Deleting Issues

Bugsink 1.7 adds support for deleting issues (see GitHub issue #50). This allows you to permanently remove an issue and everything attached to it. Deletion is irreversible, and best used only when necessary.

When you delete an issue, Bugsink removes all associated events, tags, comments, resolution or mute state, and timestamps. It deletes the complete set of data related to that issue.

When deletion may be appropriate

There are a few cases where deleting an issue makes sense:

  • Sensitive or private data was captured: If credentials, user data, or other confidential information ended up in Bugsink, deletion may be required. Note: in practice, most sensitive data is captured in events, and the data at the issue-level is minimal. If that’s the case, and only a few events are affected, removing those events might be more targeted.

  • Noise-reduction: The combination of a runaway problem and lack of proper grouping (or properly configured grouping) can lead to a flood of issues that clutter the interface. In such cases, deleting the issue can help restore clarity.

  • Storage considerations: Bugsink doesn’t impose quotas, but storage still matters. Removing old or irrelevant issues can help manage space in resource-constrained setups.

Drawbacks of deletion

Deleting an issue comes with clear downsides:

  • Regressions won’t be detected: If the same problem occurs again, Bugsink won’t link it to the original issue. To Bugsink, it will appear as a new issue, as the data that would have helped identify it as a regression is lost.

  • You lose history: Comments, resolution details, user actions and their timestamps are all removed.

  • External references will break: Links to the issue from outside Bugsink (e.g. your issue tracker, emails, chat-ops) will no longer work.

Alternatives

If you want to stop seeing an issue but keep the data:

  • Resolve the issue: Marks it as fixed. If it reoccurs, Bugsink will reopen it automatically.

  • Mute the issue: Hides it from the triage view and disables notifications.

These options let you reduce noise while keeping the context.

Summary

Deleting issues in Bugsink is a powerful feature that should be used with caution. It’s best reserved for cases where sensitive data is involved, or when you need to clear out noise from the interface. However, it comes with significant trade-offs, including loss of historical context and the inability to track regressions.