IDBObjectStore.delete()

The delete() method of the IDBObjectStore interface returns an IDBRequest object, and, in a separate thread, deletes the specified record or records.

Either a key or an IDBKeyRange can be passed, allowing one or multiple records to be deleted from a store. To delete all records in a store, use IDBObjectStore.clear.

Bear in mind that if you are using a IDBCursor, you can use the IDBCursor.delete() method to more efficiently delete the current record — without having to explicitly look up the record's key.

Note: This feature is available in Web Workers.

Syntax

var request = objectStore.delete(Key);

var request = objectStore.delete(KeyRange);

Parameters

Key
The key of the record to be deleted, or an IDBKeyRange to delete all records with keys in range.

Return value

An IDBRequest object on which subsequent events related to this operation are fired. The request.result attribute is set to undefined.

Exceptions

This method may raise a DOMException of the following types:

Exception Description
TransactionInactiveError This object store's transaction is inactive.
ReadOnlyError The object store's transaction mode is read-only.
InvalidStateError The object store has been deleted.
DataError

The key is not a valid key or a key range.

Example

In the following code snippet, we open a read/write transaction on our database and delete one specific record out of our object store using delete() — a sample record with the key "Walk dog". For a full working example, see our To-do Notifications app (view example live.)

// Let us open our database
var DBOpenRequest = window.indexedDB.open("toDoList", 4);

DBOpenRequest.onsuccess = function(event) {
  note.innerHTML += '<li>Database initialised.</li>';

  // store the result of opening the database in the db variable. This is used a lot below
  db = DBOpenRequest.result;

  // Run the deleteData() function to delete a record from the database
  deleteData();
};

function deleteData() {
  // open a read/write db transaction, ready for deleting the data
  var transaction = db.transaction(["toDoList"], "readwrite");

  // report on the success of the transaction completing, when everything is done
  transaction.oncomplete = function(event) {
    note.innerHTML += '<li>Transaction completed.</li>';
  };

  transaction.onerror = function(event) {
    note.innerHTML += '<li>Transaction not opened due to error: ' + transaction.error + '</li>';
  };

  // create an object store on the transaction
  var objectStore = transaction.objectStore("toDoList");

  // Make a request to delete the specified record out of the object store
  var objectStoreRequest = objectStore.delete("Walk dog");

  objectStoreRequest.onsuccess = function(event) {
    // report the success of our request
    note.innerHTML += '<li>Request successful.</li>';
  };
};

Specification

Specification Status Comment
Indexed Database API 2.0
The definition of 'delete()' in that specification.
Recommendation
Indexed Database API Draft
The definition of 'delete()' in that specification.
Recommendation

Browser compatibility

DesktopMobile
ChromeEdgeFirefoxInternet ExplorerOperaSafariAndroid webviewChrome for AndroidFirefox for AndroidOpera for AndroidSafari on iOSSamsung Internet
deleteChrome Full support 24
Full support 24
No support 23 — 57
Prefixed
Prefixed Implemented with the vendor prefix: webkit
Edge Full support 12Firefox Full support 16
Full support 16
No support 10 — 16
Prefixed
Prefixed Implemented with the vendor prefix: moz
IE Partial support 10Opera Full support 15Safari Full support 7WebView Android Full support Yes
Full support Yes
No support ? — 57
Prefixed
Prefixed Implemented with the vendor prefix: webkit
Chrome Android Full support 25
Full support 25
No support 25 — 57
Prefixed
Prefixed Implemented with the vendor prefix: webkit
Firefox Android Full support 22Opera Android Full support 14Safari iOS Full support 8Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.5
Full support 1.5
No support 1.5 — 7.0
Prefixed
Prefixed Implemented with the vendor prefix: webkit

Legend

Full support
Full support
Partial support
Partial support
Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.
Requires a vendor prefix or different name for use.

See also