> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://code.dcycle.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Delete Employee

> Remove an employee from your organization

# Delete Employee

Permanently delete an employee from your organization. This will also remove all associated commuting periods and their CO2e data.

<Warning>
  **Irreversible Action**: Deleting an employee permanently removes all their data, including commuting history and emissions calculations. Consider updating the `situation` to `terminated` instead if you want to preserve historical data.
</Warning>

## Request

### Headers

<ParamField header="x-api-key" type="string" required>
  Your API key for authentication

  **Example:** `sk_live_1234567890abcdef`
</ParamField>

<ParamField header="x-organization-id" type="string" required>
  Your organization UUID

  **Example:** `a8315ef3-dd50-43f8-b7ce-d839e68d51fa`
</ParamField>

### Path Parameters

<ParamField path="employee_id" type="string" required>
  The unique identifier (UUID) of the employee to delete

  **Example:** `550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000`
</ParamField>

## Response

Returns `204 No Content` on successful deletion. No response body is returned.

## Example

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
  curl -X DELETE "https://api.dcycle.io/v1/employees/550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000" \
    -H "x-api-key: ${DCYCLE_API_KEY}" \
    -H "x-organization-id: ${DCYCLE_ORG_ID}"
  ```

  ```python Python theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
  import requests
  import os

  api_key = os.getenv("DCYCLE_API_KEY")
  org_id = os.getenv("DCYCLE_ORG_ID")
  employee_id = "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000"

  headers = {
      "x-api-key": api_key,
      "x-organization-id": org_id
  }

  response = requests.delete(
      f"https://api.dcycle.io/v1/employees/{employee_id}",
      headers=headers
  )

  if response.status_code == 204:
      print("Employee deleted successfully")
  else:
      print(f"Error: {response.text}")
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
  const axios = require('axios');

  const apiKey = process.env.DCYCLE_API_KEY;
  const orgId = process.env.DCYCLE_ORG_ID;
  const employeeId = '550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000';

  const headers = {
    'x-api-key': apiKey,
    'x-organization-id': orgId
  };

  axios.delete(
    `https://api.dcycle.io/v1/employees/${employeeId}`,
    { headers }
  )
  .then(response => {
    if (response.status === 204) {
      console.log('Employee deleted successfully');
    }
  })
  .catch(error => console.error(error));
  ```
</CodeGroup>

### Successful Response

```
HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
```

No response body is returned.

## Common Errors

### 401 Unauthorized

**Cause:** Missing or invalid API key

```json theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
{
  "detail": "Invalid API key",
  "code": "INVALID_API_KEY"
}
```

**Solution:** Verify your API key is valid and active.

### 404 Not Found

**Cause:** Employee not found or doesn't belong to your organization

```json theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
{
  "code": "EMPLOYEE_NOT_FOUND",
  "detail": "Employee with id=UUID('...') not found"
}
```

**Solution:** Verify the employee ID is correct and belongs to your organization.

## Use Cases

### Delete Single Employee

Remove an employee from the system:

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
def delete_employee(employee_id):
    """Delete an employee by ID"""
    response = requests.delete(
        f"https://api.dcycle.io/v1/employees/{employee_id}",
        headers=headers
    )

    if response.status_code == 204:
        return True
    else:
        print(f"Failed to delete: {response.text}")
        return False

success = delete_employee("550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000")
if success:
    print("Employee deleted")
```

### Delete with Confirmation

Verify before deleting:

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
def delete_employee_with_confirmation(employee_id):
    """Delete employee after getting confirmation"""
    # First, get employee details
    response = requests.get(
        f"https://api.dcycle.io/v1/employees/{employee_id}",
        headers=headers
    )

    if response.status_code != 200:
        print("Employee not found")
        return False

    employee = response.json()

    # Show what will be deleted
    total_co2e = sum(p['co2e'] for p in employee.get('periods', []))
    print(f"About to delete:")
    print(f"  Name: {employee['name']}")
    print(f"  Email: {employee['email']}")
    print(f"  Periods: {len(employee.get('periods', []))}")
    print(f"  Total CO2e: {total_co2e} kg")

    # In a real app, you'd ask for confirmation here
    confirm = input("Delete this employee? (yes/no): ")

    if confirm.lower() == 'yes':
        response = requests.delete(
            f"https://api.dcycle.io/v1/employees/{employee_id}",
            headers=headers
        )
        return response.status_code == 204

    return False
```

### Bulk Delete Employees

Delete multiple employees:

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
def bulk_delete_employees(employee_ids):
    """Delete multiple employees"""
    results = {"deleted": [], "failed": []}

    for emp_id in employee_ids:
        response = requests.delete(
            f"https://api.dcycle.io/v1/employees/{emp_id}",
            headers=headers
        )

        if response.status_code == 204:
            results["deleted"].append(emp_id)
        else:
            results["failed"].append({
                "id": emp_id,
                "error": response.text
            })

    return results

# Delete multiple employees
employee_ids = [
    "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
    "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440001"
]

results = bulk_delete_employees(employee_ids)
print(f"Deleted: {len(results['deleted'])}")
print(f"Failed: {len(results['failed'])}")
```

### Delete Terminated Employees

Clean up terminated employees:

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
def cleanup_terminated_employees():
    """Delete all terminated employees"""
    # Get all terminated employees
    response = requests.get(
        "https://api.dcycle.io/v1/employees",
        headers=headers,
        params={"situation": ["terminated"], "size": 100}
    )

    employees = response.json()["items"]
    print(f"Found {len(employees)} terminated employees")

    deleted = 0
    for emp in employees:
        response = requests.delete(
            f"https://api.dcycle.io/v1/employees/{emp['id']}",
            headers=headers
        )
        if response.status_code == 204:
            deleted += 1
            print(f"Deleted: {emp['name'] or emp['email']}")

    print(f"Total deleted: {deleted}")
    return deleted

# Run cleanup
cleanup_terminated_employees()
```

## Best Practices

### Consider Alternatives

Before deleting, consider:

1. **Update to Terminated**: Set `situation: "terminated"` to preserve historical data
2. **Archive Data**: Export employee data before deletion for records
3. **Verify Impact**: Check if the employee's CO2e data is needed for reports

### Preserve Historical Data

If you need to keep emissions records:

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}}
def archive_and_delete_employee(employee_id):
    """Archive employee data before deletion"""
    # Get employee with full data
    response = requests.get(
        f"https://api.dcycle.io/v1/employees/{employee_id}",
        headers=headers
    )
    employee = response.json()

    # Archive to file or database
    import json
    with open(f"archived_employee_{employee_id}.json", "w") as f:
        json.dump(employee, f, indent=2)

    print(f"Archived employee data to archived_employee_{employee_id}.json")

    # Now delete
    response = requests.delete(
        f"https://api.dcycle.io/v1/employees/{employee_id}",
        headers=headers
    )

    return response.status_code == 204
```

## Related Endpoints

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Update Employee" icon="pencil" href="/api-reference/employees/update">
    Modify employee (e.g., set as terminated instead of deleting)
  </Card>

  <Card title="List Employees" icon="list" href="/api-reference/employees/list">
    View all employees
  </Card>

  <Card title="Create Employee" icon="plus" href="/api-reference/employees/create">
    Add a new employee
  </Card>

  <Card title="Get Employee" icon="user" href="/api-reference/employees/get">
    View employee details before deleting
  </Card>
</CardGroup>