Updates to GitLab’s delayed deletion feature for projects and groups
Apr 3, 2023Christina Lohr

Summary
This post details the implementation of delayed deletion as the default behavior for GitLab Ultimate and Premium customers starting in version 16.0. It removes the option for immediate deletion from the Admin Area and group settings, replacing it with a two-step process that first puts the group or project into a pending deletion state for a configurable period (1-90 days for self-managed, 7 days for SaaS). It also describes how projects are renamed during this pending state and the API changes to remove `delayed_project_deletion` and `delayed_group_deletion` parameters, requiring a double confirmation for complete deletion.