> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://developer.harness.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://developer.harness.io/infrastructure-as-code-management/3.0/platform/workspaces/destroy-workspaces.md).

# Destroy Workspaces

You can perform specific operations against your workspace configuration. Similarly to [provisioning a workspace](/infrastructure-as-code-management/3.0/platform/workspaces/provision-workspace.md), you can tear down the infrastructure state from a workspace without deleting the workspace itself. This guide walks you through how to create a Destroy pipeline to run the `init`, `plan` and `destroy` commands with OpenTofu or Terraform.

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Interactive Guide" %}
{% embed url="<https://app.tango.us/app/embed/f3f65cad-3a49-4293-925a-5f830557c066>" %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Step-by-Step" %}
Follow these instructions to provision a workspace within the Harness Visual Editor.

1. In the Harness project pane, select **Pipelines**.
2. Click **+ Create a Pipeline** to set up a new pipeline.
3. Click **Add Stage** and select **Infrastructure** from the **Select Stage Type** pane.
4. Enter a stage name, optional description, and tag, then select **Set Up Stage**.
5. On the **Workspace** tab, select an existing workspace or click **+ Create New Workspace** to create one.
6. Go to the **Execution** tab. Under **Common Operations**, select **Destroy** to configure the workspace destruction process.
7. Select **Use Strategy** to automatically add `init`, `plan`, and `destroy` steps, or customize the pipeline by adding steps manually.
8. Click **Save** and then **Run Pipeline** to execute.

{% hint style="info" %}
The plan-destroy step generates a Terraform plan. This Terraform plan is accessible to all the steps after the IaCM Terraform plan, and can be referenced using the expression `<+pipeline.stages.STAGE_ID.spec.execution.steps.STEP_ID.output.outputVariables.parsedPlan>`.
{% endhint %}
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="YAML" %}
To destroy a workspace via YAML, use the template below. Replace bracketed placeholders as needed.

```yaml
pipeline:
  name: <<PIPELINE NAME>>
  identifier: <<PIPELINE IDENTIFIER>>
  projectIdentifier: <<PROJECT IDENTIFIER>>
  orgIdentifier: <<ORG IDENTIFIER>>
  tags: {}
  stages:
    - stage:
        name: Destroy Stage
        identifier: destroy_stage
        type: IACM
        spec:
          workspace: <<WORKSPACE ID>>
          platform:
            os: Linux
            arch: Amd64
          runtime:
            type: Cloud
            spec: {}
          execution:
            steps:
              - step:
                  type: IACMTerraformPlugin
                  name: init
                  identifier: init
                  spec:
                    command: init
                  timeout: 5m
              - step:
                  type: IACMTerraformPlugin
                  name: plan
                  identifier: plandestroy
                  spec:
                    command: plan-destroy
                  description: plan destroy
              - step:
                  type: IACMTerraformPlugin
                  name: destroy
                  identifier: destroy
                  spec:
                    command: destroy
                  description: destroy
                  timeout: 5m
        tags: {}
```

{% hint style="info" %}
Notice the three steps to execute your `init`, `plan` and `destroy` commands.
{% endhint %}
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

***

{% hint style="info" %}
**REVIEW RESOURCES**

After the plan is created, view resources and Terraform outputs on the **Resources** tab. Check which resources will be added, modified, or removed.
{% endhint %}

### Troubleshooting <a href="#troubleshooting" id="troubleshooting"></a>

<details>

<summary>Plan-destroy fails with 404 Not Found — a resource in Terraform state was deleted outside of Terraform (for example, manually removed from the Harness platform or deleted by another pipeline). Terraform refreshes state before planning; when it queries the Harness API for a resource that no longer exists, the provider returns a 404 and the plan fails.</summary>

Add a removed block with lifecycle { destroy = false } to drop the resource from state without an API delete, then re-run plan-destroy. Alternatively, run terraform state rm if you have CLI access, or remove the orphaned entry via the Harness IaCM State tab.

</details>