Terminate on Hetzner

This guide covers deleting a Hetzner Cloud server. Deletion permanently removes the server and its primary disk. Volumes, snapshots, and backups are not deleted automatically.

Complete the pre-termination checklist before proceeding. Server deletion is irreversible.

Option 1: Hetzner Cloud Console

Open the Hetzner Cloud Console

Open the server list

Navigate to Servers in the left sidebar.

Select your server

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

Delete the server

Click the ••• (more options) menu in the top right of the server detail page and select Delete. Confirm the deletion in the dialog.Alternatively, from the server list, click the ••• menu on the server row and select Delete.

Official Hetzner documentation: Hetzner Cloud Servers FAQ

Option 2: hcloud CLI

If you have the hcloud CLI installed:

# List servers to find the server ID or name
hcloud server list

# Delete a server by name or ID
hcloud server delete SERVER_NAME_OR_ID

You’ll be prompted to confirm. Add --force to skip the prompt.

Option 3: Hetzner Cloud API

curl -X DELETE \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $HETZNER_API_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.hetzner.cloud/v1/servers/SERVER_ID"

A successful response returns HTTP 200 with an action object. See the Hetzner Cloud API reference for details.

Post-termination cleanup

Delete volumes

Volumes attached to the server are not deleted when the server is deleted. In the Cloud Console, navigate to Volumes, identify volumes that are no longer attached (Status = “Available”), and delete them. Using the CLI:

# List volumes
hcloud volume list

# Delete a volume
hcloud volume delete VOLUME_NAME_OR_ID

Delete snapshots

Snapshots created from this server are not deleted automatically:

# List snapshots (images with type=snapshot)
hcloud image list --type snapshot

# Delete a snapshot
hcloud image delete IMAGE_ID

Delete backups

If automated backups were enabled for the server, they are deleted automatically when the server is deleted. If you need to verify:

hcloud image list --type backup

Release Floating IPs

Floating IPs are not deleted when a server is deleted. They continue to incur charges:

# List floating IPs
hcloud floating-ip list

# Delete a floating IP
hcloud floating-ip delete FLOATING_IP_ID

Remove the server from any Load Balancers or Networks

If the server was part of a Load Balancer or private network, remove it:

# Detach from a private network
hcloud server detach-from-network SERVER_NAME --network NETWORK_NAME

# Remove from a load balancer
hcloud load-balancer remove-target LOAD_BALANCER_NAME --type server --server SERVER_NAME

Rotate credentials

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

Overview

Self-Hosted Hardening

Terminate Your Instance

Terminate on Hetzner

Option 1: Hetzner Cloud Console

Option 2: hcloud CLI

Option 3: Hetzner Cloud API

Post-termination cleanup

Delete volumes

Delete snapshots

Delete backups

Release Floating IPs

Remove the server from any Load Balancers or Networks

Rotate credentials

​Option 1: Hetzner Cloud Console

​Option 2: hcloud CLI

​Option 3: Hetzner Cloud API

​Post-termination cleanup

​Delete volumes

​Delete snapshots

​Delete backups

​Release Floating IPs

​Remove the server from any Load Balancers or Networks

​Rotate credentials

Option 1: Hetzner Cloud Console

Option 2: hcloud CLI

Option 3: Hetzner Cloud API

Post-termination cleanup

Delete volumes

Delete snapshots

Delete backups

Release Floating IPs

Remove the server from any Load Balancers or Networks

Rotate credentials