Delete an organization
Why deletion is refused while the organization still owns work, the order to empty it in, and what deletion withdraws elsewhere.
Only an Owner can delete an organization, from its Settings.
It is refused while it still owns anything
Deleting an organization does not delete its work, and does not hand that work to anyone. So the delete is refused while the organization still owns a single experiment, macro, protocol, workbook, device or device group. The refusal tells you how many of each are left.
This is deliberate: published work should not disappear behind one confirmation dialog.
Emptying it, in order
- Move what you want to keep. Transfer each experiment, macro, protocol or workbook to another organization or to your personal workspace — see Moving a resource.
- Delete what you do not.
- Delete the devices and device groups. They are the exception below.
- Delete the organization.
Devices and device groups cannot be moved. Every other resource type can be transferred out, but neither of these has a transfer route — so an organization holding them can only be emptied by deleting them. Deleting a device also revokes its certificate; deleting a group leaves its devices alone, and only undoes the grouping and whatever it was shared with. Plan for that before you start.
What deletion takes with it
Deleting an organization removes more than the organization row:
- Its teams go with it, and every share those teams held is withdrawn.
- Shares the organization itself held are withdrawn, including shares on resources owned by other organizations. If this lab had Can edit on a partner lab's experiment, that access disappears too.
- Members are not deleted. People keep their accounts and everything they own elsewhere; they simply stop being members of an organization that no longer exists.
Your personal workspace cannot be deleted, and does not appear anywhere in this flow. Deleting your account is a different operation with its own rules — including that it is blocked while you are an organization's last Owner. See Account, security & API keys.