# Use Cascading Deletion in a Cluster
LLMS index: [llms.txt](/llms.txt)
---
This page shows you how to specify the type of
[cascading deletion](/docs/concepts/architecture/garbage-collection/#cascading-deletion)
to use in your cluster during garbage collection.
## Before you begin
You need to have a Kubernetes cluster, and the kubectl command-line tool must
be configured to communicate with your cluster. It is recommended to run this tutorial on a cluster with at least two nodes that are not acting as control plane hosts. If you do not already have a
cluster, you can create one by using
minikube
or you can use one of these Kubernetes playgrounds:
You also need to [create a sample Deployment](/docs/tasks/run-application/run-stateless-application-deployment/#creating-and-exploring-an-nginx-deployment)
to experiment with the different types of cascading deletion. You will need to
recreate the Deployment for each type.
## Check owner references on your pods
Check that the `ownerReferences` field is present on your pods:
```shell
kubectl get pods -l app=nginx --output=yaml
```
The output has an `ownerReferences` field similar to this:
```yaml
apiVersion: v1
...
ownerReferences:
- apiVersion: apps/v1
blockOwnerDeletion: true
controller: true
kind: ReplicaSet
name: nginx-deployment-6b474476c4
uid: 4fdcd81c-bd5d-41f7-97af-3a3b759af9a7
...
```
## Use foreground cascading deletion {#use-foreground-cascading-deletion}
By default, Kubernetes uses [background cascading deletion](/docs/concepts/architecture/garbage-collection/#background-deletion)
to delete dependents of an object. You can switch to foreground cascading deletion
using either `kubectl` or the Kubernetes API, depending on the Kubernetes
version your cluster runs.
To check the version, enter kubectl version.
You can delete objects using foreground cascading deletion using `kubectl` or the
Kubernetes API.
**Using kubectl**
Run the following command:
```shell
kubectl delete deployment nginx-deployment --cascade=foreground
```
**Using the Kubernetes API**
1. Start a local proxy session:
```shell
kubectl proxy --port=8080
```
1. Use `curl` to trigger deletion:
```shell
curl -X DELETE localhost:8080/apis/apps/v1/namespaces/default/deployments/nginx-deployment \
-d '{"kind":"DeleteOptions","apiVersion":"v1","propagationPolicy":"Foreground"}' \
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
```
The output contains a `foregroundDeletion` finalizer
like this:
```
"kind": "Deployment",
"apiVersion": "apps/v1",
"metadata": {
"name": "nginx-deployment",
"namespace": "default",
"uid": "d1ce1b02-cae8-4288-8a53-30e84d8fa505",
"resourceVersion": "1363097",
"creationTimestamp": "2021-07-08T20:24:37Z",
"deletionTimestamp": "2021-07-08T20:27:39Z",
"finalizers": [
"foregroundDeletion"
]
...
```
## Use background cascading deletion {#use-background-cascading-deletion}
1. [Create a sample Deployment](/docs/tasks/run-application/run-stateless-application-deployment/#creating-and-exploring-an-nginx-deployment).
1. Use either `kubectl` or the Kubernetes API to delete the Deployment,
depending on the Kubernetes version your cluster runs.
To check the version, enter kubectl version.
You can delete objects using background cascading deletion using `kubectl`
or the Kubernetes API.
Kubernetes uses background cascading deletion by default, and does so
even if you run the following commands without the `--cascade` flag or the
`propagationPolicy` argument.
**Using kubectl**
Run the following command:
```shell
kubectl delete deployment nginx-deployment --cascade=background
```
**Using the Kubernetes API**
1. Start a local proxy session:
```shell
kubectl proxy --port=8080
```
1. Use `curl` to trigger deletion:
```shell
curl -X DELETE localhost:8080/apis/apps/v1/namespaces/default/deployments/nginx-deployment \
-d '{"kind":"DeleteOptions","apiVersion":"v1","propagationPolicy":"Background"}' \
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
```
The output is similar to this:
```
"kind": "Status",
"apiVersion": "v1",
...
"status": "Success",
"details": {
"name": "nginx-deployment",
"group": "apps",
"kind": "deployments",
"uid": "cc9eefb9-2d49-4445-b1c1-d261c9396456"
}
```
## Delete owner objects and orphan dependents {#set-orphan-deletion-policy}
By default, when you tell Kubernetes to delete an object, the
controller also deletes
dependent objects. You can make Kubernetes *orphan* these dependents using
`kubectl` or the Kubernetes API, depending on the Kubernetes version your
cluster runs.
To check the version, enter kubectl version.
**Using kubectl**
Run the following command:
```shell
kubectl delete deployment nginx-deployment --cascade=orphan
```
**Using the Kubernetes API**
1. Start a local proxy session:
```shell
kubectl proxy --port=8080
```
1. Use `curl` to trigger deletion:
```shell
curl -X DELETE localhost:8080/apis/apps/v1/namespaces/default/deployments/nginx-deployment \
-d '{"kind":"DeleteOptions","apiVersion":"v1","propagationPolicy":"Orphan"}' \
-H "Content-Type: application/json"
```
The output contains `orphan` in the `finalizers` field, similar to this:
```
"kind": "Deployment",
"apiVersion": "apps/v1",
"namespace": "default",
"uid": "6f577034-42a0-479d-be21-78018c466f1f",
"creationTimestamp": "2021-07-09T16:46:37Z",
"deletionTimestamp": "2021-07-09T16:47:08Z",
"deletionGracePeriodSeconds": 0,
"finalizers": [
"orphan"
],
...
```
You can check that the Pods managed by the Deployment are still running:
```shell
kubectl get pods -l app=nginx
```
## What's next
* Learn about [owners and dependents](/docs/concepts/overview/working-with-objects/owners-dependents/) in Kubernetes.
* Learn about Kubernetes [finalizers](/docs/concepts/overview/working-with-objects/finalizers/).
* Learn about [garbage collection](/docs/concepts/architecture/garbage-collection/).