DROP SUBSCRIPTION

Enterprise command reference.

Command Snapshot

Field	Value
Category	Replication and Backup
Mutates Data	Yes/Depends
Scope	Cluster / Object
Privilege Model	Requires administrative privilege on replication and backup objects.

Purpose

Defines, changes, or removes schema and metadata objects.

Syntax

DROP SUBSCRIPTION [ IF EXISTS ] name

Operational Notes

Use schema-qualified identifiers in automation and automation pipelines.
Validate behavior in staging for cluster-impacting or governance-impacting changes.
Confirm runtime effects through system tables and metrics before and after execution.

When to Use

Use for snapshot lifecycle, repository operations, and logical replication setup.
Use as part of disaster recovery and data mobility runbooks.

When Not to Use

Avoid assuming restore/snapshot compatibility across untested version boundaries.

Common Errors and Troubleshooting

Symptom	Likely Cause	Action
Permission denied / unauthorized	Missing privilege on object or cluster scope	Re-run with required grants or elevated admin role.
Analysis/parse error	Syntax variant or object shape mismatch	Compare with canonical syntax and object definition.
Runtime failure under load	Resource limits, breaker pressure, or node state transitions	Check `sys.jobs`, `sys.operations`, `sys.checks`, and retry after mitigation.

Cross-References

Detailed Reference

SQL Statement

DROP SUBSCRIPTION [ IF EXISTS ] name

Description

The DROP SUBSCRIPTION command in MonkDB is used to remove an existing subscription from the cluster. Once a subscription is dropped, the replication process for that subscription stops, and any tables associated with it become regular writable tables.

It is important to note that once a subscription is dropped, it cannot be resumed.

Parameters

name: This is the name of the subscription that you want to delete. It must be a valid subscription name within the cluster.

Steps to Drop a Subscription

Identify the Subscription: Ensure you have the correct name of the subscription you wish to drop.
Execute the Command: Use the DROP SUBSCRIPTION command followed by the name of the subscription. If you are unsure whether the subscription exists, you can use IF EXISTS to avoid errors.

DROP SUBSCRIPTION IF EXISTS my_subscription;

After executing the command, verify that the subscription has been successfully removed and that replication has stopped.

Considerations

Replication Stop: Dropping a subscription stops the replication process for the tables involved. These tables will no longer receive updates from the publisher.
Table Accessibility: After dropping a subscription, the tables become writable on the subscriber cluster, allowing local modifications.
Irreversibility: Once a subscription is dropped, it cannot be resumed. You would need to recreate the subscription if you want to restart replication.

Examples

Suppose you have a subscription named my_subscription that you no longer need. You can drop it using the following command:

DROP SUBSCRIPTION my_subscription;

If you are unsure whether my_subscription exists, use:

DROP SUBSCRIPTION IF EXISTS my_subscription;