---
title: "Cleanup"
sidebarTitle: "Cleanup"
description: "Pruning old versions and the files only they referenced."
icon: broom
keywords: ["cleanup", "retention", "prune", "delete_unverified", "vacuum"]
---

Every write keeps the version before it, which is what makes
[time travel](/management/table#versioning) possible. Cleanup is what ends
that -- pruning versions older than a retention window, and the files that only
those versions referenced.

<Note>
**Enterprise job type:** `cleanup`. Distinct from `compact` -- compaction
merges files, cleanup removes them. `optimize()` in OSS runs both in one call;
Enterprise schedules them as separate jobs.
</Note>

## Retention {#retention}

```python
from datetime import timedelta

table.optimize(cleanup_older_than=timedelta(days=30))
```

`cleanup_older_than` defaults to **7 days**. Versions older than that are
removed, along with the files only they referenced.

The latest version is never removed, whatever you pass -- `timedelta(0)` prunes
everything except it.

<Warning>
Pruning is what makes [time travel](/management/table#versioning) finite. A
version outside the retention window is gone, and a tag or branch pointing at
it no longer resolves.

If you rely on reading old versions, set the window to cover the range you
need before running this, not after.
</Warning>

## Disk usage does not drop immediately {#disk}

Compaction writes new, merged files before the old ones are removed, so disk
usage can rise before it falls. Space is reclaimed only when cleanup prunes the
versions that referenced the superseded files.

If you need to reclaim space aggressively, shorten the retention window rather
than waiting for the default:

```python
table.optimize(cleanup_older_than=timedelta(days=1))
```

## Files from failed transactions {#unverified}

A write that fails partway can leave files that look like an operation still
in progress. Cleanup will not remove them until they are at least seven days
old, because it cannot tell them apart from a live write.

```python
table.optimize(delete_unverified=True)
```

<Warning>
`delete_unverified=True` removes them regardless of age. Only set it when you
can guarantee **no other process is writing to the table** -- otherwise it can
delete files belonging to a write that is genuinely in progress, and corrupt
the table.
</Warning>

## What to read next {#next}

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Compaction" icon="broom" href="/maintenance/compaction">
    Merging small files -- the other half of `optimize()`.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Background jobs" icon="gears" href="/maintenance/background-jobs">
    The Enterprise jobs that run without a call from you.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>