Skip to main content
Remove one or more services from the cluster. This stops and removes all containers of the specified service(s) across all machines.

​
Usage

uc rm SERVICE [SERVICE...]
Aliases: uc remove, uc delete, uc service rm, uc service remove, uc service delete

​
Arguments

​
SERVICE
string[]
required
Names or IDs of services to remove. Can specify multiple services.

​
Examples

​
Remove a service

uc rm web

​
Remove multiple services

uc rm web api worker

​
What Gets Removed

When you remove a service:
  • Containers - All service containers are stopped and removed
  • Service configuration - Service metadata is removed
  • Anonymous volumes - Automatically created volumes from Dockerfile VOLUME directives

​
What’s Preserved

These are NOT removed:
  • Named volumes - Must be removed separately with uc volume rm
  • Images - Container images remain on machines
  • Networks - Cluster network configuration is unchanged

​
Output

Removing service web
✓ Removed 3 containers

​
Volumes

​
Named Volumes

Named volumes used by the service are preserved: 
uc rm db
# postgres-data volume still exists
Remove volumes separately: 
uc volume rm postgres-data

​
Anonymous Volumes

Anonymous volumes (created automatically from VOLUME directives in Dockerfiles) are removed with their containers: 
# In Dockerfile
VOLUME /tmp
This anonymous volume is removed with the container.

​
Removing vs Stopping

  • uc rm SERVICE - Permanently removes the service and containers
  • uc stop SERVICE - Temporarily stops containers, preserves everything
Use uc stop if you might want to start the service again: 
uc stop web
# Later...
uc start web
Use uc rm when you’re done with the service: 
uc rm web
# Service is completely gone

​
Redeploying After Removal

To redeploy a removed service: 
uc rm web
uc deploy  # or uc run
This creates fresh containers with the configuration from your Compose file or run command.

​
Use Cases

​
Clean Up Old Services

Remove services you no longer need: 
uc rm old-api legacy-worker

​
Redeploy from Scratch

Remove and redeploy to ensure clean state: 
uc rm web
uc deploy

​
Free Up Resources

Remove services to free up CPU and memory: 
uc rm dev-api staging-db test-worker

​
Important Notes

​
Data Loss Warning

Removing a service deletes containers and their data. Make sure important data is in volumes: 
# Safe - data in named volume
uc run postgres:16 -v postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
uc rm postgres  # Container gone, but postgres-data volume remains

# Unsafe - data in container
uc run postgres:16  # No volume mount
uc rm postgres  # Container AND data gone

​
Cannot Undo

Once removed, you cannot bring the service back with uc start. You must redeploy: 
uc rm web
uc start web  # Error: service not found
uc deploy     # Must redeploy

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us