Uninstallation Procedure

This page describes the procedures for completely uninstalling Fess.

Warning

Important Notes Before Uninstallation

  • Uninstalling will delete all data

  • If you have important data, be sure to create a backup first

  • For backup procedures, refer to Upgrade Procedure

Preparation Before Uninstallation

Create Backup

Back up the necessary data:

  1. Configuration Data

    Download it from “System” → “Backup” in the admin screen. This operation lets you export various settings (including crawl settings), search logs, and more all at once.

  2. Customized Configuration Files

    TAR.GZ/ZIP version:

    $ cp -r /path/to/fess/app/WEB-INF/conf /backup/
$ cp -r /path/to/fess/app/WEB-INF/classes /backup/

    RPM/DEB version:

    $ sudo cp -r /etc/fess /backup/

Note

Most of Fess’s indexes and settings are stored in OpenSearch. To back up index data, use OpenSearch’s snapshot feature. For detailed procedures, refer to Upgrade Procedure.

Stop Services

Before uninstallation, stop all services.

TAR.GZ/ZIP version:

$ ps aux | grep -E 'fess|opensearch'
$ kill <fess_pid>
$ kill <opensearch_pid>

RPM/DEB version:

$ sudo systemctl stop fess.service
$ sudo systemctl stop opensearch.service

Docker version:

$ docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose-opensearch3.yaml down

Uninstalling the TAR.GZ/ZIP Version

Step 1: Remove Fess

Delete the installation directory:

$ rm -rf /path/to/fess-15.7.0

Step 2: Remove OpenSearch

Delete the OpenSearch installation directory:

$ rm -rf /path/to/opensearch-3.7.0

Step 3: Delete the Data Directory (Optional)

Fess’s index data is stored in OpenSearch. By default it is stored inside the OpenSearch installation directory (such as opensearch-3.7.0/data), but if you have specified a different location with path.data, delete that directory as well:

$ rm -rf /path/to/data

Step 4: Delete the Log Directory (Optional)

Delete the log files:

$ rm -rf /path/to/fess-15.7.0/logs
$ rm -rf /path/to/opensearch-3.7.0/logs

Uninstalling the RPM Version

Step 1: Uninstall Fess

Uninstall the RPM package:

$ sudo rpm -e fess

Note

When the Fess package is uninstalled, the package’s removal script automatically stops and disables the fess service and removes the fess user and group. The following steps are performed to confirm that these have been reliably removed, or to manually delete data and configuration files.

Step 2: Uninstall OpenSearch

$ sudo rpm -e opensearch

Step 3: Confirm the Service Is Disabled

The service is usually disabled when the package is removed, but to confirm or disable it just in case, run the following.

For systemd:

$ sudo systemctl disable fess.service
$ sudo systemctl disable opensearch.service
$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload

For older SysV init (chkconfig) environments:

$ sudo /sbin/chkconfig --del fess
$ sudo /sbin/chkconfig --del opensearch

Step 4: Delete the Data Directory

Warning

Performing this operation completely deletes all index data.

The data directory is not removed when the package is uninstalled, so delete it manually:

$ sudo rm -rf /var/lib/fess
$ sudo rm -rf /var/lib/opensearch

Step 5: Delete the Configuration Files

Delete the configuration files and environment settings files:

$ sudo rm -rf /etc/fess
$ sudo rm -rf /etc/sysconfig/fess
$ sudo rm -rf /etc/opensearch

Note

With RPM, configuration files in /etc/fess may remain with a name like .rpmsave. To delete them completely, remove them manually as shown above.

Step 6: Delete the Log Files

$ sudo rm -rf /var/log/fess
$ sudo rm -rf /var/log/opensearch

Step 7: Delete the Temporary Directory (Optional)

$ sudo rm -rf /var/tmp/fess

Step 8: Delete the User and Group (Optional)

The fess user and group are usually removed when the package is deleted. If they remain, or to remove the user and group for OpenSearch, run the following:

$ sudo userdel fess
$ sudo groupdel fess
$ sudo userdel opensearch
$ sudo groupdel opensearch

Uninstalling the DEB Version

Step 1: Uninstall Fess

Uninstall the DEB package:

$ sudo dpkg -r fess

To completely remove it including configuration files and environment settings files, use purge:

$ sudo dpkg -P fess

Note

With dpkg -r (remove), configuration files (conffiles) such as /etc/default/fess remain. Using dpkg -P (purge) also deletes these configuration files and the fess user and group.

Step 2: Uninstall OpenSearch

$ sudo dpkg -r opensearch

Or remove it including configuration files:

$ sudo dpkg -P opensearch

Step 3: Confirm the Service Is Disabled

The service is usually disabled when the package is removed. To confirm or disable it just in case, run the following:

$ sudo systemctl disable fess.service
$ sudo systemctl disable opensearch.service
$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Step 4: Delete the Data Directory

Warning

Performing this operation completely deletes all index data.

$ sudo rm -rf /var/lib/fess
$ sudo rm -rf /var/lib/opensearch

Step 5: Delete the Configuration Files (if dpkg -P was not used)

$ sudo rm -rf /etc/fess
$ sudo rm -rf /etc/default/fess
$ sudo rm -rf /etc/opensearch

Step 6: Delete the Log Files

$ sudo rm -rf /var/log/fess
$ sudo rm -rf /var/log/opensearch

Step 7: Delete the User and Group (Optional)

If you did not use dpkg -P, the fess user and group remain. To remove them, run the following:

$ sudo userdel fess
$ sudo groupdel fess
$ sudo userdel opensearch
$ sudo groupdel opensearch

Uninstalling the Docker Version

Step 1: Remove Containers and Networks

Remove the containers and the network created by Docker Compose (search_net):

$ docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose-opensearch3.yaml down

Step 2: Remove Volumes

Warning

Performing this operation completely deletes all data.

Fess’s data (such as indexes and dictionaries) is stored in OpenSearch volumes. First, check the list of volumes:

$ docker volume ls

Remove the OpenSearch-related volumes:

$ docker volume rm <project>_search01_data
$ docker volume rm <project>_search01_dictionary

Note

Volume names are prefixed with the Docker Compose project name (usually the name of the directory where the Compose files are located). Check the actual names with docker volume ls.

To remove the containers and volumes all at once, add the -v option to down:

$ docker compose -f compose.yaml -f compose-opensearch3.yaml down -v

Step 3: Remove Images (Optional)

To remove the Docker images and free up disk space:

$ docker images | grep fess
$ docker rmi ghcr.io/codelibs/fess:15.7.0
$ docker rmi ghcr.io/codelibs/fess-opensearch:3.7.0

Step 4: Remove Compose Files

$ rm compose.yaml compose-opensearch3.yaml

Verifying the Uninstallation

Verify that all components have been removed.

Verify Processes

$ ps aux | grep fess
$ ps aux | grep opensearch

If nothing is displayed, the processes are stopped.

Verify Ports

$ sudo netstat -tuln | grep 8080
$ sudo netstat -tuln | grep 9200

Verify that the ports are not in use.

Verify Files

TAR.GZ/ZIP version:

$ ls /path/to/fess-15.7.0  # Verify that the directory does not exist

RPM/DEB version:

$ ls /var/lib/fess  # Verify that the directory does not exist
$ ls /etc/fess      # Verify that the directory does not exist

Docker version:

$ docker ps -a | grep -E 'fess01|search01'  # Verify that the containers do not exist
$ docker volume ls | grep search01           # Verify that the volumes do not exist

Verify Packages

RPM version:

$ rpm -qa | grep fess
$ rpm -qa | grep opensearch

DEB version:

$ dpkg -l | grep fess
$ dpkg -l | grep opensearch

If nothing is displayed, the packages have been removed.

Partial Uninstallation

Remove Only Fess, Keeping OpenSearch

If OpenSearch is also used by other applications, you can remove only Fess.

  1. Stop Fess

  2. Remove the Fess package or directory

  3. Remove the Fess data directory (such as /var/lib/fess)

  4. Delete the Fess indexes created in OpenSearch (such as fess.* and .fess_*)

  5. Do not remove OpenSearch

Remove Only OpenSearch, Keeping Fess

Warning

Removing OpenSearch will cause Fess to stop functioning. Change the configuration to connect to a different OpenSearch cluster.

  1. Stop OpenSearch

  2. Remove the OpenSearch package or directory

  3. Remove the OpenSearch data directory (such as /var/lib/opensearch)

  4. Update the Fess configuration to specify a different OpenSearch cluster

Troubleshooting

Cannot Remove the Package

Symptoms:

An error occurs with rpm -e or dpkg -r.

Solution:

  1. Verify that the service is stopped:

    $ sudo systemctl stop fess.service

  2. Check dependencies:

    $ rpm -qa | grep fess
$ dpkg -l | grep fess

  3. Force removal (last resort):

    $ sudo rpm -e --nodeps fess
$ sudo dpkg -r --force-all fess

Cannot Delete the Directory

Symptoms:

Cannot delete a directory with rm -rf.

Solution:

  1. Check permissions:

    $ ls -ld /path/to/directory

  2. Delete with sudo:

    $ sudo rm -rf /path/to/directory

  3. Verify that no process is using the files:

    $ sudo lsof | grep /path/to/directory

Preparing for Reinstallation

When reinstalling after uninstallation, verify the following:

  1. All processes are stopped

  2. All files and directories are deleted

  3. Ports 8080 and 9200 are not in use

  4. No previous configuration files remain

For reinstallation procedures, refer to Choosing an Installation Method.

Next Steps

Once uninstallation is complete: