Tigris Lifecycle Management

Automate object expiration, storage tier transitions, and cleanup with lifecycle rules. Set policies that automatically delete temporary files, archive old data, and control storage costs.

Prerequisites

Before doing anything else, install the Tigris CLI if it's not already available:

tigris help || npm install -g @tigrisdata/cli

If you need to install it, tell the user: "I'm installing the Tigris CLI (@tigrisdata/cli) so we can work with Tigris object storage."

Quick Reference

Operation	Command
Set rules	tigris buckets lifecycle set <bucket> --config lifecycle.json
View rules	tigris buckets lifecycle get <bucket>
Remove rules	tigris buckets lifecycle delete <bucket>

---

Setting Lifecycle Rules

tigris buckets lifecycle set my-app-uploads --config lifecycle.json

Rule Format

{
  "Rules": [
    {
      "ID": "rule-name",
      "Filter": { "Prefix": "path/prefix/" },
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Expiration": { "Days": 30 },
      "Transitions": [
        { "Days": 7, "StorageClass": "STANDARD_IA" },
        { "Days": 90, "StorageClass": "GLACIER" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Field	Purpose
ID	Human-readable rule name
Filter.Prefix	Only apply to objects matching this prefix
Status	"Enabled" or "Disabled"
Expiration.Days	Delete objects after N days
Transitions	Move objects between storage tiers

---

Common Patterns

Temporary Upload Cleanup

Delete files in tmp/ after 24 hours:

{
  "Rules": [
    {
      "ID": "cleanup-temp-uploads",
      "Filter": { "Prefix": "tmp/" },
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Expiration": { "Days": 1 }
    }
  ]
}

Unverified Upload Expiration

Delete unprocessed uploads after 7 days:

{
  "Rules": [
    {
      "ID": "expire-unverified-uploads",
      "Filter": { "Prefix": "uploads/pending/" },
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Expiration": { "Days": 7 }
    }
  ]
}

Session Data Cleanup

Auto-delete session files after 1 day:

{
  "Rules": [
    {
      "ID": "cleanup-sessions",
      "Filter": { "Prefix": "sessions/" },
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Expiration": { "Days": 1 }
    }
  ]
}

Log Archival

Move logs to cheaper storage, then delete after 1 year:

{
  "Rules": [
    {
      "ID": "archive-logs",
      "Filter": { "Prefix": "logs/" },
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Transitions": [
        { "Days": 30, "StorageClass": "STANDARD_IA" },
        { "Days": 90, "StorageClass": "GLACIER" }
      ],
      "Expiration": { "Days": 365 }
    }
  ]
}

Backup Retention

Keep backups for 30 days:

{
  "Rules": [
    {
      "ID": "expire-old-backups",
      "Filter": { "Prefix": "backups/" },
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Expiration": { "Days": 30 }
    }
  ]
}

Old Asset Versions

Clean up old build artifacts:

{
  "Rules": [
    {
      "ID": "cleanup-old-builds",
      "Filter": { "Prefix": "builds/" },
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Expiration": { "Days": 14 }
    }
  ]
}

---

Storage Tiers

Tier	Cost	Access	Use For
STANDARD	Highest	Instant	Frequently accessed files
STANDARD_IA	Lower	Instant, retrieval fee	Infrequent access (>30 days old)
GLACIER	Lowest	Minutes-hours retrieval	Archives, compliance (>90 days old)

When to Transition

Scenario	Transition At	Save
User uploads rarely re-accessed	30 days → IA	~40% storage cost
Compliance archives	90 days → Glacier	~80% storage cost
Build artifacts	7 days → IA, 30 days → delete	~90% with deletion

---

Multiple Rules Example

Combine rules for a complete lifecycle policy:

{
  "Rules": [
    {
      "ID": "cleanup-temp",
      "Filter": { "Prefix": "tmp/" },
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Expiration": { "Days": 1 }
    },
    {
      "ID": "archive-uploads",
      "Filter": { "Prefix": "uploads/" },
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Transitions": [
        { "Days": 90, "StorageClass": "STANDARD_IA" }
      ]
    },
    {
      "ID": "expire-backups",
      "Filter": { "Prefix": "backups/" },
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Expiration": { "Days": 30 }
    },
    {
      "ID": "archive-logs",
      "Filter": { "Prefix": "logs/" },
      "Status": "Enabled",
      "Transitions": [
        { "Days": 30, "StorageClass": "STANDARD_IA" },
        { "Days": 90, "StorageClass": "GLACIER" }
      ],
      "Expiration": { "Days": 365 }
    }
  ]
}

---

Application-Level TTL

When lifecycle rules aren't granular enough (e.g., expiration based on metadata, not age), implement TTL in your application:

import { put, list, remove, head } from "@tigrisdata/storage";

// Store with expiration metadata
await put("tokens/abc123.json", data, {
  contentType: "application/json",
  // Store expiry as part of the key or track in your database
});

// Cleanup job: delete expired objects
async function cleanupExpired(prefix: string, maxAgeMs: number) {
  const result = await list({ prefix });
  const now = Date.now();

  for (const item of result.data?.items ?? []) {
    const age = now - new Date(item.modified).getTime();
    if (age > maxAgeMs) {
      await remove(item.path);
    }
  }
}

// Run daily
cleanupExpired("tokens/", 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000); // 24 hours

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Interaction with Snapshots

• Lifecycle rules apply to the source bucket, not snapshot copies
• Objects deleted by lifecycle rules can be recovered from snapshots (if taken before deletion)
• Consider snapshot frequency when setting expiration policies

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Critical Rules

Always: Use lifecycle rules for predictable cleanup patterns | Set expiration on temporary/transient data | Use storage tier transitions for cost savings | Test rules on a non-production bucket first

Never: Rely solely on lifecycle for critical data deletion (add application-level checks) | Set short expiration on buckets with important data without backups | Forget that deleted objects are gone permanently (unless you have snapshots)

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Related Skills

• tigris-backup-export — Backup retention policies
• tigris-egress-optimizer — Tier transitions for cost savings
• tigris-snapshots-forking — Point-in-time recovery before deletion

Official Documentation

• Tigris: https://www.tigrisdata.com/docs/