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This guide covers destroying a DigitalOcean Droplet. Destroying a Droplet permanently removes the server and its disk. Backups and snapshots are not deleted automatically — you’ll need to remove those separately.
Complete the pre-termination checklist before proceeding. Destroying a Droplet is irreversible.

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Option 1: DigitalOcean Control Panel

1

Open Droplets

Sign in to the DigitalOcean Control Panel and click Droplets in the left sidebar.
2

Open the Droplet

Click the name of the Droplet running OpenClaw. Confirm the correct Droplet by checking its IP address against what appeared on the watchboard.
3

Go to Destroy

In the left sidebar of the Droplet detail page, scroll to Destroy.
4

Destroy the Droplet

Click Destroy this Droplet. Read the warning — this action cannot be undone. Type the Droplet name to confirm, then click Destroy.
Official DigitalOcean documentation: How to Destroy a Droplet

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Option 2: doctl CLI

If you have doctl installed: 
# List Droplets to find the ID
doctl compute droplet list

# Destroy the Droplet (replace DROPLET_ID)
doctl compute droplet delete DROPLET_ID
You’ll be prompted to confirm. To skip the prompt: 
doctl compute droplet delete DROPLET_ID --force
Official doctl reference: doctl compute droplet delete

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Option 3: DigitalOcean API

curl -X DELETE \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $DIGITALOCEAN_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.digitalocean.com/v2/droplets/DROPLET_ID"
A successful request returns HTTP 204 with no body. See the DigitalOcean API reference for details.

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Post-termination cleanup

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Delete backups and snapshots

DigitalOcean backups and snapshots are not deleted when the Droplet is destroyed. These continue to incur storage charges and contain your instance’s data. In the Control Panel, go to Backups & Snapshots under the Manage section, or use doctl: 
# List snapshots
doctl compute snapshot list

# Delete a snapshot
doctl compute snapshot delete SNAPSHOT_ID

# List backups (associated with Droplets)
doctl compute image list --type backup

# Delete a backup image
doctl compute image delete IMAGE_ID

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Release reserved IPs

If the Droplet had a reserved IP (formerly Floating IP) assigned, release it: 
# List reserved IPs
doctl compute reserved-ip list

# Release a reserved IP
doctl compute reserved-ip delete RESERVED_IP_ADDRESS

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Delete associated volumes

Block Storage volumes attached to the Droplet are not deleted automatically: 
# List volumes
doctl compute volume list

# Delete a volume
doctl compute volume delete VOLUME_ID

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Rotate credentials

After destruction, rotate everything the agent had access to. See the post-termination checklist for the full list.