> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/treeverse/dvc/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# dvc exp remove
> Remove one or more experiments from the project
## Description
Remove experiments from your DVC project. This command deletes experiment references and associated data, helping you clean up unsuccessful experiments or maintain a tidy experiment history. You can remove individual experiments, all experiments from specific commits, or queued experiments.
This operation is irreversible. Removed experiments cannot be recovered. Review your selection carefully before removing experiments.
## Usage
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove [...] [options]
```
Aliases: `dvc exp rm`
## Arguments
One or more experiment names to remove. Can specify multiple experiments separated by spaces.
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove exp-a1b2c
dvc exp remove exp-123 exp-456 exp-789
```
## Options
### Selection Options
Remove all experiments from the specified Git revisions. Can be used multiple times.
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove --rev HEAD
dvc exp remove --rev main --rev feature-branch
```
Remove experiments from all Git commits.
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove --all-commits
```
Remove experiments from the last N commits. Used with `--rev` or `--all-commits`.
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove --num 5
```
Remove all queued experiments (experiments staged with `dvc exp run --queue` but not yet executed).
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove --queue
```
Keep the N most recent experiments and remove the rest. Must be used with `--rev` or `--all-commits`.
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove --all-commits --keep 10
```
Name or URL of the Git remote to remove the experiment from. This removes experiments from a remote repository.
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove exp-a1b2c --git-remote origin
dvc exp remove exp-a1b2c --git-remote https://github.com/user/repo.git
```
## Examples
### Remove a single experiment
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove exp-a1b2c
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
Removed experiments: 'exp-a1b2c'
```
Removing an experiment deletes its reference and cached data, but doesn't affect any Git branches created from it.
### Remove multiple experiments
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove exp-123 exp-456 exp-789
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
Removed experiments: 'exp-123', 'exp-456', 'exp-789'
```
### Remove all experiments from current commit
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove --rev HEAD
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
Removed experiments: 'exp-a1b2c', 'exp-d3e4f', 'exp-g7h8i'
```
This is useful for cleaning up after a hyperparameter sweep on the current commit.
### Remove all queued experiments
```bash theme={null}
# Queue some experiments
dvc exp run --queue -S lr=0.1
dvc exp run --queue -S lr=0.01
dvc exp run --queue -S lr=0.001
# Remove all queued experiments
dvc exp remove --queue
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
Removed experiments: 'exp-queued-1', 'exp-queued-2', 'exp-queued-3'
```
This only removes queued experiments that haven't been executed yet.
### Remove experiments from multiple branches
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove --rev main --rev feature-branch
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
Removed experiments: 'exp-main-1', 'exp-main-2', 'exp-feature-1', 'exp-feature-2'
```
### Keep only recent experiments
```bash theme={null}
# Keep 5 most recent experiments, remove all others
dvc exp remove --all-commits --keep 5
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
Removed experiments: 'exp-old-1', 'exp-old-2', 'exp-old-3', ...
```
Use `--keep` to maintain a fixed number of experiments for reference while cleaning up older ones.
### Remove from last N commits
```bash theme={null}
# Remove experiments from last 3 commits
dvc exp remove --num 3
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
Removed experiments: 'exp-1', 'exp-2', 'exp-3', 'exp-4', 'exp-5'
```
### Remove all experiments
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove --all-commits
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
Removed experiments: 'exp-1', 'exp-2', ..., 'exp-99', 'exp-100'
```
This removes ALL experiments from your project. Use with extreme caution!
### Remove from remote repository
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove exp-a1b2c --git-remote origin
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
Removed experiments: 'exp-a1b2c' from remote 'origin'
```
This removes the experiment from the remote Git repository, not just your local copy.
## Common Workflows
### Clean up failed experiments
```bash theme={null}
# View all experiments including failed ones
dvc exp show
# Remove failed experiments one by one
dvc exp remove exp-failed-1 exp-failed-2 exp-failed-3
```
### Maintain experiment history limit
```bash theme={null}
# Periodically clean up, keeping only last 20 experiments
dvc exp remove --all-commits --keep 20
```
### Cancel queued experiments
```bash theme={null}
# Queue multiple experiments
for lr in 0.1 0.01 0.001 0.0001 0.00001; do
dvc exp run --queue -S train.lr=$lr
done
# Decided not to run them
dvc exp remove --queue
```
### Clean up before archiving
```bash theme={null}
# Before archiving project, remove all experiments
# (keep only promoted branches)
dvc exp remove --all-commits
# Archive repository
git archive --format=zip --output=project-archive.zip HEAD
```
### Remove experiments after promotion
```bash theme={null}
# Find best experiment
dvc exp show --sort-by accuracy --sort-order desc
# Promote it to a branch
dvc exp branch exp-best model/production
# Remove the temporary experiment
dvc exp remove exp-best
# The branch persists even though experiment is removed
git branch
```
Removing an experiment doesn't affect Git branches created from it using `dvc exp branch`.
## Understanding Removal Scope
### What Gets Removed
1. **Experiment references**: Entries in DVC's experiment database
2. **Cached data**: Model outputs and artifacts unique to the experiment
3. **Metrics history**: Historical metrics recorded for the experiment
4. **Parameter snapshots**: Parameter values used in the experiment
### What Doesn't Get Removed
1. **Git branches**: Branches created via `dvc exp branch` remain intact
2. **Shared cache**: Data shared with other experiments or commits
3. **Git commits**: Regular Git commits are unaffected
4. **Current workspace**: Your working directory remains unchanged
DVC uses reference counting for cached data. Removing an experiment only deletes data that's not referenced by other experiments or commits.
## Validation and Safety
### Confirm before removal
```bash theme={null}
# List experiments that would be removed
dvc exp show --rev HEAD
# Then remove
dvc exp remove --rev HEAD
```
### Remove with filtering
```bash theme={null}
# View all experiments
dvc exp show
# Remove only specific failed ones
dvc exp show | grep "!" | awk '{print $1}' | xargs dvc exp remove
```
### Backup before bulk removal
```bash theme={null}
# Export experiments to JSON before removing
dvc exp show --json > experiments-backup.json
# Now safe to remove
dvc exp remove --all-commits --keep 10
# Can review backup if needed
cat experiments-backup.json | jq
```
## Troubleshooting
### No experiments to remove
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove --rev HEAD
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
No experiments to remove.
```
This means there are no experiments associated with the specified revision.
### Experiment not found
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove nonexistent-exp
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
ERROR: experiment 'nonexistent-exp' not found
```
Solution:
```bash theme={null}
# List available experiments
dvc exp show
# Use correct experiment name
dvc exp remove exp-a1b2c
```
### Cannot remove from remote
```bash theme={null}
dvc exp remove exp-a1b2c --git-remote origin
```
Output:
```bash theme={null}
ERROR: permission denied when removing from remote 'origin'
```
Removing experiments from a remote requires write access to the remote repository.
## Related Commands
* `dvc exp show` - View experiments before removing
* `dvc exp run` - Create new experiments
* `dvc exp branch` - Convert experiment to permanent branch before removing
* `dvc gc` - Clean up unused cache data (after removing experiments)