Delete Task

Permanently delete a task and all associated data

Endpoint

DELETE /api/v1/task/{task_id}

Authentication

This endpoint requires API key authentication via the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

Path Parameters

task_id · string · required

The unique identifier of the task to delete

Requirements

• Task must have status Succeeded, Failed, or Cancelled
• Tasks that are Starting or Processing cannot be deleted (use Cancel Task instead)

Response

On success, returns a plain text response:

Task deleted

Status Codes

• 200: Task deleted successfully
• 400: Bad request (task cannot be deleted due to invalid status)
• 404: Task not found or expired
• 500: Internal server error

Examples

cURL

curl -X DELETE "https://api.chunkr.ai/api/v1/task/123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

What Gets Deleted

When you delete a task, the following data is permanently removed:

1. Task Metadata - All task information from the database
2. Input File - The original uploaded file
3. Processed PDF - The generated PDF (if applicable)
4. Output JSON - All processed chunks and segments
5. Images - All cropped segment images and page images
6. Configuration - All processing settings

This action is irreversible - once deleted, the task and all associated data cannot be recovered.

Common Use Cases

• Cleanup: Remove old or unnecessary tasks to free up storage
• Privacy: Delete sensitive documents after processing
• Testing: Clean up test tasks during development
• Error Recovery: Remove failed tasks that won’t be retried

Best Practices

1. Download First: If you need the output data, retrieve it via GET /task/ before deleting

2. Check Status: Verify the task is in a deletable state (Succeeded, Failed, or Cancelled)

3. Batch Operations: If deleting multiple tasks, implement rate limiting to avoid overwhelming the API

4. Expiration Alternative: Consider using the expires_in parameter when creating tasks instead of manual deletion

Error Handling

import requests
from requests.exceptions import RequestException

def delete_task_with_retry(task_id, api_key, max_retries=3):
    """Delete task with retry logic"""
    url = f"https://api.chunkr.ai/api/v1/task/{task_id}"
    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}"}
    
    for attempt in range(max_retries):
        try:
            response = requests.delete(url, headers=headers, timeout=10)
            
            if response.status_code == 200:
                return {"success": True}
            elif response.status_code == 404:
                return {"error": "Task not found or already deleted"}
            elif response.status_code == 400:
                return {"error": response.text}
            else:
                # Retry on 5xx errors
                if attempt < max_retries - 1:
                    continue
                return {"error": f"Failed after {max_retries} attempts"}
                
        except RequestException as e:
            if attempt < max_retries - 1:
                continue
            return {"error": f"Network error: {str(e)}"}
    
    return {"error": "Max retries exceeded"}

Related Endpoints

• Cancel Task - Cancel a task that is Starting or Processing
• Get Task - Retrieve task data before deletion
• List Tasks - Find tasks to delete