Observium is a powerful network monitoring platform, but there may come a time when you need to remove it entirely — perhaps migrating to LibreNMS, Prometheus, or simply reclaiming resources. Because Observium isn’t installed from standard Ubuntu repositories, a simple apt remove won’t suffice. This guide walks through a complete manual removal, including the web interface, database, RRD files, and cron jobs.
Check that Observium is removed:
# Check if directory exists
ls -la /opt/observium 2>/dev/null
Prerequisites
- Root or sudo access to the Ubuntu server
- Backup any important data before proceeding
Step 3: Remove Observium’s Database
Observium uses MySQL or MariaDB. The default database name is observium. Dropping the database is the most critical step in removing all monitoring data.
First, log into your database:
sudo mysql -u root -p
Then, execute the following SQL commands:
DROP DATABASE IF EXISTS observium;
DROP USER IF EXISTS 'observium'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;
Note: If you used a different username (e.g., observium_user) or a remote host, adjust the DROP USER command accordingly.
Double-check removal:
sudo mysql -u root -p -e "SHOW DATABASES;" | grep observium
(You should see no output.)
How to Completely Uninstall Observium from Ubuntu
Observium is a powerful network monitoring platform, but if you are migrating to a different tool (like LibreNMS or Zabbix) or simply cleaning up a server, you will need to remove it manually. Because Observium is typically installed manually (not via apt), there is no single "uninstall" command.
Here is the step-by-step process to completely remove Observium from an Ubuntu server. uninstall observium ubuntu
Step 3: Remove Observium Files
The default installation location is /opt/observium. Delete it entirely:
sudo rm -rf /opt/observium
Also remove any symlinks or other copies (e.g., if installed in /var/www/html/observium):
sudo rm -rf /var/www/html/observium # only if applicable
How to Completely Uninstall Observium from Ubuntu
Observium is a powerful network monitoring platform, but there may come a time when you need to remove it. Perhaps you are migrating to a different monitoring tool like LibreNMS or Zabbix, freeing up resources on a development server, or simply starting fresh with a clean installation. How to Completely Uninstall Observium from Ubuntu: A
Whatever the reason, uninstalling Observium isn't as simple as running a single apt-get remove command. Because Observium relies on a LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, and PHP) and has specific cron jobs and configuration files, a complete uninstallation requires a few manual steps.
In this guide, we will walk through the process of completely removing Observium from an Ubuntu server.