wheels destroy

Remove generated code and files associated with a model, controller, views, and tests.

Synopsis

wheels destroy <name>
wheels d <name>

Description

The wheels destroy command removes all files and code associated with a resource that was previously generated. It's useful for cleaning up mistakes or removing features completely. This command will also drop the associated database table and remove resource routes.

Arguments

| Argument | Description | Required | |----------|-------------|----------| | name | Name of the resource to destroy | Yes |

Options

This command has no additional options. It always prompts for confirmation before proceeding.

What Gets Removed

When you destroy a resource, the following items are deleted:

• Model file (/app/models/[Name].cfc)
• Controller file (/app/controllers/[Names].cfc)
• Views directory (/app/views/[names]/)
• Model test file (/tests/specs/models/[Name].cfc)
• Controller test file (/tests/specs/controllers/[Names].cfc)
• View test directory (/tests/specs/views/[names]/)
• Resource route entry in /config/routes.cfm
• Database table (if confirmed)

Examples

Basic destroy

wheels destroy user

This will prompt:

================================================
= Watch Out!                                   =
================================================
This will delete the associated database table 'users', and
the following files and directories:

/app/models/User.cfc
/app/controllers/Users.cfc
/app/views/users/
/tests/specs/models/User.cfc
/tests/specs/controllers/Users.cfc
/tests/specs/views/users/
/config/routes.cfm
.resources("users")

Are you sure? [y/n]

Using the alias

wheels d product

Confirmation

The command always asks for confirmation and shows exactly what will be deleted:

================================================
= Watch Out!                                   =
================================================
This will delete the associated database table 'users', and
the following files and directories:

/app/models/User.cfc
/app/controllers/Users.cfc
/app/views/users/
/tests/specs/models/User.cfc
/tests/specs/controllers/Users.cfc
/tests/specs/views/users/
/config/routes.cfm
.resources("users")

Are you sure? [y/n]

Safety Features

1. Confirmation Required: Always asks for confirmation before proceeding
2. Shows All Changes: Lists all files and directories that will be deleted
3. Database Migration: Creates and runs a migration to drop the table
4. Route Cleanup: Automatically removes resource routes from routes.cfm

What Gets Destroyed

1. Files Deleted:

   • Model file
   • Controller file
   • Views directory and all view files
   • Test files (model, controller, and view tests)

2. Database Changes:

   • Creates a migration to drop the table
   • Runs wheels dbmigrate latest to execute the migration

3. Route Changes:

   • Removes .resources("name") from routes.cfm
   • Cleans up extra whitespace

Best Practices

1. Commit First: Always commit your changes before destroying
2. Review Carefully: Read the confirmation list carefully
3. Check Dependencies: Make sure other code doesn't depend on what you're destroying
4. Backup Database: Have a database backup before running in production

Common Workflows

Undo a generated resource

# Generated the wrong name
wheels generate resource prduct  # Oops, typo!
wheels destroy prduct            # Remove it
wheels generate resource product # Create correct one

Clean up after experimentation

# Try out a feature
wheels generate scaffold blog_post title:string content:text
# Decide you don't want it
wheels destroy blog_post

Notes

• Cannot be undone - files are permanently deleted
• Database table is dropped via migration
• Resource routes are automatically removed from routes.cfm
• Only works with resources that follow Wheels naming conventions

See Also

• wheels generate resource - Generate resources
• wheels generate scaffold - Generate scaffolding
• wheels dbmigrate remove table - Remove database tables