How to delete memory-workspace

[MattWeber2]

Hello,

how can I delete the memory-workspace after a script has run?

I usually added

arcpy.Delete_management("memory")

to the end of my scripts, but noticed yesterday that this apparently doesn't do anything. 

The workaround i found is to loop over all fc in the workspace and delete them one by one.

for fc in arcpy.ListFeatureClasses():
    desc = arcpy.Describe(fc)
    arcpy.Delete_management(desc.catalogPath)

But this help site indicates it should be possible to delete all at once.

Write geoprocessing output to memory—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation 

Also, the older in_memory seems to empty itself after a script ran, why doesn't memory do the same?

Cheers

edit: I am using ArcGIS Pro 2.4.3

[JoshuaBixby]

You are seeing different behaviors in IPython/Jupyter and ArcGIS Pro because the memory workspace integrates into ArcGIS Pro (in-process) differently than IPython/Jupyter/python.exe (out-of-process). 

[DanPatterson_Retired]

Attach your script to a tool in Arctoolbox if you must work inside of Pro.  You can even set your inputs as the default if you have repetitive tasks with the same data.

I still don't know why you would be running a script inside Pro in any event when you can run it outside without locks.  Maybe even try saving the project after the run to see if it frees things up.

I am done, since this may or may not be an error.  Workarounds have been provided.  Tech support is your next option

[DanPatterson_Retired]

To mess with everyones heads...

Jupyter notebook in pro has some issues with in_memory ( I suspect it only supports 'memory'

Kory Kramer‌  I await beta 2.6 before I invest in Jupyter further, since toolboxes were suggested to be changed (don't know if it happened)

[MattWeber2]

Since nobody can reproduce the Problem, I assume it's somekind of setting or maybe bug in the Version of Pro my organization is using. 

I will use the workaround to delete all the fc in memory one by one for now. 

Thanks for all the help and testing

[BlakeTerhune]

@MattWeber2 were you able to figure out the problem with your memory workspace?

[DougBrowning]

Same here I have a pile of scripts that I ran in ArcMap Python for years that use code like below.  None of this will work in ArcPro Python.  Seems like a bug to me.

I also added arcpy.Delete_management("in_memory") and it still does not work.  Kinda stuck now since I cannot get it to ever delete.  

Anyone get this one yet?  thanks

    for table in tableList:       
         tempTV = "in_memory\\tempTV"

            # for FC this line must be different
            if table in fcList:
                arcpy.MakeFeatureLayer_management(appendFromDB + "\\" + table, tempTV)
            else:
                arcpy.MakeTableView_management(appendFromDB + "\\" + table, tempTV)

            # We want to check for dups based on FormID
            arcpy.AddJoin_management(tempTV, "FormID", addToDB + "\\" + sdePrefix + table, "FormID", "KEEP_COMMON")
            joinedCount = int(arcpy.GetCount_management(tempTV).getOutput(0))
            arcpy.RemoveJoin_management(tempTV)
            arcpy.Delete_management(tempTV)
       

[BlakeTerhune]

You'll want to switch to using the "memory" workspace in ArcGIS Pro rather than the "in_memory" from ArcMap.

Write geoprocessing output to memory—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

[DougBrowning]

Yes I know and I tried both for testing. Same issue.