# Removing a Plugin !!! warning The instructions below detail the general process for removing a NetBox plugin. However, each plugin is different and may require additional tasks or modifications to the steps below. Always consult the documentation for a specific plugin **before** attempting to remove it. ## Disable the Plugin Disable the plugin by removing it from the `PLUGINS` list in `configuration.py`. ## Remove its Configuration Delete the plugin's entry (if any) in the `PLUGINS_CONFIG` dictionary in `configuration.py`. !!! tip If there's a chance you may reinstall the plugin, consider commenting out any configuration parameters instead of deleting them. ## Re-index Search Entries Run the `reindex` management command to reindex the global search engine. This will remove any stale entries pertaining to objects provided by the plugin. ```no-highlight $ cd /opt/netbox/netbox/ $ source /opt/netbox/venv/bin/activate (venv) $ python3 manage.py reindex ``` ## Uninstall its Python Package Use `pip` to remove the installed plugin: ```no-highlight $ source /opt/netbox/venv/bin/activate (venv) $ pip uninstall ``` ## Restart WSGI Service Restart the WSGI service: ```no-highlight # sudo systemctl restart netbox ``` ## Drop Database Tables !!! note This step is necessary only for plugins which have created one or more database tables (generally through the introduction of new models). Check your plugin's documentation if unsure. Enter the PostgreSQL database shell (`manage.py dbshell`) to determine if the plugin has created any SQL tables. Substitute `pluginname` in the example below for the name of the plugin being removed. (You can also run the `\dt` command without a pattern to list _all_ tables.) ```no-highlight netbox=> \dt pluginname_* List of relations List of relations Schema | Name | Type | Owner --------+----------------+-------+-------- public | pluginname_foo | table | netbox public | pluginname_bar | table | netbox (2 rows) ``` !!! warning Exercise extreme caution when removing tables. Users are strongly encouraged to perform a backup of their database immediately before taking these actions. Drop each of the listed tables to remove it from the database: ```no-highlight netbox=> DROP TABLE pluginname_foo; DROP TABLE netbox=> DROP TABLE pluginname_bar; DROP TABLE ``` ### Remove the Django Migration Records After removing the tables created by a plugin, the migrations that created the tables need to be removed from Django's migration history as well. This is necessary to make it possible to reinstall the plugin at a later time. If the migration history were left in place, Django would skip all migrations that were executed in the course of a previous installation, which would cause the plugin to fail after reinstallation. ```no-highlight netbox=> SELECT * FROM django_migrations WHERE app='pluginname'; id | app | name | applied -----+------------+------------------------+------------------------------- 492 | pluginname | 0001_initial | 2023-12-21 11:59:59.325995+00 493 | pluginname | 0002_add_foo | 2023-12-21 11:59:59.330026+00 netbox=> DELETE FROM django_migrations WHERE app='pluginname'; ``` !!! warning Exercise extreme caution when altering Django system tables. Users are strongly encouraged to perform a backup of their database immediately before taking these actions.