IWE Delete

Delete a document and clean up all references to it across the knowledge base.

Usage

iwe delete <KEY> [OPTIONS]

Arguments

Options

How It Works

The delete command performs a safe document deletion with full reference cleanup:

1. Deletes the document file - Removes the document from the filesystem
2. Removes inclusion links - Inclusion links pointing to the deleted document are removed
3. Converts inline links - Inline references are converted to plain text (preserving readability)
4. Maintains integrity - Ensures no broken references remain

Reference Cleanup

Inclusion Links

Before:

# Index

[Overview](overview)

[Deleted Topic](deleted-topic)

[Other Topic](other-topic)

After deleting deleted-topic:

# Index

[Overview](overview)

[Other Topic](other-topic)

Inline Links

Before:

For more details, see [Deleted Topic](deleted-topic) and [Other](other).

After deleting deleted-topic:

For more details, see Deleted Topic and [Other](other).

Output Modes

Default Output

Shows confirmation prompt and progress:

$ iwe delete my-document
Delete 'my-document' and update 2 reference(s)? [y/N] y
Deleting 'my-document'
Updated 2 document(s)

Dry Run (--dry-run)

Preview what would happen without making changes:

$ iwe delete my-document --dry-run
Would delete 'my-document'
Would update 2 document(s)
  index
  overview

Keys Output (--keys)

Print affected document keys for scripting:

$ iwe delete my-document --keys
my-document
index
overview

Force Mode (--force)

Skip the confirmation prompt:

$ iwe delete my-document --force
Deleting 'my-document'
Updated 2 document(s)

Quiet Mode (--quiet)

Suppress all output except errors:

$ iwe delete my-document --quiet --force

Examples

# Delete with confirmation
iwe delete old-notes

# Preview changes first
iwe delete obsolete-doc --dry-run

# Force delete without confirmation
iwe delete temp-note --force

# Get affected keys for processing
iwe delete my-doc --keys --dry-run

# Silent delete (for scripts)
iwe delete doc --quiet --force

Use Cases

Cleaning Up Obsolete Documents

Remove outdated documents while preserving references:

# Check what would be affected
iwe delete old-feature --dry-run

# Delete if satisfied
iwe delete old-feature

Batch Deletion

Delete multiple documents based on a pattern:

# Find and delete all temp documents
iwe find temp -f keys | while read key; do
  iwe delete "$key" --force --quiet
done

Safe Cleanup

Preview all changes before committing:

# See full impact
iwe delete important-doc --dry-run

# Check affected documents
iwe delete important-doc --keys --dry-run

Error Handling

The command fails with an error if:

• The document does not exist
• There are filesystem permission issues

Technical Notes

• Inclusion links are completely removed from documents
• Inline references are converted to plain text (the link text is preserved)
• The operation is atomic - either all changes succeed or none are applied
• Use --dry-run to preview changes before committing