> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.shipstar.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# erase_mailing_list_recipients

> Permanently erase recipients from a mailing list — for a data-deletion request

For when one of your users asks to have their data deleted. Unlike [`remove_mailing_list_recipients`](https://docs.shipstar.ai/mcp/project/remove-mailing-list-recipients), which keeps the contact so they can be restored, this deletes them for good: email, name, `external_id` and attributes, in any status. It can't be undone, so the agent confirms the exact people with you before calling.

If the person had **unsubscribed**, Shipstar keeps only a one-way hash of their address on that list, so a later [`upsert_mailing_list_recipients`](https://docs.shipstar.ai/mcp/project/upsert-mailing-list-recipients) still skips them — erasing someone never re-subscribes them. Use remove, not erase, for ordinary churn.

## Arguments

| Name | Type | Description |
| - | - | - |
| `mailing_list_id` | string | From [`list_mailing_lists`](https://docs.shipstar.ai/mcp/project/list-mailing-lists) |
| `emails` | string\[] | Addresses to erase (case-insensitive) |
| `external_ids` | string\[] | Your ids to erase |

At least one of `emails` / `external_ids`; up to 1000 identifiers in total.

## Returns

```json theme={null}
{ "erased": 2, "suppressed": 1, "not_found": ["nobody@example.com"] }
```

`suppressed` counts the erased recipients who had unsubscribed. A repeat call reports everything as `not_found`.

## Example prompts

> "Sam Lee asked us to delete their data — erase [sam@example.com](mailto:sam@example.com) from every mailing list."

> "Erase user usr\_42 from the Customers list; they closed their account and requested deletion."

The same operation is in the REST API as [`POST /email/lists/{id}/recipients/erase`](https://docs.shipstar.ai/api-reference/mailing-lists/erase-recipients) and in the dashboard as *Erase permanently*.


This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.