Shoq
(Shoq)
March 7, 2025, 5:22pm
1
Is there any way an admin can override soft-deletes on a case-by-case basis, or is setting Permanent deletes in the console our only option (server admin is on holiday)
We’re prototyping and the pink remnants are distracting.
TIA
Canapin
(Coin-coin le Canapin)
March 7, 2025, 7:23pm
3
Hello Shoq,
Is this what you’re looking for?
When a post is deleted in Discourse, we perform a soft-delete. This means that post is still present in the database in case an administrator wants to recover it later. A soft-delete is not sufficient when the deleted post contains sensitive information and must be pruned from the database completely. For those situations, we are introducing the ability to permanently delete a post.
[image]
To use this feature, enable the can permanently delete setting. However, please be aware of the risks i…
This is a guide on how to enable the setting for administrators to permanently delete data on a Discourse instance.
Required user level: Admin
As of v2026.4.0 Changelog | Discourse Releases the site setting to allow admins to permanently delete data is no longer a hidden site setting.
To use this feature, enable the can permanently delete setting. However, please be aware of the risks involved with this feature — as the setting name suggests, if you permanen…
Shoq
(Shoq)
March 7, 2025, 9:12pm
4
Thank you, but no. That requires Console access which I don’t have until my server admin returns on Monday. I was hoping to find another way.
Canapin
(Coin-coin le Canapin)
March 7, 2025, 9:45pm
5
What remnants are you talking about? Can you post a screenshot?
If it’s this (tho it’s not pink):
This can be hidden with CSS if you have access to themes:
.gap {
display: none;
}
I don’t know if there are side effects.
Shoq
(Shoq)
March 7, 2025, 11:34pm
6
Figured it out. The “Permanently Delete” is under a different wrench menu than what I was looking at. The entities are confusing for we newbies sometimes. I have lots of that. Thank you for the assistance