---
title: "Delete a rule"
description: "The rule goes; what it already did to your mail stays."
url: "https://openemail.uk/docs/api/rules/delete"
area: "API"
category: "Mailbox"
---

# Delete a rule

The rule goes; what it already did to your mail stays.

`DELETE /rules/{id}`

## DELETE /rules/{id}

The rule goes; what it already did to your mail stays.

## Example

Needs `rules:write`.

**curl**

```
curl -X DELETE "$OE/rules/rul_7f3a1c94e05d3862c1f0a44b" -H "$AUTH"
```

**Response**

```
{ "object": "rule", "id": "rul_7f3a1c94e05d3862c1f0a44b", "deleted": true }
```

> A tombstone rather than a 204, so a deploy log can name what went rather than record that something did.

> Nothing is undone. Messages this rule labelled, archived or trashed stay where it put them. Deleting a rule decides what happens next, exactly as creating one does. Disable it instead when you might want it back; there is no restore.

> The run log keeps its rows. A rule that fired 148 times leaves 148 records naming it, which is what makes "why was this archived in June" answerable after somebody tidies up.