> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://upstash.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# DEL

> Delete one or more keys.

Use `DEL` to delete one or more keys and the values they hold, whatever their type.

The reply counts only the keys that actually existed, so deleting a key that is already gone is not an error and the count tells you how many were really removed. The memory is freed as part of the command, which for very large collections can take noticeable time; [`UNLINK`](/docs/redis/commands/generic/unlink) removes the keys just as immediately but frees their memory in the background.

## Syntax

```redis theme={"system"}
DEL <key> [<key> ...]
```

## Arguments

| Argument | Required | Repeatable | Description                        |
| -------- | -------- | ---------- | ---------------------------------- |
| `<key>`  | Yes      | Yes        | Redis key targeted by the command. |

## Response

The reply reports the result of the operation. Error replies have the same shape in RESP2 and RESP3 and are surfaced as exceptions by the SDKs below.

| Protocol | Reply   |
| -------- | ------- |
| RESP2    | Integer |
| RESP3    | Integer |

<Note>
  Client libraries often decode bulk strings, maps, sets, and numeric strings into language-native values. The table describes the Redis wire reply.
</Note>

## Examples

TCP examples use the TLS `REDIS_URL` from the Upstash console. REST examples use `UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_URL` and `UPSTASH_REDIS_REST_TOKEN`.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Redis CLI" icon="terminal">
    ```bash theme={"system"}
    DEL my-key
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="@upstash/redis" icon="node-js" iconType="brands">
    ```ts theme={"system"}
    import { Redis } from "@upstash/redis";

    const redis = Redis.fromEnv();

    await redis.del("key1", "key2");
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="upstash_redis" icon="python" iconType="brands">
    ```python theme={"system"}
    from upstash_redis import Redis

    redis = Redis.from_env()
    result = redis.delete("my-key")
    print(result)
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="ioredis" icon="node-js" iconType="brands">
    ```ts theme={"system"}
    import Redis from "ioredis";

    const redis = new Redis(process.env.REDIS_URL!);
    const result = await redis.del("my-key");
    console.log(result);
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="node-redis" icon="node-js" iconType="brands">
    ```ts theme={"system"}
    import { createClient } from "redis";

    const client = await createClient({ url: process.env.REDIS_URL })
      .on("error", console.error)
      .connect();
    const result = await client.del("my-key");
    console.log(result);
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="redis-py" icon="python" iconType="brands">
    ```python theme={"system"}
    import os
    import redis

    client = redis.from_url(os.environ["REDIS_URL"])
    result = client.delete("my-key")
    print(result)
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="go-redis" icon="golang" iconType="brands">
    ```go theme={"system"}
    package main

    import (
        "context"
        "fmt"
        "os"

        "github.com/redis/go-redis/v9"
    )

    func main() {
        opts, err := redis.ParseURL(os.Getenv("REDIS_URL"))
        if err != nil {
            panic(err)
        }
        client := redis.NewClient(opts)
        result, err := client.Del(context.Background(), "my-key").Result()
        if err != nil {
            panic(err)
        }
        fmt.Println(result)
    }
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="jedis" icon="java" iconType="brands">
    ```java theme={"system"}
    import java.net.URI;

    import redis.clients.jedis.Jedis;

    try (Jedis jedis = new Jedis(new URI(System.getenv("REDIS_URL")))) {
      Object result = jedis.del("my-key");
      System.out.println(result);
    }
    ```
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="redis-rs" icon="rust" iconType="brands">
    ```rust theme={"system"}
    use redis::TypedCommands;

    fn main() -> redis::RedisResult<()> {
        let url = std::env::var("REDIS_URL").expect("REDIS_URL is not set");
        let client = redis::Client::open(url)?;
        let mut connection = client.get_connection()?;

        let result = connection.del("my-key")?;
        println!("{result:?}");
        Ok(())
    }
    ```
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


## Related topics

- [DEL](/docs/redis/sdks/ts/commands/generic/del.md)
- [JSON.DEL](/docs/redis/commands/json/json-del.md)