Uninstallation

This guide explains how to remove TDP Kubernetes components in an organized and safe way.

Before you begin

Clarify what is being removed:

• components installed directly with Helm
• Applications managed by Argo CD
• Argo CD itself, when it is also part of the removal

This document keeps each scenario clearly separated.

Attention

Removing Kubernetes resources does not automatically remove persisted data. PVCs, PVs, snapshots, and the namespace must be considered separately.

Before you run any removal, identify how the component or environment was deployed.

1. Check whether the component was installed with Helm

Use this command to list existing Helm releases in the namespace:

Terminal input

helm list -n <namespace>

Figure 1 - Existing Helm releases

If the component appears in this list, the primary removal path is helm uninstall.

2. Check whether the component is managed by Argo CD

Use this command to list Applications managed by Argo CD:

Terminal input

argocd app list

Figure 2 - Applications managed by Argo CD

If the component appears as an Argo CD Application, the primary removal path is argocd app delete.

Practical rule

Do not mix flows unnecessarily. If the component is managed by Argo CD, the primary path is to delete the Application. If it was installed directly with Helm, the primary path is to remove the Helm release.

Preparation before removal

Back up data

Before removing any stateful component, back up anything that must be preserved.

Common examples:

• PostgreSQL: database dump
• ClickHouse: export tables and schemas
• Airflow: DAGs, variables, and connections
• OpenMetadata: metadata and lineage
• Ranger: policies and relevant configuration

Export the Helm release configuration

When the component was installed with Helm, export the values currently applied:

Terminal input

helm get values <release> -n <namespace> -o yaml > <release>-values-backup.yaml

Figure 3 - Exporting the Helm release configuration

Note

This file usually contains the values overridden during install or upgrade.
To see every parameter accepted by the chart, use helm show values on the corresponding chart.

To export values for all releases in the namespace in one go:

Terminal input

for release in $(helm list -n <namespace> -q); do
  helm get values "$release" -n <namespace> -o yaml > "${release}-values-backup.yaml"
  echo "Backup of $release completed"
done

Identify associated PVCs

Before removing the component, check whether persistent volumes are associated with it:

Terminal input

kubectl get pvc -n <namespace>

Figure 4 - PVCs associated with the release

To narrow the query to a specific Helm release:

Terminal input

kubectl get pvc -n <namespace> -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=<release>

Create persistent volume snapshots when supported

If the cluster supports CSI snapshots and a VolumeSnapshotClass is available, create snapshots of critical PVCs before removal.

Check whether the cluster supports snapshots:

Terminal input

kubectl get volumesnapshotclass

Create the snapshot:

Terminal input

kubectl apply -f - <<EOT
apiVersion: snapshot.storage.k8s.io/v1
kind: VolumeSnapshot
metadata:
  name: <pvc-name>-final-snapshot
  namespace: <namespace>
spec:
  volumeSnapshotClassName: <snapshot-class>
  source:
    persistentVolumeClaimName: <pvc-name>
EOT

Verify the result:

Terminal input

kubectl get volumesnapshot -n <namespace>

Removing components

Via Helm

Commands

Uninstall a single component

Use this flow when the component was installed directly as a Helm release.

Uninstall the release

Terminal input

helm uninstall <release> -n <namespace>

Figure 5 - Uninstalling a component with Helm

Verify that the release resources were removed

Terminal input

kubectl get all -n <namespace> -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=<release>

Figure 6 - Resources still tied to the release after uninstall

note

This command shows what is still associated with the release after helm uninstall. If the output is empty, the resources were removed successfully.

Check remaining PVCs

Terminal input

kubectl get pvc -n <namespace> -l app.kubernetes.io/instance=<release>

Figure 7 - Remaining PVCs

Note

helm uninstall removes the release and its associated Kubernetes resources — Deployments, StatefulSets, Services, ConfigMaps, and Secrets. PVCs are usually not removed automatically.

Remove the full environment with Helm

Use this flow when the entire environment was deployed directly with Helm, without Applications managed by Argo CD.

Remove releases in reverse dependency order

Terminal input

helm uninstall tdp-superset -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-openmetadata -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-cloudbeaver -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-jupyter -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-airflow -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-clickhouse -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-trino -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-spark -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-nifi -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-ranger -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-iceberg -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-deltalake -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-hive-metastore -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-kafka -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-postgresql -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-argo -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-argo-crds -n <namespace>

Check remaining PVCs

Terminal input

kubectl get pvc -n <namespace>

Remove PVCs if the teardown is definitive

Terminal input

kubectl delete pvc --all -n <namespace>

Figure 8 - Definitive removal of PVCs

Data loss

Deleting PVCs permanently removes persisted data. Do this only when the teardown is definitive and backups are complete.

Videos

helm list

helm get values

helm uninstall

kubectl get pvc

kubectl get pvc (by release)

kubectl get all

kubectl delete pvc

kubectl delete pvc --all

kubectl get pv

Full demo

Via Argo CD

Commands

Remove a single component via Argo CD

Use this flow when the component is managed as an Argo CD Application.

Delete the Application

Terminal input

argocd app delete <application-name> --cascade

Figure 9 - Deleting an Application in Argo CD

Verify removal

Terminal input

argocd app list

Figure 10 - Verifying removal in Argo CD

Check remaining resources in the namespace

Terminal input

kubectl get all -n <namespace>

Figure 11 - Checking remaining resources in the namespace

Check remaining PVCs

Terminal input

kubectl get pvc -n <namespace>

Figure 12 - Remaining PVCs

Attention

The --cascade option deletes the Application and the Kubernetes resources it manages. PVCs, PVs, and other infrastructure leftovers may still need extra checks and cleanup.

Remove the full environment via Argo CD

Use this path when the entire TDP environment is deployed and managed by Argo CD.

Option A — Delete a root app-of-apps Application

If the environment uses a root Application that controls the others, you can start removal there:

Terminal input

argocd app delete <root-application> --cascade

Use this only when the app-of-apps model is validated in your environment and you are sure deleting the root app will correctly remove child applications and their resources.

Option B — Delete Applications one by one in reverse dependency order

When there is no root app, or when you want full control of the teardown, delete Applications individually:

Terminal input

argocd app delete tdp-superset --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-openmetadata --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-cloudbeaver --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-jupyter --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-airflow --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-clickhouse --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-trino --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-spark --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-nifi --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-ranger --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-iceberg --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-deltalake --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-hive-metastore --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-kafka --cascade
argocd app delete tdp-postgresql --cascade

Check whether any Applications remain

Terminal input

argocd app list

Check whether resources remain in the namespace

Terminal input

kubectl get all -n <namespace>

Check remaining PVCs

Terminal input

kubectl get pvc -n <namespace>

Remove PVCs if the teardown is definitive

Terminal input

kubectl delete pvc --all -n <namespace>

Data loss

Deleting PVCs permanently removes persisted data. Do this only when the teardown is definitive and backups are complete.

Remove the Argo CD infrastructure

This step is separate from removing the TDP environment.

First remove all Applications and workloads managed by Argo CD. Only then remove Argo CD itself, if that is part of the goal.

Argo CD is removed with Helm, regardless of how the TDP environment was managed.

Uninstall the Argo CD releases

Terminal input

helm uninstall tdp-argo -n <namespace>
helm uninstall tdp-argo-crds -n <namespace>

Attention

Removing tdp-argo-crds must be considered carefully. CRDs are cluster-scoped resources and may be shared by other installations or projects in the same cluster.

Check remaining CRDs

Terminal input

kubectl get crds | grep argoproj.io

To delete CRDs manually, if needed:

Terminal input

kubectl delete crds -l app.kubernetes.io/part-of=argocd

Videos

argocd app delete

argocd app list

kubectl get all

Additional cleanup

Check for orphaned PersistentVolumes

After removing PVCs, check for PVs in Released state:

Terminal input

kubectl get pv | grep <namespace>

Figure 13 - Checking for orphaned PersistentVolumes

If there are orphaned PVs and you no longer need them:

Terminal input

kubectl delete pv <pv-name>

Figure 14 - Deleting PVs

Remove the namespace, when applicable

Delete the namespace only when it is dedicated exclusively to the environment being torn down.

Terminal input

kubectl delete namespace <namespace>

Attention

Deleting the namespace removes all namespaced resources still in it, including PVCs, ConfigMaps, Secrets, and ServiceAccounts.

If the namespace is stuck in Terminating, check finalizers:

Terminal input

kubectl get namespace <namespace> -o json | jq '.spec.finalizers'

To force finalization:

Terminal input

kubectl get namespace <namespace> -o json | jq '.spec.finalizers = []' | \
kubectl replace --raw "/api/v1/namespaces/<namespace>/finalize" -f -

Final verification

After removal, confirm nothing unexpected remains.

Check remaining resources in the namespace

Terminal input

kubectl get all -n <namespace>

Check remaining Helm releases

Terminal input

helm list -n <namespace>

Check remaining Applications in Argo CD

Terminal input

argocd app list

Check remaining PVCs

Terminal input

kubectl get pvc -n <namespace>

Check remaining PVs

Terminal input

kubectl get pv | grep <namespace>

Summary

Situation	Primary path	Note
Component installed directly with Helm	helm uninstall <release> -n <namespace>	Use when a real Helm release exists
Component managed by Argo CD	argocd app delete <application-name> --cascade	Deletes the Application and managed resources
Full removal of environment managed by Argo CD	argocd app delete ... --cascade in reverse order, or delete the root app	PVCs and PVs may need manual cleanup
Removing Argo CD itself	helm uninstall tdp-argo -n <namespace>	Should happen after Applications are removed
Full removal of environment installed with Helm	sequence of helm uninstall in reverse order	Separate flow from the Argo CD model
Cleaning up persistent data	kubectl delete pvc ... and, if needed, kubectl delete pv ...	Manual, destructive step
Namespace cleanup	kubectl delete namespace <namespace>	Only when the namespace is dedicated to the removed environment