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INVESTIGATE: Undeploy --purge flag

Status: Backlog Source: Tester feedback during PLAN-002 (Backstage deployment testing, 2026-03-12)

Problem​

When undeploying stateful services like PostgreSQL, the PVC (persistent data) is preserved by default. During testing and clean-slate scenarios, users must manually run kubectl delete pvc to fully remove data. This is error-prone and adds friction.

Proposed Solution​

Add a --purge flag to ./uis undeploy <service> that also deletes associated PVCs, giving a completely clean removal.

Requirements:

  • Default behavior unchanged: ./uis undeploy postgresql preserves PVCs (safe)
  • ./uis undeploy postgresql --purge deletes PVCs after Helm uninstall
  • Should work for any stateful service (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, etc.)
  • Should display a warning before deleting data
  • Consider adding a --yes flag to skip confirmation for scripted use

Affected Services​

Any service with persistent storage:

  • PostgreSQL (data-postgresql-0)
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB
  • Redis
  • Elasticsearch
  • Any future stateful services

Notes​

  • The remove playbooks already handle Helm uninstall and namespace cleanup
  • PVC deletion would need to happen after Helm uninstall but before namespace deletion
  • Could be implemented in the CLI wrapper (uis-cli.sh) or in the Ansible remove playbooks