Deleting Your App

When you delete an App from mctx, all App data, deployments, and subscriber access are permanently removed. This guide explains how deletion works and what to expect.

How Deletion Works

App deletion follows one of two paths depending on whether you have active subscribers:

Path 1: Zero Subscribers (Instant Deletion)

If your server has no active subscribers, deletion happens immediately:

1. Server is marked as deleted and taken offline
2. All worker deployments are removed from infrastructure
3. Configuration data is removed from storage
4. Environment variables are deleted (legal requirement)
5. Server appears in your dashboard with a deletion confirmation
6. No subscriber notifications are sent (there are none)

Timeline: Complete within seconds

Path 2: Active Subscribers (24-Hour Wind-Down)

If your server has active subscribers, mctx provides a 24-hour wind-down period by default to allow subscribers to adjust their workflows:

1. Server status changes to pending_deletion
2. Subscribers receive notification emails with 24-hour notice
3. Countdown timer appears on server info page
4. Server remains accessible during the 24-hour window
5. New subscriptions are blocked immediately
6. After 24 hours, full deletion cascade executes automatically
7. Subscribers receive final shutdown notification

Timeline: 24 hours from deletion request to finalization

What happens during wind-down:

• Existing subscribers retain full access
• Server continues processing requests normally
• Billing continues for active usage
• You can accelerate deletion using emergency deletion (see below)

Deleting Your App (Standard)

Dashboard → Servers → [Your App] → Danger Zone → Delete Server

1. Navigate to your App's detail page
2. Scroll to the "Danger Zone" section
3. Click "Delete Server"
4. Review confirmation modal (shows subscriber count and timeline)
5. Confirm deletion

Result:

• Zero subscribers: Instant deletion
• Active subscribers: 24-hour wind-down begins

Emergency Immediate Deletion

Use emergency deletion to bypass the 24-hour wind-down and delete immediately, even with active subscribers.

When to use:

• Critical security incident (exposed credentials, data breach)
• Legal requirement to remove content immediately
• Unrecoverable bug causing harm to subscribers
• Server must be taken offline with no delay

Dashboard → Servers → [Your App] → Danger Zone → Emergency Delete (secondary link)

1. Click the "Emergency Delete" link below the primary delete button
2. Read the warning modal (explains subscriber impact)
3. Confirm immediate deletion

What happens:

• Server taken offline instantly
• All subscriptions canceled
• Subscribers receive immediate shutdown notification
• Full deletion cascade executes (workers undeployed, data removed)
• Environment variables deleted immediately

Subscriber impact:

• Access ends immediately (no grace period)
• Active subscriptions are canceled
• No refunds for metered billing (subscribers only pay for usage up to cancellation)
• Notification email sent explaining immediate shutdown

Note: If you initiated a 24-hour wind-down and later use emergency deletion, the wind-down is superseded. Subscribers receive an acceleration notification instead of a second 24-hour notice.

What Gets Deleted

When deletion finalizes (instant or after 24 hours), the following resources are permanently removed:

Infrastructure

• All deployed workers removed from Cloudflare edge network
• Tenant configuration removed from key-value storage
• Server subdomain (your-server.mctx.ai) becomes unavailable

Data

• Server record and metadata
• All version history
• Environment variables (server-level and version-specific)
• Deployment logs (ephemeral, not retained)

Billing

• Active subscriptions canceled
• Subscribers stop being charged immediately
• Developer payouts continue for usage already incurred (processed on standard schedule)

What Is NOT Deleted

• Your GitHub repository (untouched)
• Historical payout records (retained for tax/accounting)
• Deleted server slug enters 7-day cooling-off period (cannot be reused for 7 days)

Subscriber Notifications

Subscribers are notified through multiple channels:

24-Hour Wind-Down

• Email: "Server deletion notice: [server-name] will shut down in 24 hours"
• In-app countdown card: Red warning card with live countdown timer on subscriptions page
• Login banner: Dismissible banner shows when subscription affected by pending deletion

Immediate Deletion

• Email: "Server shutdown: [server-name] has been shut down" (past tense, no countdown)
• Login banner: Dismissible banner confirms deletion and access loss

Acceleration (Wind-Down Superseded by Immediate)

• Email: "Server shutdown accelerated: [server-name] shut down immediately" (supersedes original 24-hour notice)

Billing Impact

For Subscribers (Metered Billing)

Subscribers on metered billing only pay for actual usage. There are no refunds because there's nothing to refund:

• During wind-down: Subscribers continue using the server and are billed for requests made
• At shutdown: Billing stops immediately
• No refunds: Metered billing charges only for usage up to the point of cancellation

Example:

• Subscriber used 5,000 requests before deletion → Billed for 5,000 requests
• Subscriber used 0 requests → Billed $0

For Developers (You Earn 80%)

• Completed usage: You receive 80% of revenue for usage up to deletion
• Payout schedule: Payouts are processed on a standard schedule (typically 2-day rolling basis)
• Wind-down period usage: You continue earning during the 24-hour window (if subscribers use the server)

During Wind-Down Period

Server Behavior

• Server remains fully functional
• All versions continue processing requests
• Real-time logs still accessible
• Subscriber access unchanged
• Metered billing continues for active usage

Restrictions

• New subscriptions blocked: Subscribe button returns 410 Gone
• Server detail page inaccessible: Developer dashboard shows countdown card instead of full detail page
• Cannot edit configuration: Server settings locked during pending deletion
• Cannot deploy new versions: Deployment blocked while pending deletion

Accelerating Deletion

If you need to shut down before the 24-hour window expires, use emergency immediate deletion:

1. Navigate to your subscriptions page (server detail page is blocked during wind-down)
2. Click the "Delete Server Immediately" button on the countdown card
3. Confirm emergency deletion
4. Server shuts down instantly

Subscribers receive an acceleration notification email.

After Deletion

Slug Reservation

Your deleted App's slug enters a 7-day cooling-off period:

• Slug cannot be reused for 7 days after deletion
• Prevents accidental confusion for subscribers who still have stale credentials
• After 7 days, you can reuse the slug for a new App

Important: The slug remains permanently tied to your account. Other users can never claim it — even after the cooling-off period expires.

Why: Subscribers may have cached configurations or credentials pointing to the old slug. The cooling-off period reduces the risk of misdirected requests to a new App with the same slug.

Re-Deploying

If you want to redeploy the same App:

Option 1: Wait 7 days and reuse the slug

• Wait for cooling-off period to expire
• Create a new App with the same slug
• Requires all subscribers to resubscribe (old subscriptions are gone)

Option 2: Deploy with a new slug immediately

• Create a new App with a different slug
• Publish to MCP Community Registry under new slug
• Subscribers treat it as a completely new App

Cleanup Worker (Automatic Finalization)

After the 24-hour wind-down expires, the cleanup worker (scheduled cron job) automatically finalizes deletion:

1. Detects Apps past scheduledPurgeAt timestamp
2. Cancels all remaining subscriptions
3. Sends final shutdown notifications to subscribers
4. Executes full deletion cascade (undeploy workers, delete data)
5. Marks the App as offline with deletedAt timestamp

Stuck deletions: If cleanup fails (e.g., Cloudflare API timeout), the worker retries on the next run. If a deletion is stuck for more than 2 hours past its scheduled purge time, an alert is sent to the mctx operations team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I cancel a deletion?

No. Once you confirm deletion (standard or emergency), it cannot be reversed.

• Zero subscribers: Deletion is instant and irreversible
• Active subscribers (24-hour wind-down): You can accelerate deletion using emergency delete, but cannot cancel it
• Emergency deletion: Takes effect immediately and cannot be undone

What if I change my mind during the 24-hour window?

You cannot cancel the deletion. Your options:

1. Wait for finalization and redeploy with a new slug
2. Accelerate deletion using emergency delete if you want to finalize sooner
3. After 7 days, reclaim the original slug and redeploy

Do subscribers get refunds?

No. mctx uses metered billing, so subscribers only pay for actual usage. There's nothing to refund because they're only charged for requests made before cancellation.

What happens to my payouts?

You continue receiving payouts for usage incurred up to deletion. Payouts are processed on the standard schedule (typically 2-day rolling basis). Historical payout records are retained for tax and accounting purposes.

Can someone else claim my slug?

No. Your slug is permanently tied to your account. Other users can never claim it. After the 7-day cooling-off period, you can reuse the slug yourself for a new App.

What if I have environment variables with sensitive data?

Environment variables are deleted immediately during the deletion cascade (Step 5 of the cascade sequence). This is a legal requirement to ensure sensitive data is not retained after deletion.

Will my GitHub repository be affected?

No. Deletion only affects mctx infrastructure and data. Your GitHub repository is completely untouched.

Related Documentation

• Slug Reservation - 7-day cooling-off period after deletion
• Server Logs - Logs are ephemeral and not retained after deletion
• Environment Variables - Security details on encrypted storage and deletion

---

See something wrong? Report it or suggest an improvement — your feedback helps make these docs better.