# DELETE Deleting rows or parts of rows uses the `DELETE` statement: ```cql delete_statement: DELETE [ `simple_selection` ( ',' `simple_selection` ) ] : FROM `table_name` : [ USING `update_parameter` ( AND `update_parameter` )* ] : WHERE `where_clause` : [ IF ( EXISTS | `condition` ( AND `condition` )* ) ] : [ BYPASS LARGE_DATA_GUARDRAILS ] ``` For instance: ```cql DELETE FROM NerdMovies USING TIMESTAMP 1240003134000000 WHERE movie = 'Serenity'; DELETE phone FROM Users WHERE userid IN (C73DE1D3-AF08-40F3-B124-3FF3E5109F22, B70DE1D0-9908-4AE3-BE34-5573E5B09F14); ``` The `DELETE` statement deletes columns and rows. If column names are provided directly after the `DELETE` keyword, only those columns are deleted from the row indicated by the `WHERE` clause. Otherwise, whole rows are removed. The `WHERE` clause specifies which rows are to be deleted. Multiple rows may be deleted with one statement by using an `IN` operator. A range of rows may be deleted using an inequality operator (such as `>=`). `DELETE` supports the `TIMESTAMP` option with the same semantics as the TIMESTAMP parameter used in the `UPDATE` statement. The `DELETE` statement deletes data written with [INSERT](https://docs.scylladb.com/manual/master/cql/dml/insert.md#insert-statement) or [UPDATE](https://docs.scylladb.com/manual/master/cql/dml/update.md#update-statement) (or [BATCH](https://docs.scylladb.com/manual/master/cql/dml/batch.md#batch-statement)) using a timestamp that is less than or equal to the `DELETE` timestamp. For more information on the `update_parameter` refer to the [UPDATE](https://docs.scylladb.com/manual/master/cql/dml.md#update-parameters) section. In a `DELETE` statement, all deletions within the same partition key are applied atomically, meaning either all columns mentioned in the statement are deleted or none. If `DELETE` statement has the same timestamp as `INSERT` or `UPDATE` of the same primary key, delete operation prevails (see [update ordering](https://docs.scylladb.com/manual/master/cql/dml.md#update-ordering)). A `DELETE` operation can be conditional through the use of an `IF` clause, similar to `UPDATE` and `INSERT` statements. Each such `DELETE` gets a globally unique timestamp. However, as with `INSERT` and `UPDATE` statements, this will incur a non-negligible performance cost (internally, Paxos will be used) and so should be used sparingly. The `BYPASS LARGE_DATA_GUARDRAILS` clause is a ScyllaDB CQL extension for deleting data from tables with [large data guardrails](https://docs.scylladb.com/manual/master/cql/guardrails.md#guardrails-large-data) enabled. It skips large data guardrail checks for this standalone `DELETE` so that oversized data can be removed even when writes to the same partition, row, or collection would otherwise be rejected. Please refer to the [update parameters](https://docs.scylladb.com/manual/master/cql/dml.md#update-parameters) section for more information on the `update_parameter`. ## Range deletions Range deletions allow you to delete rows from a single partition, given that the clustering key is within the given range. The delete request can be determined on both ends, or it can be open-ended. ## Open range deletions Open range deletions delete rows based on an open-ended request (>, <, >=, =<, etc.) For example, suppose your data set for events at Madison Square Garden includes: ```none CREATE KEYSPACE mykeyspace WITH replication = {'class': 'NetworkTopologyStrategy', 'replication_factor': '3'} AND durable_writes = true; use mykeyspace ; CREATE TABLE events ( id text, created_at date, content text, PRIMARY KEY (id, created_at) ); INSERT into events (id, created_at, content) VALUES ('concert', '2019-11-19', 'SuperM'); INSERT into events (id, created_at, content) VALUES ('concert', '2019-11-15', 'Billy Joel'); INSERT into events (id, created_at, content) VALUES ('game', '2019-11-03', 'Knicks v Sacramento'); INSERT into events (id, created_at, content) VALUES ('concert', '2019-10-31', 'Dead & Company'); INSERT into events (id, created_at, content) VALUES ('game', '2019-10-28', 'Knicks v Chicago'); INSERT into events (id, created_at, content) VALUES ('concert', '2019-10-25', 'Billy Joel'); SELECT * from events; id | created_at | content ---------+------------+--------------------- game | 2019-10-28 | Knicks v Chicago game | 2019-11-03 | Knicks v Sacramento concert | 2019-10-25 | Billy Joel concert | 2019-10-31 | Dead & Company concert | 2019-11-15 | Billy Joel concert | 2019-11-19 | SuperM (6 rows) ``` And you wanted to delete all of the concerts from the month of October using an open-ended range delete. You would run: ```none DELETE FROM events WHERE id='concert' AND created_at <= '2019-10-31'; SELECT * from events; id | created_at | content ---------+------------+--------------------- game | 2019-10-28 | Knicks v Chicago game | 2019-11-03 | Knicks v Sacramento concert | 2019-11-15 | Billy Joel concert | 2019-11-19 | SuperM (4 rows) ``` [Apache Cassandra Query Language (CQL) Reference](https://docs.scylladb.com/manual/master/cql/index.md) Copyright © 2016, The Apache Software Foundation. Apache®, Apache Cassandra®, Cassandra®, the Apache feather logo and the Apache Cassandra® Eye logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Apache Software Foundation in the United States and/or other countries. No endorsement by The Apache Software Foundation is implied by the use of these marks.