# Time to live (TTL) :::callout{intent="info" title="Added in `v1.36`"} ::: Time-to-live (TTL) allows you to set an expiration time for objects in a collection. Expired objects are periodically removed from the collection by Weaviate's background processes, helping you manage data lifecycle and storage. TTLs are currently defined at the collection level. They can be set [relative to an object's creation time](#relative-to-a-creation-time), [the last update time](#relative-to-a-last-update-time), or [a specific `DATE` property](#relative-to-a-specific-date-property) within the object. With all TTL definitions, you can optionally set whether to exclude expired, but not yet deleted, objects from query results. This can prevent erroneous data retrieval before the background deletion process runs. :::callout{intent="info" title="Prerequisites"} TTL requires the [`OBJECTS_TTL_DELETE_SCHEDULE`](../database-configuration/overview.md) environment variable to be set on the Weaviate instance. This variable defines the cron schedule for the background deletion process. If it is not set, expired objects will not be deleted. The minimum TTL value is 60 seconds. ::: ## Relative to a creation time Set a TTL to count forward from the object's creation time metadata. The value must be positive. ::::tabs{sync="languages"} :::tab{title="Python"} ```python from weaviate.classes.config import Configure, Property, DataType import datetime client.collections.create( name="CollectionWithTTL", properties=[ Property(name="referenceDate", data_type=DataType.DATE), ], object_ttl_config=Configure.ObjectTTL.delete_by_creation_time( time_to_live=datetime.timedelta(hours=1), # Or set 3600 for seconds filter_expired_objects=True, # Optional: automatically filter out expired objects from queries ), ) ``` ::: :::tab{title="JavaScript/TypeScript"} ```typescript await client.collections.create({ name: 'CollectionWithTTL', properties: [ { name: 'referenceDate', dataType: dataType.DATE }, ], objectTTL: configure.objectTTL.deleteByCreationTime({ defaultTTLSeconds: 3600, // 1 hour filterExpiredObjects: true, // Optional: automatically filter out expired objects from queries }), }); ``` ::: :::tab{title="Java"} ```java client.collections.create("CollectionWithTTL", c -> c.properties(Property.date("referenceDate")) .objectTtl(ttl -> ttl .deleteByCreationTime() .defaultTtlSeconds(3600) // 1 hour .filterExpiredObjects(true) // Optional: automatically filter out expired objects from queries )); ``` ::: :::: ## Relative to a last update time Set a TTL to count forward from the object's last updated time metadata. The value must be positive. ::::tabs{sync="languages"} :::tab{title="Python"} ```python from weaviate.classes.config import Configure, Property, DataType import datetime client.collections.create( name="CollectionWithTTL", properties=[ Property(name="referenceDate", data_type=DataType.DATE), ], object_ttl_config=Configure.ObjectTTL.delete_by_update_time( time_to_live=datetime.timedelta(days=10), # Or set 864000 for seconds filter_expired_objects=True, # Optional: automatically filter out expired objects from queries ), ) ``` ::: :::tab{title="JavaScript/TypeScript"} ```typescript await client.collections.create({ name: 'CollectionWithTTL', properties: [ { name: 'referenceDate', dataType: dataType.DATE }, ], objectTTL: configure.objectTTL.deleteByUpdateTime({ defaultTTLSeconds: 864000, // 10 days filterExpiredObjects: true, // Optional: automatically filter out expired objects from queries }), }); ``` ::: :::tab{title="Java"} ```java client.collections.create("CollectionWithTTL", c -> c.properties(Property.date("referenceDate")) .objectTtl(ttl -> ttl .deleteByUpdateTime() .defaultTtlSeconds(864000) // 10 days .filterExpiredObjects(true) // Optional: automatically filter out expired objects from queries )); ``` ::: :::: ## Relative to a specific DATE property Set a TTL to a relative value from a specific `DATE` property within the object. The value can be positive or negative. ::::tabs{sync="languages"} :::tab{title="Python"} ```python from weaviate.classes.config import Configure, Property, DataType import datetime client.collections.create( name="CollectionWithTTL", properties=[ Property(name="referenceDate", data_type=DataType.DATE), ], object_ttl_config=Configure.ObjectTTL.delete_by_date_property( property_name="referenceDate", ttl_offset=datetime.timedelta(minutes=5), ), ) ``` ::: :::tab{title="JavaScript/TypeScript"} ```typescript await client.collections.create({ name: 'CollectionWithTTL', properties: [ { name: 'referenceDate', dataType: dataType.DATE }, ], objectTTL: configure.objectTTL.deleteByDateProperty({ property: 'referenceDate', defaultTTLSeconds: 300, // 5 minutes offset }), }); ``` ::: :::tab{title="Java"} ```java client.collections.create("CollectionWithTTL", c -> c.properties(Property.date("referenceDate")) .objectTtl(ttl -> ttl .deleteByDateProperty("referenceDate") .defaultTtlSeconds(300) // 5 minutes offset )); ``` ::: :::: ## Further resources - [Concepts: Data | Time to live](../concepts/data.md#time-to-live-ttl) - [References: Environment variables](../database-configuration/overview.md) ## Questions and feedback Have a question or feedback? 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