Topics automation persists after topic deletion

Last updated: March 6, 2026

Summary

Issue: After deleting all topics from the Topics page, the topics automation continues to appear on the Automations page with no option to remove it through the UI.

Cause: Topics automations are separate entities from topic definitions, and the UI does not expose a delete button for topic automation rules.

Resolution: Delete the topics automation via the Braintrust API using the /api/project_automation/delete_id endpoint.

Applicable To

Plans: All plans

Deployments: Braintrust Hosted and Hybrid

Use case: Projects with topics feature enabled where all topics have been deleted but automation remains visible

Resolution Steps

Step 1: Get your API key

Navigate to Settings → API Keys and copy your Braintrust API key.

Step 2: List project automations

Retrieve all automations for your project to find the topics automation ID.

curl --location 'https://api.braintrust.dev/api/project_automation/get' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer sk-your-api-key' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
    "project_id": "your-project-id"
}'

Step 3: Find the topics automation ID

Locate the automation with event_type: "topic" in the response and copy its id field.

Step 4: Delete the automation

Delete the topics automation using its ID.

curl --location 'https://api.braintrust.dev/api/project_automation/delete_id' \
--header 'Authorization: Bearer sk-your-api-key' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{"id": "your-automation-id"}'

Important Notes

  • Only delete the automation when no topics exist in the project

  • The automation will be recreated automatically if you add new topics later

  • For self-hosted deployments, replace https://api.braintrust.dev with your data plane URL