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Backup Azure Delete Vault
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This page contains Windows bias
About This Page
This page is part of the Azure documentation. It contains code examples and configuration instructions for working with Azure services.
Bias Analysis
Bias Types:
⚠️
powershell_heavy
⚠️
windows_tools
⚠️
windows_first
⚠️
missing_linux_example
Summary:
The documentation demonstrates a Windows bias through heavy reliance on PowerShell scripts and commands, exclusive mention of Windows-centric tools (such as MARS, MABS, DPM, and ARMClient via Chocolatey), and a lack of Linux or cross-platform alternatives. Instructions for deleting backup items and vaults are primarily provided for Windows tools and interfaces, with no equivalent examples for Linux environments or Bash scripting. The CLI section is minimal and notes limited support, while the PowerShell and management console instructions are detailed and Windows-specific.
Recommendations:
- Provide equivalent Bash or Azure CLI scripts for all major operations, including vault and backup item deletion, and ensure these are as detailed as the PowerShell examples.
- Mention and demonstrate installation and usage of Azure CLI and ARMClient on Linux/macOS, not just via Chocolatey (Windows).
- Include guidance for managing Recovery Services vaults from Linux-based environments, including any differences or limitations.
- When referencing management consoles (MARS, MABS, DPM), clarify their platform support and, if Windows-only, suggest alternatives or note limitations for Linux users.
- Ensure that examples and tool recommendations are presented in a platform-neutral order, or provide parallel instructions for both Windows and Linux users.
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| 2025-09-16 00:00 | #113 | completed | ✅ Clean |
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| 2025-08-19 00:01 | #85 | completed | ❌ Biased |
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| 2025-07-09 13:09 | #3 | cancelled | ✅ Clean |
| 2025-07-08 04:23 | #2 | cancelled | ❌ Biased |
Flagged Code Snippets
1. Open PowerShell 7 as administrator.
- **Step 3:** Save the PowerShell script in .ps1 format. Then, to run the script in your PowerShell console, type `./NameOfFile.ps1`. This recursively deletes all backup items and eventually the entire Recovery Services vault.
>[!Note]
>To access the PowerShell script for vault deletion, see the [PowerShell script for vault deletion](./scripts/delete-recovery-services-vault.md) article.
**Run the script in the PowerShell console**
This script performs the following actions:
1. Disable soft delete and security features
1. Delete backup items
1. Unregister servers and storage accounts
1. Delete Disaster Recovery items
1. Remove private endpoints
To delete an individual backup items or write your own script, use the following PowerShell commands:
- Stop protection and delete the backup data:
If you're using SQL in Azure VMs backup and enabled autoprotection for SQL instances, first disable the autoprotection.
[Learn more](/powershell/module/az.recoveryservices/disable-azrecoveryservicesbackupautoprotection) on how to disable protection for an Azure Backup-protected item.
- Stop protection and delete data for all backup-protected items in cloud (for example, IaaS VM, Azure file share, and so on):
[Learn more](/powershell/module/az.recoveryservices/disable-azrecoveryservicesbackupprotection) about disabling protection for a Backup-protected item.
After deleting the backed-up data, unregister any on-premises containers and management servers.
- For on-premises Files and Folders protected using Azure Backup Agent (MARS) backing up to Azure:
[Learn more](/powershell/module/az.recoveryservices/unregister-azrecoveryservicesbackupcontainer) about unregistering a Windows Server or other container from the vault.
- For on-premises machines protected using MABS (Microsoft Azure Backup Server) or DPM to Azure (System Center Data Protection Manage:
[Learn more](/powershell/module/az.recoveryservices/unregister-azrecoveryservicesbackupcontainer) about unregistering a Backup management container from the vault.
After permanently deleting backed up data and unregistering all containers, proceed to delete the vault.
To delete a Recovery Services vault:
[Learn more](/powershell/module/az.recoveryservices/remove-azrecoveryservicesvault) about deleting a Recovery Services vault.
# [CLI](#tab/cli)
First, read the **[Before you start](#before-you-start)** section to understand the dependencies and vault deletion process.
> [!NOTE]
> Currently, Azure Backup CLI supports managing only Azure VM backups, so the following command to delete the vault works only if the vault contains Azure VM backups. You can't delete a vault using Azure Backup CLI, if the vault contains any backup item of type other than Azure VMs.
To delete existing Recovery Services vault, perform the following steps:
- To stop protection and delete the backup data
For more information, see this [article](/cli/azure/backup/vault)
# [Azure Resource Manager](#tab/arm)
Delete the Recovery Services vault using Azure Resource Manager is recommended only if all of the dependencies are removed and you're still getting the *Vault deletion error*. Try any or all of the following tips:
- From the **Essentials** pane in the vault menu, verify that there aren't any backup items, backup management servers, or replicated items listed. If there are backup items, refer to the [Before you start](#before-you-start) section.
- Try [deleting the vault from the portal](#delete-the-recovery-services-vault) again.
- If all of the dependencies are removed and you're still getting the *Vault deletion error*, use the ARMClient tool to perform the following steps (after the note).
1. Go to [chocolatey.org](https://chocolatey.org/) to download and install Chocolatey. Then, install ARMClient by running the following command:
`choco install armclient --source=https://chocolatey.org/api/v2/`
2. Sign in to your Azure account, and then run the following command:
`ARMClient.exe login [environment name]`
3. In the Azure portal, gather the subscription ID and resource group name for the vault you want to delete.
For more information on the ARMClient command, see [ARMClient README](https://github.com/projectkudu/ARMClient/blob/master/README.md).
### Use the Azure Resource Manager client to delete a Recovery Services vault
1. Run the following command by using your subscription ID, resource group name, and vault name. If you don't have any dependencies, the vault is deleted when you run the following command: