﻿---
title: Remove Elastic Cloud Enterprise containers
description: You might need to remove Elastic Cloud Enterprise for one of the following reasons: If the installation process does not complete successfully and you...
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/4620/troubleshoot/deployments/cloud-enterprise/remove-cloud-enterprise
products:
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Enterprise: Generally available in 4.0+
---

# Remove Elastic Cloud Enterprise containers
You might need to remove Elastic Cloud Enterprise for one of the following reasons:
- If the installation process does not complete successfully and you cannot troubleshoot the issue.
- If you are de-provisioning a host and want to remove the installed Elastic Cloud Enterprise software.

You remove Elastic Cloud Enterprise by removing all containers on the host:
- If using Docker

```sh
docker rm -f frc-runners-runner frc-allocators-allocator $(docker ps -a -q); sudo rm -rf /mnt/data/elastic/ && docker ps -a
```

- If using Podman

```sh
sudo podman rm -f frc-runners-runner frc-allocators-allocator $(sudo podman ps -a -q); sudo rm -rf /mnt/data/elastic && sudo podman ps -a
```

If you plan to reinstall Elastic Cloud Enterprise on the host, make sure you [delete the host](https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/docs-content/pull/4620/deploy-manage/maintenance/ece/delete-ece-hosts) from the Cloud UI first. Reinstallation can fail if the host is still associated with your old Elastic Cloud Enterprise installation.
<warning>
  During installation, the system generates secrets that are placed into the `/mnt/data/elastic/bootstrap-state/bootstrap-secrets.json` secrets file, unless you passed in a different path with the --host-storage-path parameter. Keep the information in the `bootstrap-secrets.json` file secure by removing it from its default location and placing it into a secure storage location.
</warning>