Manage queues and tasks

You can manage queues and tasks in the following ways:

In the Google Cloud console
By using the Google Cloud CLI in either your terminal or Cloud Shell
By sending a request to the Cloud Tasks API

Delete a task from a queue

You can delete a task if it is scheduled or dispatched. For example, you might need to delete a task that can't be completed successfully, no matter how many times it is retried. You can't delete a task if it has completed successfully or if it has run out of retries after consistently failing.

Console

In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud Tasks > Queues page.

Go to Queues
Click the name of the queue for the task that you want to delete.
Select the checkbox for the task that you want to delete.
Click Delete task.
At the prompt, click Delete.

gcloud

Delete a task using the gcloud tasks delete command:

gcloud tasks delete TASK_NAME \
    --queue=QUEUE_ID \
    --location=LOCATION

Replace the following:

TASK_NAME: the name of the task that you want to delete
QUEUE_ID: the name of the queue that the task belongs to
LOCATION: the region in which the queue is deployed—for example, us-central1

REST

To delete a task, use the projects.locations.queues.tasks.delete method.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

QUEUE_ID: the name of the queue that the task belongs to
TASK_NAME: the name of the task you want to delete
PROJECT_ID: your Google Cloud project ID
LOCATION: the region in which the queue exists—for example, us-central1

The request body must be empty.

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login , or by using Cloud Shell, which automatically logs you into the gcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

curl -X DELETE \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     "https://cloudtasks.googleapis.com/v2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID/tasks/TASK_NAME"

PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method DELETE `
    -Headers $headers `
    -Uri "https://cloudtasks.googleapis.com/v2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID/tasks/TASK_NAME" | Select-Object -Expand Content

APIs Explorer (browser)

Open the method reference page. The APIs Explorer panel opens on the right side of the page. You can interact with this tool to send requests. Complete any required fields and click Execute.

If successful, the response body is empty.

Purge all tasks from a queue

You can delete all tasks from a queue by purging them. All tasks created before the purge call are permanently deleted. However, purge operations can take up to one minute to take effect and tasks might be dispatched before the purge takes effect.

Console

In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud Tasks > Queues page.

Go to Queues
Click the name of the queue for the tasks that you want to delete.
Click Purge queue.
At the prompt, click Purge.

gcloud

Purge a queue using the gcloud tasks queues purge command:

gcloud tasks queues purge QUEUE_ID \
    --location=LOCATION

Replace the following:

QUEUE_ID: the name of the queue that you want to purge
LOCATION: the region in which the queue is deployed—for example, us-central1

REST

To purge a queue, use the projects.locations.queues.purge method.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

QUEUE_ID: the name of the queue that you want to purge
PROJECT_ID: your Google Cloud project ID
LOCATION: the region in which the queue is deployed—for example, us-central1

The request body must be empty.

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Execute the following command:

curl -X POST \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
     -d "" \
     "https://cloudtasks.googleapis.com/v2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID:purge"

PowerShell (Windows)

Execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method POST `
    -Headers $headers `
    -Uri "https://cloudtasks.googleapis.com/v2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID:purge" | Select-Object -Expand Content

APIs Explorer (browser)

Open the method reference page. The APIs Explorer panel opens on the right side of the page. You can interact with this tool to send requests. Complete any required fields and click Execute.

If successful, the response body contains an instance of Queue:

{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID",
  "rateLimits": {
    "maxDispatchesPerSecond": 500,
    "maxBurstSize": 100,
    "maxConcurrentDispatches": 1000
  },
  "retryConfig": {
    "maxAttempts": 100,
    "minBackoff": "0.100s",
    "maxBackoff": "3600s",
    "maxDoublings": 16
  },
  "state": "RUNNING",
  "purgeTime": "2025-03-28T13:06:30.110255Z"
}

Pause or resume queues

You can pause or resume a queue. Pausing a queue means that the execution and delivery of tasks are stopped. You can still create tasks and push or append them to the queue but the tasks won't be processed. Once the queue is resumed, any backlogged tasks are processed in the order of their addition to the queue backlog.

Console

In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud Tasks > Queues page.

Go to Queues
Select the checkbox for the queue that you want to pause.
Click Pause queue.
At the prompt, click Pause.
To resume the queue, click Resume queue.

gcloud

Pause a queue using the gcloud tasks queues pause command:
```
gcloud tasks queues pause QUEUE_ID \
    --location=LOCATION
```
Replace the following:
- QUEUE_ID: the name of the queue that you want to pause
- LOCATION: the region in which the queue is deployed—for example, us-central1

Resume a queue using the gcloud tasks queues resume command:

gcloud tasks queues resume QUEUE_ID \
    --location=LOCATION

REST

To pause a queue, use the projects.locations.queues.pause method.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:
- QUEUE_ID: the name of the queue that you want to pause
- PROJECT_ID: your Google Cloud project ID
- LOCATION: the region in which the queue is deployed—for example, us-central1
The request body must be empty.

To send your request, expand one of these options:
curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login , or by using Cloud Shell, which automatically logs you into the gcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:
```
curl -X POST \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
     -d "" \
     "https://cloudtasks.googleapis.com/v2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID:pause"
```
PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:
```
$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method POST `
    -Headers $headers `
    -Uri "https://cloudtasks.googleapis.com/v2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID:pause" | Select-Object -Expand Content
```
APIs Explorer (browser)

Open the method reference page. The APIs Explorer panel opens on the right side of the page. You can interact with this tool to send requests. Complete any required fields and click Execute.

If successful, the response body contains an instance of Queue:
```
{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID",
  "rateLimits": {
    "maxDispatchesPerSecond": 500,
    "maxBurstSize": 100,
    "maxConcurrentDispatches": 1000
  },
  "retryConfig": {
    "maxAttempts": 100,
    "minBackoff": "0.100s",
    "maxBackoff": "3600s",
    "maxDoublings": 16
  },
  "state": "PAUSED"
}
```
To resume a queue, use the projects.locations.queues.resume method.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:
- QUEUE_ID: the name of the queue that you want to resume
- PROJECT_ID: your Google Cloud project ID
- LOCATION: the region in which the queue is deployed—for example, us-central1
The request body must be empty.

To send your request, expand one of these options:
curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login , or by using Cloud Shell, which automatically logs you into the gcloud CLI . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:
```
curl -X POST \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
     -d "" \
     "https://cloudtasks.googleapis.com/v2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID:resume"
```
PowerShell (Windows)

Note: The following command assumes that you have logged in to the gcloud CLI with your user account by running gcloud init or gcloud auth login . You can check the currently active account by running gcloud auth list.

Execute the following command:
```
$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method POST `
    -Headers $headers `
    -Uri "https://cloudtasks.googleapis.com/v2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID:resume" | Select-Object -Expand Content
```
APIs Explorer (browser)

Open the method reference page. The APIs Explorer panel opens on the right side of the page. You can interact with this tool to send requests. Complete any required fields and click Execute.

If successful, the response body contains an instance of Queue:
```
{
  "name": "projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID",
  "rateLimits": {
    "maxDispatchesPerSecond": 500,
    "maxBurstSize": 100,
    "maxConcurrentDispatches": 1000
  },
  "retryConfig": {
    "maxAttempts": 100,
    "minBackoff": "0.100s",
    "maxBackoff": "3600s",
    "maxDoublings": 16
  },
  "state": "RUNNING"
}
```

Delete queues

You can delete a queue. Any tasks in the queue are deleted as well. If you delete a queue you must wait 3 days before recreating it with the same name. This waiting period prevents unexpected behaviour in tasks that are running at the time of deletion or waiting to be run. It also avoids internal process failures in the delete or recreate cycle.

Console

In the Google Cloud console, go to the Cloud Tasks > Queues page.

Go to Queues
Select the checkbox for the queue that you want to delete.
Click Delete queue.
At the prompt, type the queue name, and then click Confirm.

gcloud

Delete a queue using the gcloud tasks queues delete command:

gcloud tasks queues delete QUEUE_ID \
    --location=LOCATION

Replace the following:

QUEUE_ID: the name of the queue that you want to delete
LOCATION: the region in which the queue is deployed—for example, us-central1

REST

To delete a queue, use the projects.locations.queues.delete method.

Before using any of the request data, make the following replacements:

QUEUE_ID: the name of the queue that you want to delete
PROJECT_ID: your Google Cloud project ID
LOCATION: the region in which the queue is deployed—for example, us-central1

The request body must be empty.

To send your request, expand one of these options:

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

Execute the following command:

curl -X DELETE \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" \
     "https://cloudtasks.googleapis.com/v2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID"

PowerShell (Windows)

Execute the following command:

$cred = gcloud auth print-access-token
$headers = @{ "Authorization" = "Bearer $cred" }

Invoke-WebRequest `
    -Method DELETE `
    -Headers $headers `
    -Uri "https://cloudtasks.googleapis.com/v2/projects/PROJECT_ID/locations/LOCATION/queues/QUEUE_ID" | Select-Object -Expand Content

APIs Explorer (browser)

Open the method reference page. The APIs Explorer panel opens on the right side of the page. You can interact with this tool to send requests. Complete any required fields and click Execute.

If successful, the response body is empty.

Manage queues and tasks Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.

Delete a task from a queue

Console

gcloud

REST

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

PowerShell (Windows)

APIs Explorer (browser)

Purge all tasks from a queue

Console

gcloud

REST

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

PowerShell (Windows)

APIs Explorer (browser)

Pause or resume queues

Console

gcloud

REST

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

PowerShell (Windows)

APIs Explorer (browser)

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

PowerShell (Windows)

APIs Explorer (browser)

Delete queues

Console

gcloud

REST

curl (Linux, macOS, or Cloud Shell)

PowerShell (Windows)

APIs Explorer (browser)

Manage queues and tasks