DELETE

1. Introduction

For removing properties and labels, see REMOVE. Remember that you cannot delete a node without also deleting relationships that start or end on said node. Either explicitly delete the relationships, or use DETACH DELETE.

The examples start out with the following database:

Diagram

2. Delete single node

To delete a node, use the DELETE clause.

Query
MATCH (n:Person {name: 'UNKNOWN'})
DELETE n
Table 1. Result

(empty result)

0 rows, Nodes deleted: 1

3. Delete all nodes and relationships

This query isn’t for deleting large amounts of data, but is useful when experimenting with small example data sets.

Query
MATCH (n)
DETACH DELETE n
Table 2. Result

(empty result)

0 rows, Nodes deleted: 4
Relationships deleted: 2

4. Delete a node with all its relationships

When you want to delete a node and any relationship going to or from it, use DETACH DELETE.

Query
MATCH (n {name: 'Andy'})
DETACH DELETE n
Table 3. Result

(empty result)

0 rows, Nodes deleted: 1
Relationships deleted: 2

For DETACH DELETE for users with restricted security privileges, see Operations Manual → Fine-grained access control.

5. Delete relationships only

It is also possible to delete relationships only, leaving the node(s) otherwise unaffected.

Query
MATCH (n {name: 'Andy'})-[r:KNOWS]->()
DELETE r

This deletes all outgoing KNOWS relationships from the node with the name 'Andy'.

Table 4. Result

(empty result)

0 rows, Relationships deleted: 2