# rpk topic delete

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/llms.txt). Component-specific: [streaming-full.txt](https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming-full.txt)

---
title: rpk topic delete
latest-redpanda-tag: v26.1.14
latest-console-tag: v3.10.0
latest-operator-version: v26.2.2
# EOL = End-of-Life (support lifecycle status)
page-is-nearing-eol: "false"
page-is-past-eol: "false"
page-eol-date: March 31, 2027
latest-connect-version: 4.105.0
docname: rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-delete
page-component-name: streaming
page-version: "26.1"
page-component-version: "26.1"
page-component-title: Streaming
page-relative-src-path: rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-delete.adoc
page-edit-url: https://github.com/redpanda-data/docs/edit/v/26.1/modules/reference/pages/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-delete.adoc
description: Delete one or more Kafka topics. This operation is irreversible and removes all data in the topics.
page-git-created-date: "2023-05-17"
page-git-modified-date: "2026-07-17"
support-status: supported
---

<!-- Source: https://docs.redpanda.com/streaming/26.1/reference/rpk/rpk-topic/rpk-topic-delete.md -->

Delete one or more Kafka topics. This operation is irreversible and removes all data in the topics.

## [](#usage)Usage

```bash
rpk topic delete <topics...> [flags]
```

## [](#examples)Examples

This section provides examples of how to use `rpk topic delete`.

### [](#delete-specific-topics)Delete specific topics

Delete topics `foo` and `bar`

```bash
rpk topic delete foo bar
```

### [](#delete-with-regex)Delete with regex

Delete topics starting with 'f' or ending in 'r'

```bash
rpk topic delete -r '^f.*' '.*r$'
```

Delete all topics (use with caution)

```bash
rpk topic delete -r '.*'
```

## [](#flags)Flags

| Value | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| -r, --regex | bool | Treat topic names as regular expressions and delete all matching topics. Use with caution. |

## [](#global-flags)Global flags

| Value | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| --config | string | Redpanda or rpk config file; default search paths are ~/.config/rpk/rpk.yaml, $PWD/redpanda.yaml, and /etc/redpanda/redpanda.yaml. |
| -X, --config-opt | stringArray | Override rpk configuration settings; -X help for detail or -X list for terser detail. |
| --ignore-profile | bool | Ignore rpk.yaml and redpanda.yaml; use default settings. |
| --profile | string | rpk profile to use. |
| -v, --verbose | bool | Enable verbose logging. |