---
name: "pmDestroyContext"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "pcp"
version: "7.2.2-2"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/pmDestroyContext"
---

# pmDestroyContext(3)

destroy a PMAPI context

## NAME

**pmDestroyContext** - destroy a PMAPI context

## C SYNOPSIS

**#include \<pcp/pmapi.h\>**

**int pmDestroyContext(int** *handle***);**

**cc ... -lpcp**

## DESCRIPTION

An application using the Performance Metrics Application Programming Interface (PMAPI) may manipulate several concurrent contexts, each associated with a source of performance metrics, e.g. [**pmcd**(1)](/pmcd/1.md) on some host, or an archive of performance metrics as created by [**pmlogger**(1)](/pmlogger/1.md).

**pmDestroyContext** destroys the PMAPI context identified by *handle*. Typically this would imply some termination of a connection to a PMCD or closing an archive file, and orderly clean-up.

The context must have been previously created using [**pmNewContext**(3)](/pmNewContext/3.md) or [**pmDupContext**(3)](/pmDupContext/3.md).

On success, **pmDestroyContext** returns zero. If *handle* was the current PMAPI context, then the current context becomes undefined. This means the application must explicitly re-establish a valid PMAPI context with [**pmUseContext**(3)](/pmUseContext/3.md), or create a new context with [**pmNewContext**(3)](/pmNewContext/3.md) or [**pmDupContext**(3)](/pmDupContext/3.md), before the next PMAPI operation that requires a PMAPI context.

## DIAGNOSTICS

**PM\_ERR\_NOCONTEXT**

-

  *handle* does not identify a valid PMAPI context

## SEE ALSO

[**PMAPI**(3)](/PMAPI/3.md), [**pmDupContext**(3)](/pmDupContext/3.md), [**pmNewContext**(3)](/pmNewContext/3.md), [**pmUseContext**(3)](/pmUseContext/3.md) and [**pmWhichContext**(3)](/pmWhichContext/3.md).