Delete topic

Deletes a topic and every subtopic nested inside it.

prompts is required and has no default. That mirrors the app, which will not delete a topic until you have chosen an outcome from a radio and typed the word “delete” to confirm. There is no equivalent of a typing step over HTTP, so the explicit parameter is the guardrail.

Requires the write:topics scope, and the workspace must be enabled for API writes. Topics are their own scope rather than part of write:prompts because the blast radius is not comparable: a topic sits above the prompts beneath it, so changing one reaches its whole subtree.


DELETE /v1/brands/{brand_id}/topics/{topic_id}

Authorization

Header	Type	Required
`Authorization`	`Bearer asky_sk_…`	required
`Idempotency-Key`	`string`	required

Path parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`brand_id`	`uuid`	required	From List brands
`topic_id`	`uuid`	required	From List topics

Query parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`prompts`	`string`	required	What happens to prompts beneath the deleted topics. One of: `reassign`, `delete`. No default. Choosing is required, mirroring the confirmation the app demands.
`dry_run`	`boolean`	optional	Report what would be deleted, and delete nothing.

Request

cURL


curl --request DELETE \
  --url 'https://api.askylabs.com/v1/brands/242546de-4cee-4a7d-952e-f6aa60c63ef8/topics/4beb0694-7c2e-488b-84c1-613738e7eaf6?prompts=reassign' \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <api-key>' \
  --header 'Idempotency-Key: <unique-per-attempt>' \

Python


import requests
 
url = "https://api.askylabs.com/v1/brands/242546de-4cee-4a7d-952e-f6aa60c63ef8/topics/4beb0694-7c2e-488b-84c1-613738e7eaf6?prompts=reassign"
 
headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer <api-key>",
    "Idempotency-Key": "<unique-per-attempt>"}
 
response = requests.delete(url, headers=headers)
 
print(response.text)

JavaScript


const options = {
  method: 'DELETE',
  headers: {Authorization: 'Bearer <api-key>', 'Idempotency-Key': '<unique-per-attempt>'}
};
 
fetch('https://api.askylabs.com/v1/brands/242546de-4cee-4a7d-952e-f6aa60c63ef8/topics/4beb0694-7c2e-488b-84c1-613738e7eaf6?prompts=reassign', options)
  .then(res => res.json())
  .then(res => console.log(res))
  .catch(err => console.error(err));

PHP


<?php
 
$curl = curl_init();
 
curl_setopt_array($curl, [
  CURLOPT_URL => "https://api.askylabs.com/v1/brands/242546de-4cee-4a7d-952e-f6aa60c63ef8/topics/4beb0694-7c2e-488b-84c1-613738e7eaf6?prompts=reassign",
  CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
  CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "DELETE",
  CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
    "Authorization: Bearer <api-key>"
  ],
]);
 
$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);
 
curl_close($curl);
 
if ($err) {
  echo "cURL Error #:" . $err;
} else {
  echo $response;
}

Go


package main
 
import (
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "io"
)
 
func main() {
 
    url := "https://api.askylabs.com/v1/brands/242546de-4cee-4a7d-952e-f6aa60c63ef8/topics/4beb0694-7c2e-488b-84c1-613738e7eaf6?prompts=reassign"
 
    req, _ := http.NewRequest("DELETE", url, nil)
 
    req.Header.Add("Authorization", "Bearer <api-key>")
 
    res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
 
    defer res.Body.Close()
    body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
 
    fmt.Println(string(body))
 
}

Ruby


require 'uri'
require 'net/http'
 
url = URI("https://api.askylabs.com/v1/brands/242546de-4cee-4a7d-952e-f6aa60c63ef8/topics/4beb0694-7c2e-488b-84c1-613738e7eaf6?prompts=reassign")
 
http = Net::HTTP.new(url.host, url.port)
http.use_ssl = true
 
request = Net::HTTP::Delete.new(url)
request["Authorization"] = 'Bearer <api-key>'
 
response = http.request(request)
puts response.read_body

Response

200


{
  "data": {
    "deleted_topic_ids": [
      "4beb0694-7c2e-488b-84c1-613738e7eaf6",
      "3249738e-6af1-4d5c-9fb3-65de7ac15199"
    ],
    "prompts_reassigned": 34,
    "prompts_deleted": 0,
    "dry_run": false
  },
  "request_id": "req_1a9c47e0b825431fa9d2"
}

401


{
  "error": {
    "code": "token_expired",
    "message": "This API key has expired. Roll it in Settings to get a replacement.",
    "request_id": "req_8f21c0aa47b1490d2e63"
  }
}

404


{
  "error": {
    "code": "not_found",
    "message": "Not found.",
    "request_id": "req_5b0e77d213a94f6a8ce1"
  }
}

429


{
  "error": {
    "code": "rate_limited",
    "message": "Too many requests. Retry after 24 seconds.",
    "request_id": "req_31c9ba7f0e5d4a118cc2"
  }
}

Response fields

Field	Type	Description
`data.deleted_topic_ids`	`uuid[]`	required. The topic and every subtopic beneath it
`data.prompts_reassigned`	`integer`	required. Moved to Uncategorized. Always 0 with `prompts=delete`
`data.prompts_deleted`	`integer`	required. Always 0 with `prompts=reassign`
`data.dry_run`	`boolean`	required. `true` means nothing was changed
`request_id`	`string`	required. Also returned as the `x-request-id` header. Quote it when contacting support

Errors

Status	Code	When
400	`invalid_request`	A parameter is unknown or malformed. The message names it
401	`invalid_token`	The key is missing, malformed, or does not exist
401	`token_expired`	The key passed its expiry date
401	`token_revoked`	The key was revoked
403	`insufficient_scope`	The key does not carry the scope this endpoint needs
403	`plan_required`	This workspace is not enabled for API writes
404	`not_found`	The brand does not exist, or this key is not allowed to reach it. The two are deliberately indistinguishable
429	`rate_limited`	Over 60 requests per minute. See the `Retry-After` header

Notes

Nested subtopics always go with the parent, under both values of prompts. There is no way to delete a topic and keep its subtopics — the choice only decides what happens to the prompts. deleted_topic_ids returns the full list so you can see exactly what went.

prompts=reassign is the safe one. Prompts survive, lose their topic, and show as Uncategorized. Nothing measured is lost. The detach and the delete run in one transaction, so a failure cannot leave prompts detached and then removed anyway.

prompts=delete is irreversible. It removes each prompt along with its per-prompt analytics — the history every trend for those questions is built on — and any content opportunities derived from the topic. Call dry_run=true first; the counts tell you exactly what is at stake before anything is touched.

There is no typed confirmation over HTTP. The app escalates to one at 25 prompts, and a script deleting in a loop hits no such friction. The write rate limit is the only backstop. Build your own check before looping.

Idempotency-Key is required. Send a unique value per attempt and reuse it when retrying that attempt: a retry replays the original response instead of executing again, which is what stops a lost response from becoming a duplicate. See Idempotency.

It earns its keep here more than anywhere else on the surface. Without it, a retry after a lost response would return 404 for a topic that was in fact deleted successfully, which reads as failure and sends you investigating something that already worked.