---
title: DELETE | Datasquirel docs
description: Remove rows from a table using DELETE statements in Datasquirel
page_title: DELETE
page_description: Remove rows from your tables using SQL DELETE statements.
---

## Overview

`DELETE FROM` removes rows from a table. Always include a `WHERE` clause to target specific rows — a DELETE without a WHERE clause removes **every row** in the table.

## Basic Syntax

```sql
DELETE FROM table_name WHERE condition;
```

## Examples

### Delete a Single Row by ID

```sql
DELETE FROM users WHERE id = 42;
```

### Delete Multiple Rows by Condition

```sql
DELETE FROM sessions WHERE expires_at < NOW();
```

### Delete All Rows Matching a Value

```sql
DELETE FROM notifications WHERE user_id = 5 AND is_read = 1;
```

### Delete with LIMIT

MariaDB supports `LIMIT` on DELETE to cap how many rows can be removed in one statement:

```sql
DELETE FROM logs WHERE created_at < '2024-01-01' ORDER BY created_at ASC LIMIT 1000;
```

This is useful for batched cleanup of large tables.

## Safety Note

A `DELETE` without a `WHERE` clause removes **every row** from the table. This cannot be undone.

```sql
-- This deletes ALL rows in the table:
DELETE FROM users;

-- This deletes only the intended row:
DELETE FROM users WHERE id = 42;
```

If you need to remove all rows from a large table efficiently, use `TRUNCATE TABLE` instead — it is faster and resets the AUTO_INCREMENT counter.

## Using DELETE via the API

The [CRUD DELETE endpoint](/docs/api-reference/crud/delete) handles row removal by ID or by field value:

```javascript
// Delete by ID
const result = await datasquirel.crud.delete({
    dbName: "my_database",
    tableName: "sessions",
    targetID: 99,
    apiKey: process.env.DATASQUIREL_API_KEY,
});

// Delete by field value
const result = await datasquirel.crud.delete({
    dbName: "my_database",
    tableName: "notifications",
    deleteSpec: {
        deleteKeyValues: [
            { key: "user_id", value: 5, operator: "=" },
            { key: "is_read", value: 1, operator: "=" },
        ],
    },
    apiKey: process.env.DATASQUIREL_API_KEY,
});
```
