Detect and delete unused Reference Entity Records
Over time, Reference Entity Records can accumulate in your catalog without being linked to any Product, Product draft, Asset, or other Record. This article explains how to run a usage analysis, identify unused Records, and delete them in bulk to keep your Reference Entity clean.
Run a usage analysis
The usage analysis scans the following sources to determine whether a Record is referenced: Products (including Table attribute values), Product drafts, Assets, and other Records. Each Record is then marked as used or unused.
- Go to Reference Entities and open the Reference Entity you want to clean up.
- Navigate to the Records tab to open the record list.
- In the banner displayed above the record list, click the button to launch the usage analysis.
- The banner updates to show that the analysis is in progress. Wait for it to complete. This may take a few moments depending on the size of your catalog.
When the analysis is complete, the banner displays a summary such as: "Usage analysis completed for [Family]: X unused record(s) out of Y total."
You also receive a notification in your Akeneo notification center when the analysis finishes.
Filter Records by usage status
Once a usage analysis has been completed, a Usage status column appears in the record list, showing a badge for each Record:
- Used: the Record is referenced in at least one Product (including via a Table attribute), Product draft, Asset, or other Record.
- Unused: the Record is not referenced anywhere in your catalog.
You can filter the list using the Usage status filter:
- In the record list, locate the Usage status filter.
- Select Unused to display only unused Records, or Used to display only used Records.
The Usage status filter is only available after a usage analysis has been run. The status reflects the state of the catalog at the time the last analysis was completed.
Delete unused Records
- Filter the list to show Unused Records, or select the Records you want to delete manually.
- Select the Records to delete using the checkboxes, or use Select all to select all matching Records.
- Click Delete.
What happens next depends on your selection:
| Selection | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Only unused Records selected | A confirmation modal appears. Confirm to delete. |
| Mixed selection (used and unused Records) | A modal appears asking you to choose: delete only unused Records, or delete all selected Records. |
Deletion is permanent. Deleted Records cannot be recovered. If you choose Delete all, used Records will also be removed and their links to Products will be broken.
The deletion runs asynchronously. You will receive a notification in your Akeneo notification center when it is complete, showing the number of Records deleted.
Re-run the analysis
The usage analysis reflects the state of your catalog at the time it was last run. After making changes, such as removing Records from Products or deleting Assets, re-run the analysis to get an up-to-date picture.
In the banner above the record list, click the button to launch a new detection. The previous results are replaced once the new analysis is complete.