updraftplus/delete-backup removes one set and its archive files from this server, and reports how much space that freed.
What it really removes is a recovery point. Whatever state the site was in at that moment can no longer be returned to.
Before you run it
This cannot be undone, and the thing being destroyed is the thing that undoes other mistakes. The call refuses without confirm: true. Copies held on remote storage are not removed — delete those in the storage provider itself if you mean to reclaim that space too.
At a glance
| Ability | updraftplus/delete-backup |
| Toolset | UpdraftPlus — toolset/updraftplus |
| Group | UpdraftPlus › Backup sets |
| Requires | UpdraftPlus, active on the site |
| Capability | manage_options |
| Safety | Destructive — deletes stored values, and refuses to run without confirm: true |
| Repeatable | Not idempotent — each call changes the row set, so re-running is not a no-op |
| Ships in | AcrossAI Abilities Manager 0.0.34 and later |
How it works
The confirmation gate runs before any file is touched, so a refused call leaves the set intact.
Check updraftplus/get-status before deleting. If this is the newest set, or the only one that includes files, deleting it changes what the site can recover from in a way the free disk space does not advertise.
The response reports the files removed, the bytes freed and how many sets remain — so the cost of the deletion is visible in the same breath as the benefit.
Input
| Name | Type | Required | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
id | string | Yes | Backup identifier, exactly as returned by updraftplus/list-backups. |
confirm | boolean | Yes — must be true | The irreversibility gate. Without it the call is refused before anything is touched. |
What comes back
| Name | Type | What it is |
|---|---|---|
backup_id | string | The set that was deleted. |
files_removed | array | The archive files that were removed. |
bytes_freed | integer | How much disk space that recovered. |
remaining | integer | How many sets are left on this server. |
note | string | Anything else worth knowing. |
success | boolean | Whether the call completed. |
message | string | A one-line summary of what happened, suitable for showing a human. |
error_code | string | Present only on failure — a stable machine-readable reason, such as a missing field, a wrong field type or an unmet confirmation. |
Example
Ask your assistant:
Delete the backup from August — we’re out of disk space and it’s the oldest.
It resolves to one call:
{
"ability": "updraftplus/delete-backup",
"parameters": {
"id": "1756080000",
"confirm": true
}
}Worth knowing
- Not idempotent, and not reversible. The set is gone from this server.
- Remote copies survive. If disk space was the goal, this achieved it; if removing the data was the goal, it did not.
- Check
remainingin the response. Going from two sets to one is a bigger change than it sounds.
Related abilities
- List Backups — confirm which id you mean
- Get Backup — see what the set holds before removing it
- Get Backup Status — what recovery looks like afterwards
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AcrossAI Abilities Manager · AcrossAI MCP Manager
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