Budibase/budibase · warning · HTTPError

Custom REST template cannot be deleted while it is in use

Error message

Custom REST template cannot be deleted while it is in use

What it means

This 409 Conflict HTTPError is returned when removeIfUnused determines the custom template is still referenced by one or more datasources. Deletion is blocked to avoid breaking datasources whose queries derive from the template.

Source

Thrown at packages/server/src/api/controllers/restTemplate.ts:154

export const destroy = async (
  ctx: UserCtx<
    void,
    DeleteCustomRestTemplateResponse,
    { restTemplateId: string }
  >
) => {
  const { restTemplateId } = ctx.params
  if (!isCustomRestTemplateId(restTemplateId)) {
    throw new HTTPError("Invalid custom REST template ID", 400)
  }

  const removalResult = await sdk.restTemplates.removeIfUnused(restTemplateId)
  if (removalResult === "missing") {
    throw new HTTPError("Custom REST template not found", 404)
  }
  if (removalResult === "in_use") {
    throw new HTTPError(
      "Custom REST template cannot be deleted while it is in use",
      409
    )
  }
  ctx.body = {
    message: `Custom REST template ${restTemplateId} deleted`,
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to a81a902e9a)

Solutions

1. Find and delete (or repoint) all datasources using this template, then retry the DELETE
2. Use a different template for new datasources and migrate existing ones first
3. Accept the 409 and surface a message asking the user to remove dependent datasources

Example fix

// before
DELETE /api/restTemplates/:id  // 409 in_use
// after
await deleteDependentDatasources(templateId)
await api.delete(`/api/restTemplates/${templateId}`) // now succeeds

const datasources = await fetchDatasources()
const inUse = datasources.some(d => d.source === dsSource && usesTemplate(d, id))
if (inUse) throw new Error("Template is used by existing datasources")

null

try {
  await deleteTemplate(id)
} catch (e) {
  if (e?.status === 409) {
    // prompt user to remove dependent datasources first
  } else throw e
}

When it happens

Trigger: DELETE on a custom REST template that is currently selected as the source of an existing REST datasource in the app.

Common situations: Teams sharing an app where someone tries to clean up a template another user wired into a datasource; deleting a template right after creating a datasource from it.

Related errors

• Project revision does not match.
• A row action with the same name already exists.
• Unable to bulk remove documents: ${res.error}
• Unable to remove top level directory - some skeleton files a
• Group name "${name}" is unavailable

AI-assisted analysis of Budibase/budibase@a81a902e9a (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6df18ddbcb5b64e8. Report an issue: GitHub.