Data retention

This page explains each project's retention period: where it's set, where you see it, how it limits the time ranges you can pick, and what you can change.

Every project in AIO has a retention period in days. AIO shows it in the project list and uses it to limit how far back the Time select goes. If you know a project's retention, you'll know which time windows you can choose for it.

How it works

1. AIO sets retention when the project is created. On the Create project page, the Retention (days) field shows 60 and you can't change it. In this release, every project you create in the UI gets 60 days. A future release is planned to let you choose the period. Projects that the Python SDK creates for you also get 60 days.

2. The project list shows each project's retention. On the Projects page, the Retention column shows the period, for example "60 days". It shows "—" when the project has no retention value.

3. The time range select follows retention. The Time select offers these ranges: Last 15 minutes, Last hour, Last 24 hours, Last 7 days, Last 30 days, Last 60 days, and Last 90 days. The default is Last 24 hours, and there's no all-time option. Ranges longer than the project's retention still appear in the list, but you can't select them, and they're marked "beyond retention".

What you can change

• In the UI: you can't change retention. The create form has it fixed at 60 days, and AIO has no screen for editing a project after it's created.
• Through the AIO REST API: a user who has permission to change a project can update its retention value. If a project is created through the API without a retention value, it has none, and the Retention column shows "—". To find out who can change a project, see Project permissions.

Next steps

• Create a project
• Explore traces
• Project permissions