discussion Guide Plesk Plesk Panel Backup Deletion Guide 2025 (Web Interface + SSH)

[CL4Y]

If your server storage is full or you want to remove old backups, you may need to delete automatic or manual backup files from Plesk Panel.
This guide explains how to perform this both via the web interface and through SSH commands manually.

NOTE: If your server disk is 100% full, you will not be able to delete backups via the web interface.
In such cases, you must access your server via SSH.

---

💻 Deleting Backups via Web Interface​

• Log in to your Plesk panel.
• Go to Tools & Settings > Backup Manager from the left sidebar.

• Select the listed backups and click Remove/Delete to delete them.

⚠️ Note: This method only removes backups displayed in the interface. Some manual or system-generated backups might not appear here.

---

🖥️ Manually Deleting Backups via SSH​

Plesk typically stores backups in the following directory:

/var/lib/psa/dumps/

You can manually delete all backups from this directory.

🔹 Step 1: Connect to the Server via SSH​

🔹 Step 2: Navigate to the Backup Directory​

cd /var/lib/psa/dumps/

🔹 Step 3: Delete All Backups​

rm -rf *

Alternatively, you can run a single-line command:

rm -rf /var/lib/psa/dumps/*

⚠️ Warning: The rm -rf command is irreversible. Running it in the wrong directory may result in data loss.
Make sure you are in the correct path before executing the command.

 

[CL4Y]

After these operations, unnecessary backups on the server will be deleted and disk space will be freed up. Backups should be regularly transferred to an external server, and the automatic backup settings within Plesk should be reviewed.