Delete data

You can delete data from a hypertable using a standard DELETE SQL command. If you want to delete old data once it reaches a certain age, you can also drop entire chunks or set up a data retention policy.

To delete data from a table, use the syntax DELETE FROM .... In this example, data is deleted from the table conditions, if the row's temperature or humidity is below a certain level:

DELETE FROM conditions WHERE temperature < 35 OR humidity < 60;

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Important

If you delete a lot of data, run VACUUM or VACUUM FULL to reclaim storage from the deleted or obsolete rows.

Timescale allows you to delete data by age, by dropping chunks from a hypertable. You can do so either manually or by data retention policy.

To learn more, see the data retention section.