# Adding Pre and Post Destructive Changes to a Branch
##  Overview
Destructive changes allow you to delete metadata from a Salesforce org as part of a deployment. For example, you may want to remove unused fields, classes, or components. In Flosum DevOps, destructive changes can be applied in two ways:
* **Pre-destructive changes** – deletions occur before the main deployment.
* **Post-destructive changes** – deletions occur after the main deployment.
{% hint style="warning" %}
#### Deployment
When you run a **Deploy** or **Validate** action, destructive changes are included automatically. They execute in sequence, depending on whether they are Pre or Post.
{% endhint %}
{% hint style="info" %}
#### Best Practices
* Use **pre-destructive** changes to remove metadata that might conflict with the new deployment.
* Use **post-destructive** changes to clean up after the new components are deployed.
* Always validate deployments with destructive changes to ensure no critical metadata is deleted by mistake.
{% endhint %}
Since the steps for adding a pre-destructive change and a post-destructive change are the same, this article will show you how to add a pre-destructive change.
## Adding Destructive Changes
{% stepper %}
{% step %}
### Select a Branch
1. Click **Code** from the left sidebar menu.
2. Select a branch from the list.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Add Desctructive Changes
1. Scroll down to the **Destructive changes** section.
2. Click **Add per destructive changes**.
3. Select the **Source Type**:
1. **Connection**: Lets you choose components from a Salesforce org connection to include in destructive changes.
2. **Branch**: Lets you choose components from a branch to include in destructive changes.
4. Click **Select** for the Connection or Branch from which you want to add components.
5. Click **Next**.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Select Components
1. Search, filter, and sort to find the components to add to the destructive changes.
2. Click **Add** for each component to add.
3. Click **Next** once all components are added.
4. The components you added will be listed in the **Destructive changes** table. The type of destruction is listed to the right of the component name.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}
## Managing Destructive Changes
After adding a component to the **Destructive Changes** table, you can manage it by editing its deployment type or removing it.
{% stepper %}
{% step %}
### Edit Destructive Change
{% hint style="info" %}
When editing a destructive change, the only option is to alter the deployment type.
{% endhint %}
1. Click the **Three Dots** menu for the destructive change you want to edit.
2. Click **Edit**.
3. Select the **Deploy Type**.
4. Click **Save**.
{% endstep %}
{% step %}
### Delete Destructive Change
1. Click the **Three Dots** menu for the destructive change you want to edit.
2. Click **Delete**.
3. Click **Yes**.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}
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