Cleanup Properties

Remove or archive unused custom properties. Property bloat slows down forms, confuses users, and makes data mapping harder.

Prerequisites

• A HubSpot private app access token (HUBSPOT_ACCESS_TOKEN in .env) with crm.schemas.*.read and crm.schemas.*.write scopes
• Python 3.10+ with uv

Step-by-Step Instructions

Stage 1: Plan

Confirm with the user before starting:

1. Archive-first policy (recommended) or direct deletion for clearly dead test properties?
2. Is a Salesforce (or other CRM) sync active? If yes, get the sync property mapping before touching anything.

Stage 2: Before

Inventory custom properties for each object type via the Properties API (v3):

import os, requests
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()
TOKEN = os.environ["HUBSPOT_ACCESS_TOKEN"]
BASE = "https://api.hubapi.com"
HEADERS = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}", "Content-Type": "application/json"}

for obj_type in ["contacts", "companies", "deals"]:
    resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/crm/v3/properties/{obj_type}", headers=HEADERS)
    resp.raise_for_status()
    custom_props = [p for p in resp.json()["results"] if not p.get("hubspotDefined")]

For each custom property, record: name, label, object type, type, group, number of records with a value (requires search queries), whether it is used in any form/workflow/list.

Stage 3: Execute

Safe to delete:

• Properties with zero populated records and not used in any form, workflow, or list
• Properties with names containing “test”, “temp”, “old_”, “copy_of”
• Properties created by deactivated integrations

Handle with care:

• Salesforce sync properties (hs_salesforce_* prefix or mapped in sync settings) — do not delete without coordinating with the Salesforce admin
• Form fields — check if the property is used on any active form before deleting
• Workflow dependencies — check if any workflow reads or sets this property
• Calculated properties — check if other calculated properties reference this one

Archive instead of delete when:

• The property has historical data that might be needed for reporting
• You are unsure whether anything depends on it

Archive candidates via DELETE /crm/v3/properties/{objectType}/{propertyName} (this archives — the property moves to the archived state) after presenting the list to the user and getting explicit confirmation.

Stage 4: After

1. Archive properties first (HubSpot supports property archiving).
2. Wait 30 days, then delete archived properties that caused no issues.
3. Document all changes in a cleanup log.

Rollback

• Archived properties can be unarchived at any time.
• Deleted properties cannot be restored. The property definition and all associated data are permanently lost.
• Always archive before deleting to provide a safety window.

Tips

• Run this quarterly as part of the database cleanup routine.
• Establish a property naming convention going forward (e.g., team_purpose_detail).
• Limit who can create custom properties to prevent sprawl.
• HubSpot has a property limit per object type — cleanup prevents hitting it.