets-node GitHub repo](https://github.com/cloudinary-devs/delete-assets-node) and see the instructions in the [README](https://github.com/cloudinary-devs/delete-assets-node/blob/main/README.md).

## Video tutorial

  This video is brought to you by Cloudinary's video player - embed your own!Use the controls to set the playback speed, navigate to chapters of interest and select subtitles in your preferred language.

> **TIP**: :title=View the code

You can find the code from this tutorial in [GitHub][githublink].
## Tutorial contents
This tutorial presents the following topics. Click a timestamp to jump to that part of the video.
### Delete assets using the Console
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=0 :sec=00 :player=cld} | There are many ways to delete assets from Cloudinary.  In the [Cloudinary Console](https://console.cloudinary.com/console), you can delete individual or multiple assets from your [Media Library](https://console.cloudinary.com/console/media_library/search), or, in the Settings, you can bulk delete many assets based on various criteria.

### Delete assets using the Node.js SDK
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=0 :sec=56 :player=cld} | As deleting assets is a backend operation, you need to set your Cloudinary API environment variable, which you can copy from the **Dashboard** page in the [Cloudinary Console](https://console.cloudinary.com/console). Paste it into a **.env** file, but don't submit this to version control as it contains your API secret, which should never be exposed.|
> **NOTE**:
>
> You can no longer access your full credentials directly from the Dashboard. Find your **Cloud name** on the Dashboard, and all credentials, including **API Key**, **API Secret**, and **API environment variable**, on the [API Keys](https://console.cloudinary.com/app/settings/api-keys) page of the Cloudinary Console Settings.
### Delete one asset at a time
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=1 :sec=17 :player=cld} | To delete one asset at a time, you can use the [destroy method of the upload API](image_upload_api_reference#destroy). Pass in the public ID of the asset to delete. If you don't pass in any other parameters, it is assumed that the asset is an image of [delivery type](image_transformations#delivery_types) 'upload'.|

```nodejs
cloudinary.uploader
  .destroy('docs/vegetables')
  .then(result => console.log(result));
```

### Delete an authenticated video
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=2 :sec=06 :player=cld} | If the asset you want to delete is not an image or of delivery type 'upload', you need to include the `resource_type` and/or `type` parameters. For example, to delete an authenticated video:|

```nodejs
cloudinary.uploader
    .destroy('docs/stream', {resource_type: 'video', type: 'authenticated'})
    .then(result => console.log(result));
```

### Invalidate the cache
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=2 :sec=25 :player=cld} | Even if you delete assets from your product environment they may still be accessible if they have been delivered and are cached on the CDN. To invalidate the cache, specify `invalidate: true`.|

```nodejs
cloudinary.uploader
    .destroy('docs/lemonade', {resource_type: 'video', invalidate: true, type: 'authenticated'})
    .then(result => console.log(result));
```

### Delete multiple assets at a time
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=2 :sec=52 :player=cld} | To delete more than one asset at a time, use one of the [delete resources methods of the admin API](admin_api#delete_resources). Use the `delete_resources` method if you know the public IDs of the assets you want to delete.|

```nodejs
cloudinary.api
    .delete_resources(['docs/strawberries', 'docs/owl'])
    .then(result=>console.log(result));
```

### Delete images by public ID prefix
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=3 :sec=16 :player=cld} | If all the assets you want to delete have public IDs that follow a convention (start with the same prefix), you can use the `delete_resources_by_prefix` method. For example, to delete all images of type 'upload' that have a public ID starting `docs/`:|

```nodejs
cloudinary.api
    .delete_resources_by_prefix('docs/')
    .then(result=>console.log(result));
```

### Delete authenticated videos by public ID prefix
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=3 :sec=38 :player=cld} | To delete authenticated videos by public ID prefix, set the `resource_type` to `video` and `type` to `authenticated` as [before](#delete_an_authenticated_video): |

```nodejs
cloudinary.api
    .delete_resources_by_prefix('docs/', {resource_type: 'video', type: 'authenticated'})
    .then(result=>console.log(result)); 
```

### Delete authenticated images by public ID prefix
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=3 :sec=53 :player=cld} | To delete authenticated images by public ID prefix, set the `type` to `authenticated`.  There's no need to set `resource_type` to `image` as that's the default.|

```nodejs
cloudinary.api
    .delete_resources_by_prefix('docs/', {type: 'authenticated'})
    .then(result=>console.log(result)); 
```

### Delete all assets of a particular type
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=4 :sec=10 :player=cld} | Use the `delete_all_resources` method to delete all assets matching a particular [asset type](upload_parameters#asset_types) and [delivery type](image_transformations#delivery_types). For example, to delete all Facebook images: |

```nodejs
cloudinary.api
    .delete_all_resources({type: 'facebook'})
    .then(result=>console.log(result)); 
```

### Delete all assets with the same tag
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=4 :sec=35 :player=cld} | Use the `delete_resources_by_tag` method to delete all assets that have the specified tag. By default, all images are deleted regardless of their delivery type. To delete videos, set the `resource_type` to `video` (as in the [next example](#delete_only_derived_versions_of_assets)).|

```nodejs
cloudinary.api
    .delete_resources_by_tag('mine')
    .then(result=>console.log(result));
```

### Delete only derived versions of assets
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=5 :sec=09 :player=cld} | You can delete only the derived versions of assets and keep the original intact, by setting the `keep_original` parameter to true. |

```nodejs
cloudinary.api
    .delete_resources_by_tag('mine', {resource_type: 'video', keep_original: true})
    .then(result=>console.log(result));
```

### Delete specific derived versions of assets
{table:class=tutorial-bullets}|  |  
| --- | --- |
|{videotime:id=media :min=5 :sec=35 :player=cld} | The [resource](admin_api#get_details_of_a_single_resource_by_public_id) method returns details of derived versions of assets. You can use the IDs returned for each of the derived versions in the `delete_derived_resources` method to delete only those versions.|

```nodejs
cloudinary.api
    .resource('docs/stream', {resource_type: 'video'})
    .then(result=>console.log(result));

cloudinary.api
    .delete_derived_resources(['76b6ee3a81e20e110ab81d368d18ff53', '349bfe6c9813708c5398f5cadf391a7d'])
    .then(result=>console.log(result));
```

## Keep learning

> **READING**:
>
> * Take our free self-paced [Introduction for Node.js Developers](https://training.cloudinary.com/courses/introduction-for-api-users-developers) course in the Cloudinary Academy.

> * Learn more about [deleting assets](delete_assets).

> * Find out how to [restore deleted assets](backups_and_version_management#restoring_deleted_assets_from_backup) from backup.

> * Discover what else you can do with the Cloudinary [Node.js SDK](node_integration).

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    List Images in Next.js
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