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

# Danger zone: delete a workspace

> Delete a whole workspace for good. What is destroyed, what survives, who is allowed to do it, and the confirmation you must type to go through with it.

The **Danger zone** holds one action: deleting the entire workspace. It cannot
be undone. Find it at **Settings → Danger zone**.

<Warning>
  Deleting a workspace destroys its clients, projects, tasks, tracked time,
  timesheets, invoices, payments, expenses, rates, reports and settings. Every
  person in the workspace loses access at once. There is no restore, no Trash, and
  no retention window.
</Warning>

## Who can do it

Only the **Owner**.

The capability is `workspace.delete`, and it is owner-exclusive. It is never
offered as a checkbox when building a custom role, and the server rejects it on
any role that is not the owner role.

That closes an obvious escalation path: an Admin cannot mint an "admin-like"
role that can delete the workspace. Owner and Admin are otherwise identical –
`workspace.delete` is the single difference between them.

If you are not the Owner, the Danger zone item does not appear in the settings
menu, and the screen refuses you if you reach it directly.

## What is destroyed

Everything that belongs to the workspace:

* Clients, projects, sections and tasks, with their comments and attachments
* Every time entry, timer and timesheet
* Timecards and clocked sessions
* Invoices, payments and expenses
* Budgets, billable rates and cost rates
* Saved reports, scheduled reports and saved views
* Work schedules, leave policies, holidays and leave balances
* Planned blocks and calendar connections
* Tags, groups, custom roles and expense categories
* Webhook endpoints and their delivery history
* Every membership and every outstanding invitation

Removal runs in batches, so a large workspace finishes clearing shortly after
you confirm.

## What survives

Two things, on purpose:

| What                                | Why                                                                            |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| A record that the deletion happened | The deletion is itself auditable. Erasing that record would erase the evidence |
| Billing and payment records         | A financial record with its own retention requirement                          |

Neither is reachable from the product once the workspace is gone.

## What happens to everyone else

Every member, contractor and client-portal contact loses access the moment it
completes.

They are not left guessing. Anyone who tries to open the workspace is told it
was deleted, rather than being shown a generic permission error. Someone who
belongs to other workspaces carries on in those as normal.

<Note>
  Deleting the workspace does **not** delete anyone's account. People keep their
  sign-in and any other workspaces they belong to. To close your own account, see
  [Delete your account](/account/delete-your-account).
</Note>

## How to delete a workspace

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Danger zone">
    Go to **Settings**, then **Delete workspace** at the bottom of the menu. It
    only appears for the Owner.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the card">
    **Delete this workspace** states plainly that it permanently removes the
    workspace, its members and its invites, and cannot be undone.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Delete workspace">
    A confirmation window opens, headed with the workspace name – for example
    "Delete Northwind Studio?".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Type the workspace name">
    The name is shown ready to copy, with a copy button beside it. Type or paste
    it into the box. The **Delete workspace** button stays disabled until it
    matches exactly.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm">
    Click **Delete workspace**. You are taken to your workspace list, with a
    note confirming which workspace was deleted.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Nothing happens until the typed name matches. Close the window, or click
  **Cancel**, and the workspace is untouched.
</Tip>

## Before you delete

Once it is gone, nothing can bring it back. Work through this first.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Export your data">
    Download a copy of the workspace while you still can. See
    [Export your data](/settings/export-your-data).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Settle your invoices">
    Send anything unsent, and record any payment you have received. Invoice
    history goes with the workspace.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Cancel the subscription">
    A paid workspace should be cancelled from
    [Plan & billing](/billing/cancel-or-downgrade) so you are not billed again.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tell your team">
    Nobody is warned in advance. Give people time to save anything they need.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Alternatives worth considering

Deleting is rarely the only option.

| If you want to                        | Do this instead                                                                          |
| ------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Stop paying                           | [Cancel or downgrade](/billing/cancel-or-downgrade). A Free workspace keeps all its data |
| Put finished work away                | [Archive](/settings/archive) the clients and projects                                    |
| Remove one person                     | [Remove a member](/team/remove-a-member)                                                 |
| Leave, but keep the workspace running | [Transfer ownership, then leave](/account/leave-a-workspace)                             |
| Hide an area you do not use           | Switch the app off in [Apps](/settings/apps)                                             |

<Note>
  Dropping to Free never destroys data. A Free workspace keeps every client,
  project, hour and invoice it already has. Deleting is only for when the
  workspace should stop existing.
</Note>

## Example

Northwind Studio runs a second workspace, "Northwind Sandbox", used for a
training session that is now over.

Maya Ellis is its Owner. She exports it first, then opens
**Settings → Danger zone** in that workspace. She clicks **Delete workspace**,
copies "Northwind Sandbox" from the confirmation window, pastes it in, and
confirms.

She lands back on her workspace list with a note that Northwind Sandbox was
deleted. Northwind Studio itself is untouched – the two workspaces share
nothing.

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can an Admin delete the workspace?">
    No. `workspace.delete` belongs to the Owner alone and cannot be granted to
    anyone else, including through a custom role.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I undo it?">
    No. There is no Trash for a workspace and no retention window. This is the
    one action in TimeTracker with no way back.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does deleting the workspace cancel my subscription?">
    Cancel your subscription yourself from Plan & billing before you delete, so
    you are not billed again.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I am the Owner and want to leave, not delete">
    Transfer ownership to someone else first, then leave. An Owner cannot leave
    or be removed while they still hold ownership. See
    [Leave a workspace](/account/leave-a-workspace).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will the URL be free for a new workspace?">
    Do not count on reusing the address. Create the replacement workspace with
    the name you want and let its address be generated.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What do my clients see?">
    Client-portal contacts lose access along with everyone else, and are told
    the workspace was deleted. Their comments, approvals and uploads go with it.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Export your data" icon="download" href="/settings/export-your-data">
    Take a copy before anything irreversible.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Delete a workspace" icon="trash" href="/data/delete-a-workspace">
    The same action, from the data side.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cancel or downgrade" icon="credit-card" href="/billing/cancel-or-downgrade">
    Stop paying without losing anything.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Leave a workspace" icon="right-from-bracket" href="/account/leave-a-workspace">
    Step away without deleting it.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Roles and capabilities" icon="shield" href="/concepts/roles-and-capabilities">
    Why some actions are Owner only.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Trash" icon="rotate-left" href="/settings/trash">
    Recovering a single deleted item.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>