---
title: DROP COLLECTION
description: The DROP COLLECTION statement enables you to delete a named
  collection from a scope.
pubDate: 2026-08-17T09:53:44.266Z
antora:
  editUrl: https://github.com/couchbaselabs/docs-devex/edit/release/7.2/modules/n1ql/pages/n1ql-language-reference/dropcollection.adoc
  xref: xref:7.2@server:n1ql:n1ql-language-reference/dropcollection.adoc[]
---

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# DROP COLLECTION

> The `DROP COLLECTION` statement enables you to delete a named collection from a scope. 

## [](#syntax)Syntax

```ebnf
drop-collection ::= 'DROP' 'COLLECTION' ( ( namespace ':' )? bucket '.' scope '.' )?
                    collection ( 'IF' 'EXISTS' )?
```

![Syntax diagram: refer to source code listing](../_images/n1ql-language-reference/drop-collection.png) 

namespace

(Optional) An [identifier](identifiers.md) that refers to the [namespace](../n1ql-intro/sysinfo.md#logical-hierarchy) of the bucket which contains the collection you want to delete. Currently, only the `default` namespace is available. If the namespace name is omitted, the default namespace in the current session is used.

bucket

(Optional) An [identifier](identifiers.md) that refers to the bucket which contains the collection you want to delete.

scope

(Optional) An [identifier](identifiers.md) that refers to the scope which contains the collection you want to delete.

collection

(Required) An [identifier](identifiers.md) that refers to the name of the collection that you want to delete.

> [!NOTE]
> If there is a hyphen (-) inside the bucket name, the scope name, or the collection name, you must wrap that part of the path in backticks (\` \`). For example, `` default:`travel-sample` `` indicates the `travel-sample` keyspace in the `default` namespace.

### [](#location)Specifying the Location

To specify the location of the collection, you may do one of the following:

* Include its _full path_, containing the namespace, bucket, and scope, followed by the collection name;
* Include a _relative path_, containing just the bucket and scope, followed by the connection name;
* Specify just the collection name without a path.

When you specify a collection name without a path, you must set the [query context](../n1ql-intro/queriesandresults.md#query-context) to indicate the required namespace, bucket, and scope. If you specify a collection name by itself without setting a valid query context, an error is generated.

### [](#if-exists)IF EXISTS Clause

The optional `IF EXISTS` clause enables the statement to complete successfully when the specified collection doesn't exist. If the collection does not exist within the specified scope, then:

* If this clause is not present, an error is generated.
* If this clause is present, the statement does nothing and completes without error.

## [](#examples)Examples

Example 1\. Delete collection with full path

This statement deletes a collection called `city` in the `inventory` scope within the `travel-sample` bucket.

```sqlpp
DROP COLLECTION `travel-sample`.inventory.city
```

Example 2\. Delete collection with query context

For this example, set the query context to the `inventory` scope in the travel sample dataset. For more information, see [Query Context](../n1ql-intro/queriesandresults.md#query-context).

Assuming that the query context is set, this statement deletes a collection called `country` in the `inventory` scope within the `travel-sample` bucket.

```sqlpp
DROP COLLECTION country;
```

## [](#related-links)Related Links

* An overview of scopes and collections is provided in [Scopes and Collections](../../learn/data/scopes-and-collections.md).
* Step-by-step procedures for management are provided in [Manage Scopes and Collections](../../manage/manage-scopes-and-collections/manage-scopes-and-collections.md).
* Refer to [Scopes and Collections API](../../rest-api/scopes-and-collections-api.md) to manage scopes and collections with the REST API.
* Refer to the reference page for the [collection-manage](../../cli/cbcli/couchbase-cli-collection-manage.md) command to manage scopes and collections with the CLI.