Delete a Looker (Google Cloud core) instance

To delete a Looker (Google Cloud core) instance, first you move it to the trash, where it can't be used. The instance will remain in the trash for seven days. While the instance is in the trash, you can restore it to a working instance. After seven days, Looker (Google Cloud core) permanently deletes the instance and it can't be restored.

As soon as you move an instance to the trash, the quota for that instance is released and you can use the quota to create another instance. When you restore an instance from the trash, there must be available quota for that instance. If not, the restore will fail.

When an instance is in the trash, it won't receive updates. If that instance is restored, it will be updated during its next maintenance window.

Required role

To get the permissions that you need to delete a Looker (Google Cloud core) instance, ask your administrator to grant you the Looker Admin (roles/looker.admin) IAM role on the project in which the instance was created. For more information about granting roles, see Manage access to projects, folders, and organizations.

You might also be able to get the required permissions through custom roles or other predefined roles.

Delete a Looker (Google Cloud core) instance

To delete a Looker (Google Cloud core) instance, you begin by moving it to the trash. Select one of the following options to move the instance to the trash:

console

  1. On the Instances page, click the three-dot menu next to the instance.
  2. Select Move to Trash. (If the instance is being modified, you won't be able to move it to the trash.)
  3. In the dialog that appears, confirm that you want to delete your instance by selecting Move to Trash again. To cancel the deletion, select Cancel.

You can also delete an instance from its configuration page by clicking Move to Trash in the instance configuration page icon bar.

gcloud

Use the gcloud looker instances delete command to move an instance to the trash.

gcloud looker instances delete INSTANCE_NAME --region=REGION --async

Replace the following:

  • INSTANCE_NAME: the name of the Looker (Google Cloud core) instance
  • REGION: the region the instance was created in

When you move an instance to the trash, it is retained in the trash for seven days. During those seven days, you may restore the instance if you want to use it again. Otherwise, it is automatically deleted after 7 days.

View instances that are in the trash

You can view instances that have been moved to the trash in the past seven days. To view deleted instances, complete the following steps:

console

  1. Navigate to the Instances page for your Looker (Google Cloud core) instances.
  2. Click the Trashed instances button.

  3. A table of recently deleted instances appears with the following information:

    • Status: The status of the instance. Status can be one of the following:

      • Updating: If an instance is in the process of being moved to the trash or restored, it will show an Updating status.
      • Stopped: This is the status of an instance that has been successfully moved to the trash.

      If moving to the trash or restoring an instance fails, the instance reverts back to the status it had previously.

    • Name: Name of the deleted instance.

    • Region: Region of the deleted instance.

    • Moved to Trash On: The date that the instance was deleted.

    • Auto-deletes in: The number of days before the instance will be permanently deleted.

    • Actions menu: Click the menu to open the restore option.

gcloud

You can use the list command to view Looker (Google Cloud core) instances, including instances that have been moved to the trash within the past seven days.

gcloud looker instances list

Restore instances from the trash

Within seven days of moving an instance to the trash, you can restore it to a working instance. Looker (Google Cloud core) will restore all data from the instance, including settings, users, and connections. You must have enough quota for the instance to restore it. Select one of the following options to restore an instance:

console

  1. Navigate to the Instances page for your Looker (Google Cloud core) instances.
  2. Click the Trashed instances button.
  3. Find the instance that you want to restore, and click the three-dot menu in that instance's row.
  4. Click Restore.
  5. In the dialog that appears, select Restore again to restore the instance. Select Cancel to cancel the restoration.

gcloud

You can use the undelete command to view Looker (Google Cloud core) instances.

gcloud looker undelete INSTANCE_NAME --region=REGION --async

Replace the following:

  • INSTANCE_NAME: the name of the Looker (Google Cloud core) instance
  • REGION: the region the instance was created in

After you select to restore an instance, the status for the instance will show as updating. Once the instance is fully restored, it will no longer appear in the trash and will appear on the Instances page again.

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