Delete topics

This document describes how to delete a Pub/Sub topic. To delete a topic you can use the Google Cloud console, the Google CLI, the client library, or the Pub/Sub API.

Before you begin

Learn about topics and the publish messages workflow.
Create a topic .

Required roles and permissions

To get the permissions that you need to delete topics and manage them, ask your administrator to grant you the Pub/Sub Editor( roles/pubsub.editor ) IAM role on your topic or project. For more information about granting roles, see Manage access to projects, folders, and organizations .

This predefined role contains the permissions required to delete topics and manage them. To see the exact permissions that are required, expand the Required permissionssection:

Required permissions

The following permissions are required to delete topics and manage them:

Create a topic: pubsub.topics.create
Delete a topic: pubsub.topics.delete
Detach a subscription from a topic: pubsub.topics.detachSubscription
Get a topic: pubsub.topics.get
List a topic: pubsub.topics.list
Publish to a topic: pubsub.topics.publish
Update a topic: pubsub.topics.update
Get the IAM policy for a topic: pubsub.topics.getIamPolicy
Configure the IAM policy for a topic: pubsub.topics.setIamPolicy

You might also be able to get these permissions with custom roles or other predefined roles .

You can configure access control at the project level and at the individual resource level. You can create a subscription in one project and attach it to a topic located in a different project. Ensure that you have the required permissions for each project.

Delete a topic

When you delete a topic, its subscriptions are not deleted. The message backlog from the subscription is available for subscribers. After a topic is deleted, its subscriptions have the topic name _deleted-topic_ . If you try to create a topic with the same name as the one you had just deleted, expect an error for a brief period.

Console

In the Google Cloud console, go to the Pub/Sub Topics page.

Go to Topics

Select a topic and click More actions .
Click Delete .

The Delete topic window appears.
Enter delete and then click Delete .

gcloud

In the Google Cloud console, activate Cloud Shell.

Activate Cloud Shell

At the bottom of the Google Cloud console, a Cloud Shell session starts and displays a command-line prompt. Cloud Shell is a shell environment with the Google Cloud CLI already installed and with values already set for your current project. It can take a few seconds for the session to initialize.

To delete a topic, use the gcloud pubsub topics delete command:

gcloud  
pubsub  
topics  
delete  
 TOPIC_ID

REST

To delete a topic, use the projects.topics.delete method:

Request:

The request must be authenticated with an access token in the Authorization header. To obtain an access token for the current Application Default Credentials: gcloud auth application-default print-access-token .

DELETE https://pubsub.googleapis.com/v1/projects/ PROJECT_ID 
/topics/ TOPIC_ID 
Authorization: Bearer ACCESS_TOKEN

Where:

PROJECT_ID is your project ID.
TOPIC_ID is your topic ID.

Response:

If the request is successful, the response is an empty JSON object.

C++

Before trying this sample, follow the C++ setup instructions in Quickstart: Using Client Libraries . For more information, see the Pub/Sub C++ API reference documentation .

  namespace 
  
 pubsub 
  
 = 
  
 :: 
 google 
 :: 
 cloud 
 :: 
 pubsub 
 ; 
 namespace 
  
 pubsub_admin 
  
 = 
  
 :: 
 google 
 :: 
 cloud 
 :: 
 pubsub_admin 
 ; 
 []( 
 pubsub_admin 
 :: 
 TopicAdminClient 
  
 client 
 , 
  
 std 
 :: 
 string 
  
 const 
&  
 project_id 
 , 
  
 std 
 :: 
 string 
  
 const 
&  
 topic_id 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 auto 
  
 status 
  
 = 
  
 client 
 . 
 DeleteTopic 
 ( 
 pubsub 
 :: 
 Topic 
 ( 
 project_id 
 , 
  
 topic_id 
 ). 
 FullName 
 ()); 
  
 // Note that kNotFound is a possible result when the library retries. 
  
 if 
  
 ( 
 status 
 . 
 code 
 () 
  
 == 
  
 google 
 :: 
 cloud 
 :: 
 StatusCode 
 :: 
 kNotFound 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 std 
 :: 
 cout 
 << 
 "The topic was not found 
 \n 
 " 
 ; 
  
 return 
 ; 
  
 } 
  
 if 
  
 ( 
 ! 
 status 
 . 
 ok 
 ()) 
  
 throw 
  
 std 
 :: 
 runtime_error 
 ( 
 status 
 . 
 message 
 ()); 
  
 std 
 :: 
 cout 
 << 
 "The topic was successfully deleted 
 \n 
 " 
 ; 
 }

C#

Before trying this sample, follow the C# setup instructions in Quickstart: Using Client Libraries . For more information, see the Pub/Sub C# API reference documentation .

  using 
  
  Google.Cloud.PubSub.V1 
 
 ; 
 public 
  
 class 
  
 DeleteTopicSample 
 { 
  
 public 
  
 void 
  
 DeleteTopic 
 ( 
 string 
  
 projectId 
 , 
  
 string 
  
 topicId 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
  PublisherServiceApiClient 
 
  
 publisher 
  
 = 
  
  PublisherServiceApiClient 
 
 . 
  Create 
 
 (); 
  
  TopicName 
 
  
 topicName 
  
 = 
  
  TopicName 
 
 . 
  FromProjectTopic 
 
 ( 
 projectId 
 , 
  
 topicId 
 ); 
  
 publisher 
 . 
  DeleteTopic 
 
 ( 
 topicName 
 ); 
  
 } 
 }

Go

The following sample uses the major version of the Go Pub/Sub client library (v2). If you are still using the v1 library, see the migration guide to v2 . To see a list of v1 code samples, see the deprecated code samples .

Before trying this sample, follow the Go setup instructions in Quickstart: Using Client Libraries . For more information, see the Pub/Sub Go API reference documentation .

  import 
  
 ( 
  
 "context" 
  
 "fmt" 
  
 "io" 
  
 "cloud.google.com/go/pubsub/v2" 
  
 "cloud.google.com/go/pubsub/v2/apiv1/pubsubpb" 
 ) 
 func 
  
 delete 
 ( 
 w 
  
 io 
 . 
 Writer 
 , 
  
 projectID 
 , 
  
 topicID 
  
 string 
 ) 
  
 error 
  
 { 
  
 // projectID := "my-project-id" 
  
 // topicID := "my-topic" 
  
 ctx 
  
 := 
  
 context 
 . 
 Background 
 () 
  
 client 
 , 
  
 err 
  
 := 
  
 pubsub 
 . 
 NewClient 
 ( 
 ctx 
 , 
  
 projectID 
 ) 
  
 if 
  
 err 
  
 != 
  
 nil 
  
 { 
  
 return 
  
 fmt 
 . 
 Errorf 
 ( 
 "pubsub.NewClient: %w" 
 , 
  
 err 
 ) 
  
 } 
  
 defer 
  
 client 
 . 
 Close 
 () 
  
 req 
  
 := 
  
& pubsubpb 
 . 
 DeleteTopicRequest 
 { 
  
 Topic 
 : 
  
 fmt 
 . 
 Sprintf 
 ( 
 "projects/%s/topics/%s" 
 , 
  
 projectID 
 , 
  
 topicID 
 ), 
  
 } 
  
 err 
  
 = 
  
 client 
 . 
 TopicAdminClient 
 . 
 DeleteTopic 
 ( 
 ctx 
 , 
  
 req 
 ) 
  
 if 
  
 err 
  
 != 
  
 nil 
  
 { 
  
 return 
  
 fmt 
 . 
 Errorf 
 ( 
 "failed to delete topic: %w" 
 , 
  
 err 
 ) 
  
 } 
  
 fmt 
 . 
 Fprintln 
 ( 
 w 
 , 
  
 "Deleted topic" 
 ) 
  
 return 
  
 nil 
 }

Java

Before trying this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in Quickstart: Using Client Libraries . For more information, see the Pub/Sub Java API reference documentation .

  import 
  
 com.google.api.gax.rpc. NotFoundException 
 
 ; 
 import 
  
 com.google.cloud.pubsub.v1. TopicAdminClient 
 
 ; 
 import 
  
 com.google.pubsub.v1. TopicName 
 
 ; 
 import 
  
 java.io.IOException 
 ; 
 public 
  
 class 
 DeleteTopicExample 
  
 { 
  
 public 
  
 static 
  
 void 
  
 main 
 ( 
 String 
 ... 
  
 args 
 ) 
  
 throws 
  
 Exception 
  
 { 
  
 // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample. 
  
 String 
  
 projectId 
  
 = 
  
 "your-project-id" 
 ; 
  
 String 
  
 topicId 
  
 = 
  
 "your-topic-id" 
 ; 
  
 deleteTopicExample 
 ( 
 projectId 
 , 
  
 topicId 
 ); 
  
 } 
  
 public 
  
 static 
  
 void 
  
 deleteTopicExample 
 ( 
 String 
  
 projectId 
 , 
  
 String 
  
 topicId 
 ) 
  
 throws 
  
 IOException 
  
 { 
  
 try 
  
 ( 
  TopicAdminClient 
 
  
 topicAdminClient 
  
 = 
  
  TopicAdminClient 
 
 . 
 create 
 ()) 
  
 { 
  
  TopicName 
 
  
 topicName 
  
 = 
  
  TopicName 
 
 . 
 of 
 ( 
 projectId 
 , 
  
 topicId 
 ); 
  
 try 
  
 { 
  
 topicAdminClient 
 . 
 deleteTopic 
 ( 
 topicName 
 ); 
  
 System 
 . 
 out 
 . 
 println 
 ( 
 "Deleted topic." 
 ); 
  
 } 
  
 catch 
  
 ( 
  NotFoundException 
 
  
 e 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 System 
 . 
 out 
 . 
 println 
 ( 
 e 
 . 
 getMessage 
 ()); 
  
 } 
  
 } 
  
 } 
 }

Node.js

Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in Quickstart: Using Client Libraries . For more information, see the Pub/Sub Node.js API reference documentation .

  /** 
  
 * 
  
 TODO 
 ( 
 developer 
 ): 
  
 Uncomment 
  
 this 
  
 variable 
  
 before 
  
 running 
  
 the 
  
 sample 
 . 
  
 */ 
 // 
  
 const 
  
 topicNameOrId 
  
 = 
  
 'YOUR_TOPIC_NAME_OR_ID' 
 ; 
 // 
  
 Imports 
  
 the 
  
 Google 
  
 Cloud 
  
 client 
  
 library 
 const 
  
 { 
 PubSub 
 } 
  
 = 
  
 require 
 ( 
 '@google-cloud/pubsub' 
 ); 
 // 
  
 Creates 
  
 a 
  
 client 
 ; 
  
 cache 
  
 this 
  
 for 
  
 further 
  
 use 
 const 
  
 pubSubClient 
  
 = 
  
 new 
  
 PubSub 
 (); 
 async 
  
 function 
  
 deleteTopic 
 ( 
 topicNameOrId 
 ) 
  
 { 
  
 /** 
  
 * 
  
 TODO 
 ( 
 developer 
 ): 
  
 Uncomment 
  
 the 
  
 following 
  
 line 
  
 to 
  
 run 
  
 the 
  
 sample 
 . 
  
 */ 
  
 // 
  
 const 
  
 topicName 
  
 = 
  
 'my-topic' 
 ; 
  
 // 
  
 Deletes 
  
 the 
  
 topic 
  
 await 
  
 pubSubClient 
 . 
 topic 
 ( 
 topicNameOrId 
 ) 
 . 
 delete 
 (); 
  
 console 
 . 
 log 
 ( 
 ` 
 Topic 
  
 $ 
 { 
 topicNameOrId 
 } 
  
 deleted 
 . 
 ` 
 ); 
 }

Node.ts

Before trying this sample, follow the Node.js setup instructions in Quickstart: Using Client Libraries . For more information, see the Pub/Sub Node.js API reference documentation .

  /** 
 * 
 TODO 
 ( 
 developer 
 ): 
 Uncomment 
 this 
 variable 
 before 
 running 
 the 
 sample 
 . 
 */ 
 // 
 const 
 topicNameOrId 
 = 
 'YOUR_TOPIC_NAME_OR_ID' 
 ; 
 // 
 Imports 
 the 
 Google 
 Cloud 
 client 
 library 
 import 
  
 { 
 PubSub 
 } 
 from 
  
 '@google-cloud/pubsub' 
 ; 
 // 
 Creates 
 a 
 client 
 ; 
 cache 
 this 
 for 
 further 
 use 
 const 
 pubSubClient 
 = 
 new 
 PubSub 
 (); 
 async 
 function 
 deleteTopic 
 ( 
 topicNameOrId 
 : 
 string 
 ) 
 { 
 /** 
 * 
 TODO 
 ( 
 developer 
 ): 
 Uncomment 
 the 
 following 
 line 
 to 
 run 
 the 
 sample 
 . 
 */ 
 // 
 const 
 topicName 
 = 
 'my-topic' 
 ; 
 // 
 Deletes 
 the 
 topic 
 await 
 pubSubClient 
 . 
 topic 
 ( 
 topicNameOrId 
 ) 
 . 
 delete 
 (); 
 console 
 . 
 log 
 ( 
 ` 
 Topic 
 $ 
 { 
 topicNameOrId 
 } 
 deleted 
 . 
 ` 
 ); 
 }

PHP

Before trying this sample, follow the PHP setup instructions in Quickstart: Using Client Libraries . For more information, see the Pub/Sub PHP API reference documentation .

  use Google\Cloud\PubSub\PubSubClient; 
 /** 
 * Creates a Pub/Sub topic. 
 * 
 * @param string $projectId  The Google project ID. 
 * @param string $topicName  The Pub/Sub topic name. 
 */ 
 function delete_topic($projectId, $topicName) 
 { 
 $pubsub = new PubSubClient([ 
 'projectId' => $projectId, 
 ]); 
 $topic = $pubsub->topic($topicName); 
 $topic->delete(); 
 printf('Topic deleted: %s' . PHP_EOL, $topic->name()); 
 }

Python

Before trying this sample, follow the Python setup instructions in Quickstart: Using Client Libraries . For more information, see the Pub/Sub Python API reference documentation .

  from 
  
 google.cloud 
  
 import 
 pubsub_v1 
 # TODO(developer) 
 # project_id = "your-project-id" 
 # topic_id = "your-topic-id" 
 publisher 
 = 
 pubsub_v1 
 . 
  PublisherClient 
 
 () 
 topic_path 
 = 
 publisher 
 . 
 topic_path 
 ( 
 project_id 
 , 
 topic_id 
 ) 
 publisher 
 . 
 delete_topic 
 ( 
 request 
 = 
 { 
 "topic" 
 : 
 topic_path 
 }) 
 print 
 ( 
 f 
 "Topic deleted: 
 { 
 topic_path 
 } 
 " 
 )

Ruby

The following sample uses Ruby Pub/Sub client library v3. If you are still using the v2 library, see the migration guide to v3 . To see a list of Ruby v2 code samples, see the deprecated code samples .

Before trying this sample, follow the Ruby setup instructions in Quickstart: Using Client Libraries . For more information, see the Pub/Sub Ruby API reference documentation .

  # topic_id = "your-topic-id" 
 pubsub 
  
 = 
  
 Google 
 :: 
 Cloud 
 :: 
  PubSub 
 
 . 
  new 
 
 topic_admin 
  
 = 
  
 pubsub 
 . 
  topic_admin 
 
 topic_admin 
 . 
 delete_topic 
  
 topic 
 : 
  
 pubsub 
 . 
 topic_path 
 ( 
 topic_id 
 ) 
 puts 
  
 "Topic 
 #{ 
 topic_id 
 } 
 deleted."

What's next

Choose the type of subscription for your topic.
Create a subscription for your topic: pull , push , or BigQuery .
Create or modify a topic with gcloud CLI .
Create or modify a topic with REST APIs .