/destroy-cluster

Name

openshift:destroy-cluster

Synopsis

/openshift:destroy-cluster [install-dir]

Description

The destroy-cluster command safely destroys an OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) cluster that was previously created using the /openshift:create-cluster command. It locates the appropriate installer binary, verifies the cluster information, and performs cleanup of all cloud resources.

This command is useful for:

• Cleaning up development/test clusters after testing
• Removing failed cluster installations
• Freeing up cloud resources and quotas

⚠️ WARNING: This operation is irreversible and will permanently delete:

• All cluster resources (VMs, load balancers, storage, etc.)
• All data stored in the cluster
• All configuration and credentials
• DNS records (if managed by the installer)

Prerequisites

Before using this command, ensure you have:

1. Installation directory from the original cluster creation

   • Contains the cluster metadata and terraform state
   • Located at {cluster-name}-install-{timestamp} by default

2. OpenShift installer binary that matches the cluster version

   • Should be available at ~/.openshift-installers/openshift-install-{version}
   • Same version used to create the cluster

3. Cloud Provider Credentials still configured and valid

   • Same credentials used during cluster creation
   • Must have permissions to delete resources

4. Network connectivity to the cloud provider

   • Required to communicate with cloud APIs

Arguments

• install-dir (optional): Path to the cluster installation directory
  • Default: Interactive prompt to select from available installation directories
  • Must contain cluster metadata files (metadata.json, terraform.tfstate, etc.)
  • Example: ./my-cluster-install-20251028-120000

Implementation

The command performs the following steps:

1. Locate Installation Directory

If install-dir is not provided:

• Search for installation directories in the current directory
• Look for directories matching pattern *-install-* or containing .openshift_install_state.json
• Present a list of found directories to the user for selection
• Allow user to manually enter a path if directory not found

If install-dir is provided:

• Validate the directory exists
• Verify it contains cluster metadata files

2. Extract Cluster Information

Read cluster details from the installation directory:

# Read cluster metadata
if [ -f "$INSTALL_DIR/metadata.json" ]; then
    CLUSTER_NAME=$(jq -r '.clusterName' "$INSTALL_DIR/metadata.json")
    INFRA_ID=$(jq -r '.infraID' "$INSTALL_DIR/metadata.json")
    PLATFORM=$(jq -r '.platform' "$INSTALL_DIR/metadata.json")
fi

# Try to extract version from cluster-info or log files
VERSION=$(grep -oE 'openshift-install.*v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+' "$INSTALL_DIR/.openshift_install.log" | head -1 | grep -oE '[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+[^"]*' | head -1)

3. Display Cluster Information and Confirm

Show the user what will be destroyed:

Cluster Information:
  Name: ${CLUSTER_NAME}
  Infrastructure ID: ${INFRA_ID}
  Platform: ${PLATFORM}
  Installation Directory: ${INSTALL_DIR}
  Version: ${VERSION}

⚠️  WARNING: This will permanently destroy the cluster and all its resources!

This action will delete:
  - All cluster VMs and compute resources
  - Load balancers and networking resources
  - Storage volumes and persistent data
  - DNS records
  - All cluster configuration

Are you sure you want to destroy this cluster? (yes/no):

Important: Require the user to type "yes" (not just "y") to confirm destruction.

4. Locate the Correct Installer

Find the installer binary that matches the cluster version:

INSTALLER_DIR="${HOME}/.openshift-installers"
INSTALLER_PATH="$INSTALLER_DIR/openshift-install-${VERSION}"

# Check if the version-specific installer exists
if [ ! -f "$INSTALLER_PATH" ]; then
    echo "Warning: Installer for version ${VERSION} not found at ${INSTALLER_PATH}"
    echo "Searching for alternative installers..."

    # Look for any installer in the installers directory
    AVAILABLE_INSTALLERS=$(find "$INSTALLER_DIR" -name "openshift-install-*" -type f 2>/dev/null)

    if [ -n "$AVAILABLE_INSTALLERS" ]; then
        echo "Found installers:"
        echo "$AVAILABLE_INSTALLERS"
        echo ""
        echo "You may use a different version installer, but this may cause issues."
        echo "Would you like to:"
        echo "  1. Use an available installer from the list above"
        echo "  2. Extract the correct installer from the release image"
        echo "  3. Cancel the operation"
    else
        echo "No installers found. Would you like to extract the installer? (yes/no):"
    fi
fi

# Verify installer works
"$INSTALLER_PATH" version

5. Backup Important Files (Optional)

Offer to backup key files before destruction:

Would you like to backup cluster information before destroying? (yes/no):

If yes, create a backup:

BACKUP_DIR="${INSTALL_DIR}-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"

# Backup key files
cp "$INSTALL_DIR/metadata.json" "$BACKUP_DIR/" 2>/dev/null
cp "$INSTALL_DIR/auth/kubeconfig" "$BACKUP_DIR/" 2>/dev/null
cp "$INSTALL_DIR/auth/kubeadmin-password" "$BACKUP_DIR/" 2>/dev/null
cp "$INSTALL_DIR/.openshift_install.log" "$BACKUP_DIR/" 2>/dev/null
cp "$INSTALL_DIR/install-config.yaml.backup" "$BACKUP_DIR/" 2>/dev/null

echo "Backup created at: $BACKUP_DIR"

6. Run Cluster Destroy

Execute the destroy command:

cd "$INSTALL_DIR"

echo "Starting cluster destruction..."
echo "This may take 10-15 minutes..."

"$INSTALLER_PATH" destroy cluster --dir=. --log-level=debug

DESTROY_EXIT_CODE=$?

Monitor the destruction progress and display status updates.

7. Verify Cleanup

After the destroy command completes:

1. Check exit code:

   if [ $DESTROY_EXIT_CODE -eq 0 ]; then
       echo "✅ Cluster destroyed successfully"
   else
       echo "❌ Cluster destruction failed with exit code: $DESTROY_EXIT_CODE"
       echo "Check logs at: $INSTALL_DIR/.openshift_install.log"
   fi
   

2. Verify cloud resources (platform-specific):

   • AWS: Check for lingering resources with tag kubernetes.io/cluster/${INFRA_ID}
   • Azure: Verify resource group deletion
   • GCP: Check project for remaining resources

3. List any remaining resources:

   If any resources remain, provide commands to manually clean them up.
   

8. Cleanup Installation Directory (Optional)

Ask the user if they want to remove the installation directory:

The cluster has been destroyed. Would you like to delete the installation directory? (yes/no):
  Directory: $INSTALL_DIR
  Size: $(du -sh "$INSTALL_DIR" | cut -f1)

If yes:

rm -rf "$INSTALL_DIR"
echo "Installation directory removed"

If no:

echo "Installation directory preserved at: $INSTALL_DIR"
echo "You can manually remove it later with: rm -rf $INSTALL_DIR"

9. Display Summary

Show final summary:

Cluster Destruction Summary:
  Cluster Name: ${CLUSTER_NAME}
  Status: Successfully destroyed
  Platform: ${PLATFORM}
  Duration: ${DURATION}
  Backup: ${BACKUP_DIR} (if created)

Next steps:
  - Verify your cloud console for any lingering resources
  - Check your cloud billing to ensure resources are no longer incurring charges
  - Remove installation directory if not already deleted: ${INSTALL_DIR}

Error Handling

If destruction fails, the command should:

1. Capture error logs from .openshift_install.log
2. Identify the failure point:
   • Timeout waiting for resource deletion
   • Permission errors
   • API rate limiting
   • Network connectivity issues
   • Resources locked or in use
3. Provide recovery options:
   • Retry the destroy operation
   • Manual cleanup instructions for specific resources
   • Contact support if critical errors occur

Common failure scenarios:

Timeout errors:

# Some resources may take longer to delete
# Retry the destroy command:
"$INSTALLER_PATH" destroy cluster --dir="$INSTALL_DIR"

Permission errors:

Error: Cloud credentials may have expired or lack permissions
Solution:
  1. Verify cloud credentials are still valid
  2. Check IAM permissions for resource deletion
  3. Re-run the destroy command after fixing credentials

Partial destruction:

Warning: Some resources could not be deleted automatically.

Remaining resources:
  - Load balancer: ${LB_NAME}
  - Security group: ${SG_NAME}
  - S3 bucket: ${BUCKET_NAME}

Manual cleanup commands:
  [Platform-specific commands to delete remaining resources]

Examples

Example 1: Destroy cluster with interactive directory selection

/openshift:destroy-cluster

The command will search for installation directories and prompt you to select one.

Example 2: Destroy cluster with specific directory

/openshift:destroy-cluster ./my-cluster-install-20251028-120000

Example 3: Destroy cluster with full path

/openshift:destroy-cluster /home/user/clusters/test-cluster-install-20251028-120000

Common Issues

1. Installation directory not found:

   • Ensure you're in the correct directory
   • Provide the full path to the installation directory
   • Check if the directory was moved or renamed

2. Installer binary not found:

   • The command will help you extract the correct installer
   • Alternatively, manually place the installer in ~/.openshift-installers/

3. Cloud credentials expired:

   • Refresh your cloud credentials
   • Re-authenticate with the cloud provider CLI
   • Re-run the destroy command

4. Resources already deleted manually:

   • The destroy command may fail if resources were manually deleted
   • Check the logs and manually clean up any remaining resources
   • Remove the installation directory manually

5. Destroy hangs or times out:

   • Some resources may take longer to delete (especially load balancers)
   • Wait for the operation to complete (can take 15-30 minutes)
   • If truly stuck, cancel and retry
   • Check cloud console for resource status

Safety Features

This command includes several safety measures:

1. Confirmation required: Must type "yes" to proceed
2. Cluster information displayed: Shows what will be destroyed before proceeding
3. Backup option: Offers to backup important files
4. Validation checks: Verifies installation directory and metadata
5. Detailed logging: All operations logged for troubleshooting
6. Error recovery: Provides manual cleanup instructions if automated cleanup fails

Return Value

• Success: Returns 0 and displays destruction summary
• Failure: Returns non-zero and displays error diagnostics with recovery instructions

See Also

• /openshift:create-cluster - Create a new OCP cluster
• OpenShift Documentation: https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/latest/installing/
• Platform-specific cleanup guides

Arguments:

• $1 (install-dir): Path to the cluster installation directory created by create-cluster (optional, interactive if not provided)