How to drop the neo4j embedded database with java?

Question

The class GraphDatabaseService seems not provide any method to drop/clear the database. It there any other means to drop/clear the current embedded database with Java?

Answer 1

Just perform a GraphDatabaseService.shutdown() and after it has returned, remove the database files (using code like this).

You could also use getAllNodes() to iterate over all nodes, delete their relationships and the nodes themselves. Maybe avoid deleting the reference node.

If your use case is testing, then you could use the ImpermanentGraphDatabase, which will delete the database after shutdown.

To use ImpermanentGraphDatabase add the neo4j-kernel tests jar/dependency to your project. Look for the file with a name ending with "tests.jar" on maven central.

Answer 2

I think the easiest way is to delete a directory with neo4j database. I do it in my junit tests after running all tests. Here is a function I use where file is the neo4j directory:

public static void deleteFileOrDirectory( final File file ) {
    if ( file.exists() ) {
        if ( file.isDirectory() ) {
            for ( File child : file.listFiles() ) {
                deleteFileOrDirectory( child );
            }
        }
        file.delete();
    }
}

I think I found it on neo4j wiki. I have found in this discussion another solution. You can use Blueprint API, which provide method clear.