# CT Deletion: `pct destroy` Leaving Stale Config — 2026-07-14

## When to Use

When `pct destroy NNN --purge` fails because the RBD disk was already
deleted (partial destroy, manual disk removal, or disk lost during Ceph
recovery), but the CT config remains in `/etc/pve/lxc/NNN.conf`.

## Symptoms

```bash
pct destroy 112 --purge --destroy-unreferenced-disks
# rbd error: rbd: error opening image vm-112-disk-0: (2) No such file or directory
# exit code: 255

pct status 112
# status: stopped  ← CT still appears!

pct list | grep 112
# 112   stopped   authelia  ← still listed!
```

## Cause

`pct destroy` operates in two phases:
1. Delete the storage (RBD images)
2. Remove the CT config (`/etc/pve/lxc/NNN.conf`)

If phase 1 fails (disk already gone → `rbd: error opening image`), the
command aborts with exit 255 **before reaching phase 2**. The config
remains in place.

## Fix

```bash
# On the PVE node hosting the CT (discover via ha-manager status):
rm -f /etc/pve/lxc/NNN.conf

# Verify:
pct list | grep NNN  # should return nothing
```

The config removal is safe — the disk is already gone, so there's
nothing to corrupt. `/etc/pve/lxc/` is a shared FUSE filesystem (pmxcfs),
so the removal propagates cluster-wide instantly.

## Related

- `references/ceph-orphaned-rbd-cleanup-2026-07.md` — "VM Destruction
  on Non-Ceph Nodes" covers the `qm destroy` equivalent (CFS lock
  timeout, stale locks, manual config + RBD cleanup).
- The LXC case is simpler than the QEMU case: no CFS lock issues, no
  watcher problems — just a stale config file to remove.
