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Bulk deletion of archived lists on a board

Stephen Brown

Because of a daily automation I've had running for years, I've hit the limit on the number of lists I can have on a board, the majority of which are archived. I know I can delete archived lists individually, but I'd like to delete about 2,000 lists in one go. Is there any way I can do this, please?

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James

If you have around 2,000 archived lists, deleting them one by one would be very time-consuming. I’d check whether the board’s automation or API can be used to remove archived lists in bulk. If there’s no built-in bulk option, using the Trello API with a small script could be a much faster solution.

Liam Do - DevSamurai

Hi @Stephen Brown,

There isn't a bulk delete for archived lists, and the Trello REST API doesn't have a delete-list endpoint. But it does let you move a list to another board. Archived lists count toward the board's total list limit, so a workaround is:

Create a new "dump" board.
Get your archived lists: GET /1/boards/{boardId}/lists?filter=closed
Loop through them with PUT /1/lists/{listId}/idBoard?value={dumpBoardId}
Once done, delete/close the dump board.

You can check your board's current limits with GET /1/boards/{boardId}?fields=limits.

Learn more: The Trello REST API and Limits.

Hope it helps 🙌
Liam

Oleksandr

Hi Stephen,

Trello’s native archive lets you permanently delete archived lists, but the documented process is list-by-list. Also, deleting a list permanently deletes all cards in that list and can’t be undone.

For around 2,000 archived lists, I’d try Board Assistant. In Bulk card actions - Archived items, you can select multiple archived lists and then use Bulk list actions to delete them in bulk instead of processing them individually.

https://trello.com/power-ups/685016dd47b5654ae385bba6

I’d test it with a few lists first, since the deletion is permanent.

Stephen Brown

Thanks. I'm sure this could work, but I'm not a programmer, and even with help from AI, this is a bit above my capability, I'm afraid.

Stephen Brown

Thanks for the suggestion. This looked promising, but the Power Up is not showing any of the lists or cards on my board. I'm not sure why! I've only tried the free version.

Oleksandr

Hi Stephen,

The free version of Board Assistant can be used with up to 2 boards.

Please open Subscriptions and boards, then select Selected boards. Check the boards you want to use and click Save.

After that, the selected board should become available in the relevant Board Assistant sections, including Archived items, and its lists/cards should appear there.

Stephen Brown

Yes, I did all that, but maybe my board just had too many (archived) lists for it to cope with. Not sure, but I've resolved the issue now by making a new board and copying over the open lists, along with the automation, and redirecting my IFTT actions to the new board. Thanks for the suggestions anyway.

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