# Where is the option to permanently delete?
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545
**Category:** Support
**Tags:** permanently-delete
**Created:** [January 22, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545 "2024-01-22T13:44:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Ventrilo](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Ventrilo)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/1 "2024-01-22T13:44:31Z")
this doesn’t work as intended, when enabling and turning to true, the option isn’t available on-site do you need to rebuild the app ??
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### Author:  [@Arkshine](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Arkshine)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/2 "2024-01-22T14:30:28Z")
You don’t need to rebuild the app.
The option will appear in the post menu after soft-deleting the post.
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### Author:  [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 3:12pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/3 "2024-01-22T15:12:51Z")
Well, doesn’t show up to me.
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### Author:  [@anon36555649](https://meta.discourse.org/u/anon36555649)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 3:20pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/4 "2024-01-22T15:20:33Z")
Could be a bug if is not working for some sites.
Works for hosted site when setting enabled by the team.
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### Author:  [@Arkshine](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Arkshine)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 4:26pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/5 "2024-01-22T16:26:13Z")
I don’t see any specificities that may not work in some forums. 🤔
From what I see in the code, as long the setting is enabled, you are an _admin_, and the post/topic is deleted, the option to permanently delete will appear.
> **Example**
>
> 
> 
> 
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### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/6 "2024-01-22T16:49:04Z")
> [@Ventrilo](#):
>
> this doesn’t work as intended, when enabling and turning to true, the option isn’t available on-site
> [@Introducing permanently delete post functionality](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-permanently-delete-post-functionality/207109/32):
>
> Well, doesn’t show up to me.
Could you include a screenshot of your post wrench menu for a deleted post?
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### Author:  [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 4:54pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/7 "2024-01-22T16:54:10Z")
Of course. You propably understand the structure but if you need it in english, just say.
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### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/8 "2024-01-22T16:55:26Z")
That looks like the topic wrench menu. Could you try opening the post wrench menu instead?
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### Author:  [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/9 "2024-01-22T17:04:23Z")
🤣 🤦♂️
Yeah.
But now I’m totally sure it has been under topic wrench earlier.
Or am I dreaming?
That means two things:
- out-of-the-box we can remove only virgin topics
- any longer and must use rails or plugin
But back to topic, because you have sais those already, and I made only a summary: I opened topic wrench instead of post one indeed.
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### Author:  [@anon36555649](https://meta.discourse.org/u/anon36555649)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/10 "2024-01-22T17:08:58Z")
If you use the topic admin settings to delete a topic, this only shows as deleting the first post of the topic, which can then be permanently deleted which may also delete any replies to the original topic post?
No, looks like posts must be deleted individually:
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### Author:  [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 5:17pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/11 "2024-01-22T17:17:31Z")
I know answer for this (and **if** remeber this time right it has been told already in this topic).
Deletion of first post in a topic will delete whole topic. But that is soft deletion. If you want hard delete a topic where is posts, including those small ones, you have to remove those first, one after one. And after that hard deleting the very first post will erase that topic for good.
Or we have to use rails command.
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### Author:  [@anon36555649](https://meta.discourse.org/u/anon36555649)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 5:21pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/12 "2024-01-22T17:21:51Z")
Rails command is a way to automate deleting all posts in a topic then?
One other way to delete posts is at user profile to delete all posts, that may also be the “soft” deletion?
It can be helpful to have records of what has been deleted but typically that kind of an archive could be purged after three months or something, don’t know if that is done automatically or can be automated?
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### Author:  [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 5:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/13 "2024-01-22T17:43:42Z")
> [@anon36555649](#):
>
> Rails command is a way to automate deleting all posts in a topic then?
No AFAIK. It is manually way.
But I’m totally sure there is a hidden settings that will do hard delete right away. I used it at some point, until there was a case where I deleted wrong topic…
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### Author:  [@anon36555649](https://meta.discourse.org/u/anon36555649)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/where-is-the-option-to-permanently-delete/292545/14 "2024-01-22T18:14:28Z")
Oh alright, manual not automated.
Well this topic is about deleting posts not topics.