How to drop a Gremlin vertex that contains "/" in the id field.

Question

How to drop a Gremlin vertex that contains "/" in the id field.

Jason Koncsol 20 Microsoft Employee

I cannot drop vertices that contain the "/" character in the id field. I get an error message "StatusCode":404,"SubStatusCode":0,"RequestCharge":0,"RequestUri":"dbs/AMER/colls/AMER%20US%20West/docs/SJC20-FPDEVICE-F01SER01-C1M-31/33","ErrorMessage":"The value 'dbs/AMER/colls/AMER%20US%20West/docs/SJC20-FPDEVICE-F01SER01-C1M-31/33' specified for query '$resolveFor' is invalid.\r\nActivityId: 8afb4066-7d58-4ad8-bbf5-4e483903e1f1,"
I've tried dropping via .NET client as well as in the console but get the same error either way. I've modified the code I use to create the vertices via bulk uploader to replace "/" with "_" going forward but need to be able to remove the existing vertices with "/" already in the id.

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Answer 1

Pratyush Vashistha 4,815 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Jason Koncsol,

This problem often relates to how special characters in IDs (like "/") are handled in Azure Cosmos DB Gremlin API. Could you please share the exact Gremlin query or .NET code snippet you are using to drop the vertex? Also, are you specifying the partition key when trying to remove these vertices, and if so, what is the value being provided? This will help clarify if the error is due to improper ID encoding, partition key mismatch, or API limitation.

If you have additional details about your graph’s schema—such as whether your graph is using custom partition keys or default settings—please provide that as well. This will help pinpoint the best way to remove those problematic vertices.

Meanwhile while you answer above questions, you can try the following solutions

When referencing vertices with special characters in Gremlin queries, try URL encoding the vertex ID. Replace "/" with "%2F" in your drop operations. For example, if your vertex ID is "SJC20-FPDEVICE-F01SER01-C1M-31/33", use "SJC20-FPDEVICE-F01SER01-C1M-31%2F33" in your Gremlin query.
Ensure you're specifying the correct partition key when attempting to drop vertices. If your graph uses partition keys, the drop operation must include the proper partition key parameter, especially when using the .NET client.
Try using the .hasId() step in your Gremlin traversal instead of direct ID referencing. This approach can sometimes handle special characters more effectively.

Thanks

Pratyush

Jason Koncsol 20 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2025-10-21T21:47:36.72+00:00
HI @Pratyush Vashistha , I am trying to submit in the console. I've also tried it in .NET but get the same error. I am able to select the node using:

g.V().has('DcName', 'SJC20').where(id().is('SJC20-FPDEVICE-F01SER01-C1M-31/33'))

However, when I add .drop() to the end, I get the error previously stated. When trying to use %2F, it will not select the correct node.

g.V().has('DcName', 'SJC20').has(id, 'SJC20-FPDEVICE-F01SER01-C1M-31/33').drop()

similarly returned the error.
Pratyush Vashistha 4,815 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-06T20:48:48.39+00:00
Thank you Jason for confirming that the solution worked. I am summarizing my response shared over private message.The issue occurred because the vertex ID contained a forward slash /, which is a reserved character in URI paths. When attempting a .drop() operation in Azure Cosmos DB Gremlin API, the / caused the resource URI to be interpreted incorrectly, leading to a 404 error. Using %2F also didn’t work because it was treated as a literal string, not as an encoded character.

Recommended Approach:

Avoid using / or other URI-reserved characters in vertex IDs for future data. Replacing them with _ is a good practice.

For existing vertices that already contain /, migrate them by:

Reading and exporting the vertex data.

Re-inserting them using sanitized IDs.

Deleting the original vertices using Cosmos DB SDK / REST API, which allows manual control over encoding.

This is a known limitation, and the above approach is the standard workaround.

Thanks again. Please mark this as the accepted answer.-Pratyush
Jason Koncsol 20 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2025-11-06T21:59:20.19+00:00

Thanks, Pratyush. The REST API worked.

Answer 2

Amira Bedhiafi 41,036 Volunteer Moderator

Hello Jason !

Thank you for posting on Microsoft Learn Q&A.

Don’t try to point-read by id because in Cosmos DB using the Gremlin API a slash inside the id makes the service try to resolve a document path (docs/<id>), which breaks so instead, select the vertex by partition key with a filter on id() and then drop it.

g.V().
  has('pk', 'AMER US West').          // your partition key value
  where(id().is('SJC20-FPDEVICE-F01SER01-C1M-31/33')).
  drop()

if you want to use parameter bindings in .NET :

var bindings = new Dictionary<string, object> {
  ["pk"] = "AMER US West",
  ["vid"] = "SJC20-FPDEVICE-F01SER01-C1M-31/33"
};
await client.SubmitAsync(
  "g.V().has('pk', pk).where(id().is(vid)).drop()", bindings);

Jason Koncsol 20 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2025-10-16T21:18:46.15+00:00

Hi Amira, thanks for the response! I tried that strategy and am still getting: ": NotFoundException ExceptionMessage : Microsoft.Azure.Cosmos.CosmosException : Response status code does not indicate success: NotFound (404); Substatus: 0; ActivityId: de6ad950-7943-41eb-b4a8-497181fd8520; Reason: (The value 'dbs/AMER/colls/AMER%20US%20West/docs/SJC20-FPDEVICE-F01SER01-C1M-31/33' specified for query '$resolveFor' is invalid"

I did validate I was able to select the vertex using the portion before .drop()

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How to drop a Gremlin vertex that contains "/" in the id field.

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