Detach Volume Before Destroying Droplet | Generated by AI
Yes, but do it in the right order:
Before Destroying
1. Check if anything is still running:
# are you mid-training?
tmux ls
# any processes writing to volume?
lsof /mnt/data
2. Unmount the volume cleanly:
umount /mnt/data
3. Verify unmounted:
df -h # /mnt/data should be gone
Then from Your MacBook
# get droplet ID
doctl compute droplet list
# detach volume first
doctl compute volume-action detach <volume-id> <droplet-id> --wait
# then destroy
doctl compute droplet delete <droplet-id> --force
Or Just Via DigitalOcean UI
Since you’re already in the UI:
- Go to your droplet → Volumes tab → Detach the volume
- Then Destroy the droplet
Key rule: always detach before destroy. Destroying with volume still attached usually works but it’s risky — potential for filesystem corruption on the volume, which has your precious train.bin and checkpoints.
Volume stays, droplet dies, $2/hr stops. ✅