# Remove a server from InfraNest (or delete it for real)

> There are two different things people mean by "remove this server", and only one of them stops the bill.

Source: https://infranest.io/docs/remove-a-server
Last updated: 2026-10-26

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Removing a server from InfraNest can mean two very different things: switching the machine off for good at your provider, or just clearing it from your InfraNest view while it keeps running. This guide explains the difference and walks you through each, so you don't end up with a surprise bill — or a surprise dead link.

## Overview

- **Delete server** shuts the machine down at your provider and stops the bill. This cannot be undone from InfraNest.
- **Stop tracking** removes the server from InfraNest only — the machine keeps running and your provider keeps charging for it.
- A server you added by hand (no provider account behind it) is the exception: deleting it just removes its record here, nothing else.

> [!NOTE]
> If you want to stop paying, use **Delete server**. If someone else looks after the machine, or you just want it off your list, use **Stop tracking**.

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## Delete a server

1. Open the server, then go to the **Power** tab.
2. Select **Delete server**.
3. Type the server's name in the field to confirm.
4. If your organisation requires it, confirm again with your passkey, authentication code or password.
5. Read the confirmation box carefully — it tells you whether the machine is deleted right away or at the end of your already-paid period.
6. If any web addresses (DNS names) point at this server, choose what happens to each one: **Move to another server**, **Remove the record**, or keep it as is. You must give an answer for every address before you can confirm.

> [!WARNING]
> Deleting a server cannot be undone from InfraNest, and once the address is freed it can be handed to another customer. Any DNS name, firewall rule, or monitor still pointing at it will then reach someone else's machine.

## Stop tracking a server

1. Open the server and go to the **Power** tab, or use the ⋯ menu on the server's row in the list.
2. Select **Stop tracking**.
3. No confirmation code is needed — nothing happens to the actual machine, so there's nothing risky to confirm.

The server keeps running, and your provider keeps billing for it as normal; it simply disappears from your InfraNest **Servers** list, along with its monitoring and alerts.

## Delete a server you added by hand

1. Go to **Monitoring → Servers**.
2. Use the ⋯ menu on the server's row, or open the server and use the ⋯ menu at the top.
3. Confirm the deletion.

You can also do this from the server's **Power** tab, where you type the server's name to confirm, just like any other delete. Since there's no provider account behind a hand-added server, this only removes its record in InfraNest — no machine is switched off and no bill is affected.

## Track a server again

1. Go to **Servers**.
2. Select the **Not tracked** button above the list.
3. Find the server and select **Track again** on its row.

Its history, tags, custom fields and settings all come back with it.

## Tips

> [!TIP]
> Untracking a server doesn't reach your provider at all — the invoice doesn't change. Use the **Not tracked** view any time to check what you've left running elsewhere.

## Troubleshooting

**The Delete server button is disabled.** The server likely has delete protection turned on — yours or your provider's. Turn it off first. **Stop tracking** still works in the meantime, since it doesn't touch the machine itself.

**There's no Delete button for this server.** Some providers, like OVHcloud, treat a VPS as a subscription with a notice period rather than something you can switch off instantly, so InfraNest doesn't offer Delete for it. Cancel the VPS in the OVHcloud panel, then use **Stop tracking** here.

**I deleted the server, but it's still in my list.** At some providers (for example TransIP), "delete" really means "cancel": the server keeps running until the end of the period you've already paid for, and stays in your list until your provider actually removes it. This is expected — nothing has gone wrong. InfraNest can't cancel it faster; do that from your provider's own control panel.

**DNS names, firewall rules, or monitors still point at an old server's address.** After a deletion, any DNS record left pointing at the released address is flagged on the zone's **Security** tab, a firewall entry is flagged on the firewall, and a monitor notes it on its own page — each naming the server it belonged to and when it left. Review and update these yourself.

**I want everything about this server gone, not just the server.** Volumes, IP addresses, snapshots and backups are billed separately by your provider and aren't automatically deleted with the server. Check those lists afterwards if you want everything cleared.

Both **Delete server** and **Stop tracking** actions are recorded in your **Audit Log**, including who did it and when.