Using Object Lifecycle Management

By using Object Lifecycle Management to manage your Object Storage and Archive Storage data, you can reduce your storage costs and the amount of time you spend manually managing data.

Object Lifecycle Management works by taking automated action based on rules you define that instruct Object Storage to archive or delete the supported resources on your behalf within a given bucket. A bucket's lifecycle rules are collectively known as an object lifecycle policy. The resources that Object Lifecycle Management supports include objects, object versions, and uncommitted or failed multipart uploads.

For example, you can define rules that automatically do things like the following:

Move Object Storage objects with a .doc extension to Archive Storage 60 days after creation.
Move Object Storage objects to Archive Storage 30 days after creation, and then automatically delete those archived objects after 180 days.
Delete any previous object versions 120 days after the object version transitions from the latest version to a previous version.
Delete uncommitted or failed multipart uploads after 5 days.

Each Object Storage or Archive Storage bucket can have a single lifecycle policy consisting of up to 1,000 rules. Object-related rules can have object name prefix and pattern matching conditions. Uncommitted multipart upload rules do not support prefix and pattern matching conditions.

You can create, edit, delete, enable, and disable individual rules in the Console as needed. To update a lifecycle policy using the CLI or API, overwrite an existing policy with a new policy. Ensure that the new policy is inclusive of all the policy rules that you want to apply to the bucket.

Required IAM Policies

Important

You cannot use Object Lifecycle Management until you authorize the Object Storage service to archive and delete objects on your behalf. See Service Permissions for more information.

If you're new to policies, see Getting Started with Policies and Common Policies.

User Permissions

To use Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, you must be granted security access in a policy by an administrator. This access is required whether you're using the Console or the REST API with an SDK, CLI, or other tool. If you get a message that you don’t have permission or are unauthorized, verify with your administrator what type of access you have and which compartment you should work in.

For administrators:

The policy Let Object Storage admins manage buckets and objects lets the specified group do everything with buckets and objects, including adding and managing lifecycle policies.
If you create more restrictive policies that grant individual permissions, OBJECT_VERSION_DELETE is required to delete previous object versions on your behalf using lifecycle policies.

See Details for Object Storage, Archive Storage, and Data Transfer for more information on Object Storage user permissions.

Service Permissions

To execute object lifecycle policies, you must authorize the service to archive and delete objects on your behalf. To do so, create the following policy in the root compartment of your tenancy:

Allow service objectstorage-<region_identifier> to manage object-family in compartment <compartment_name>

Because Object Storage is a regional service, you must authorize the Object Storage service in each region you use lifecycle policies. Object Storage ensures that your data is not read from any unauthorized region.

If you don't have permissions to write policies for the root compartment of your tenancy, contact your Oracle Cloud Infrastructure administrator. To determine the region identifier value of an Oracle Cloud Infrastructure region, see Regions and Availability Domains.

Instead of using the policy verbmanage, you can grant individual permissions to the service. For example:

Allow service objectstorage-<region_identifier> to manage object-family in compartment <compartment_name> where any {request.permission='BUCKET_INSPECT', request.permission='BUCKET_READ', request.permission='OBJECT_INSPECT', request.permission='OBJECT_CREATE', request.permission='OBJECT_DELETE', request.permission='OBJECT_VERSION_DELETE'}

Options

When creating object lifecycle policy rules, you have the following options:

When a lifecycle rule is created, the system generates a default name for that rule, for example lifecycle-rule-20190321-1559. This rule name identifies the current year, month, day, and time that the rule was created. You can use that system-generated name for your new rule or you can specify a different name for it.
You can create lifecycle rules that do the following:
- Archive or delete all objects in the bucket.
- Archive or delete objects in the bucket that match the object name filters you specify. You can select objects using both object name prefixes and pattern matching. See Using Object Name Filters for details.
- Delete uncommitted or failed multipart uploads. For more information, see Using Multipart Uploads.
If object versioning is enabled or suspended on a bucket, you can also create lifecycle rules that do the following:
- Archive or delete the previous versions of all objects in the bucket.
- Archive or delete the previous versions of objects in the bucket that match the name filters you specify. You can select objects using both object name prefixes and pattern matching. See Using Object Name Filters for details.
You specify the number of days until the specified action is taken.
You decide whether a new rule is enabled or disabled upon creation.

Using Object Name Filters

Use object name filters to specify a subset of objects, object versions, or previous object versions that a lifecycle rule applies to. Create a separate object name filter rule for each rule target (objects, object versions, or previous object versions).

Important

Do not specify object name filters if you want a rule to apply to the all objects, all object versions, or all previous object versions target.

You can add object name filters in any order. Object Lifecycle Management evaluates the precedence of the rules as follows:

Pattern exclusions
Pattern inclusions
Prefix inclusions

Using Prefix Matching to Filter Objects

When naming objects, you can use prefix strings without a delimiter so that certain bulk operations can be performed by matching on the prefix portion of the object name. For example, in the object names below, the string gloves_27_ serves as a prefix for matching purposes when performing lifecycle management archive or deletions:

gloves_27_dark_green.jpg
gloves_27_light_blue.jpg
gloves_27_deep_purple.jpg
gloves_27_bright_orange.jpg

See Object Naming Using Prefixes and Hierarchies for complete details.

Using Pattern Matching to Filter Objects

Object Storage supports the following pattern matching characters to either include or exclude objects:


Character	Description	Pattern Examples	Matches	Doesn't Match
*	Matches 0 or more characters	*.tmp	foo.tmp foo/bar/baz.tmp	tmp Atmp
		*.xls	.xls /home/user/file.xlsx	xls .xl
		/archive/*	/archive/sub/dir/ /archive/1/2/3/4/foo.txt	/src/archive/a archive/b
?	Matches any one character	X?Z	XyZ X_Z	XZ XYYZ
\	Escapes the next character	\\dir\\sub\\*	\dir\sub\ABC \dir\sub\	dir\sub\abc dirsub
[...]	Matches a group of characters, which can be: A set of characters, for example: [Zafg9@]. Matches any character in the brackets. A range of characters, for example: [a-f]. Matches any character in the range: [a-f] is equivalent to [abcdef]. For character ranges only the CHARACTER-CHARACTER pattern is supported: [ab-yz] is not valid. [a-mn-z] is not valid. Character ranges cannot start with ^ or colon (:). To include a hyphen (-) in the range, make it the first or last character.	[-ab3]	- a b 3	-a -ab 3b
		backup.tar.gz.[0-9]	backup.tar.gz.0 backup.tar.gz.5 backup.tar.gz.9	backup.tar.gz10 backup.tar.gz
		page-[0-9]*	page-0 page-2 page-22 page-2X	page- page-A1
		\[a-z\]	[a-z]	a z [a-z

Patterns are limited to 1024 characters. The following are examples of invalid patterns:

\
[^a-z]
[z-a]
[:isalpha:]

Scope and Constraints

Understand the following scope and constraints regarding object lifecycle policies:

When you create a lifecycle policy rule, Object Storage applies that rule to all objects, all object versions, or all previous object versions that exist in the bucket unless you add object name filters for that target.
Prefix and pattern matching filtering applies only to rules for objects, object versions, or previous object versions. Object filtering does not apply to uncommitted multipart uploads.
A rule that deletes an object always takes priority over a rule that would archive that same object.
When you create a rule that archives or deletes previous object versions, you specify the number of days until archival or deletion occurs. The "number of days" countdown is based on when the object version transitioned from being the latest object version to being a previous object version. This time can be determined by looking at the "last modified" time of the preceding most recent version of the object. The following screenshot illustrates the time used to start the countdown for archival or deletion in the Console.
When creating a lifecycle policy rule that deletes latest version or previous versions of an object from Archive Storage, Archive Storage has a minimum retention requirement of 90 days. Objects deleted from Archive Storage that have not met the 90-day retention minimum are billed for 90 days of storage. For more information, see Overview of Archive Storage.
You can create up to 1,000 lifecycle rules per bucket.

Working with Object Lifecycle Management Policies

You can create, delete, edit, or disable lifecycle policy rules using the Console, the Command Line Interface (CLI), an SDK, or the API.

Caution

Objects deleted on your behalf by lifecycle policies cannot be recovered. Be sure when creating and editing your lifecycle policies that you are not unintentionally deleting data you want to retain. Oracle recommends that you test your lifecycle policy on development data before using the policy in production.

Using the Console

To create a lifecycle policy rule

Open the navigation menu. Under Core Infrastructure, click Object Storage.
Choose the compartment containing the bucket for which you want to create a lifecycle rule.
Click the bucket name.
Click Lifecycle Policy Rules under Resources to access the lifecycle policy rule list.
Click Create Rule.
Provide the following information:
- Name: Required. The system generates a default rule name that reflects the current year, month, day, and time, for example lifecycle-rule-20190321-1559. If you change this default to any other rule name, use letters, numbers, dashes, underscores, and periods. Avoid entering confidential information.
- Target: Required. Select the target to which the lifecycle rule applies.
  - If object versioning is Disabled, select the rule target Objects or Uncommitted Multipart Uploads.
  - If object versioning is Enabled or , Suspended select the rule target Latest Version of Objects, Previous Versions of Objects, or Uncommitted Multipart Uploads.
- Lifecycle Action:
  - If the rule target is Objects, Latest Version of Objects, or Previous Versions of Objects, select either Archive or Delete.
  - If the rule target is Uncommitted Multipart Uploads, Delete is the only option and is selected by default.
- Number of Days: The number of days until the specified action is taken.
  
  Note
  
  If the rule archives or deletes a previous object version, the "number of days" countdown is based on when the object version transitioned from being the latest object version to being a previous object version. This time can be determined by looking at the "last modified" time of the preceding most recent version of the object. The following screenshot illustrates the time used to start the countdown for archival or deletion in the Console.
If the rule target is Objects, Latest Version of Objects, or Previous Versions of Objects, you can optionally add one or more Object Name Filters to specify which objects the lifecycle rule applies to. You can choose objects or object versions using prefixes and pattern matching. If no object name filters are specified, the rule applies to all objects in the bucket.

To create an object name filter:
1. Click Add Filter.
2. Select the Filter Type.
3. Enter the Filter Value.
4. Click Add Another Filter to add as many filters as you need for this rule.
Select whether the rule is enabled or disabled upon creation using the State selector.
Click Create.

To edit a lifecycle policy rule

Open the navigation menu. Under Core Infrastructure, click Object Storage.
Choose the compartment containing the bucket for which you want to edit a lifecycle rule.
Click the bucket name.
Click Lifecycle Policy Rules under Resources to access the rule list.
Click the Actions icon (three dots) to the right of the rule that you want to edit, and then click Edit.
In the Edit Lifecycle Rule dialog box, edit the following as needed for each rule you want to change.
- Name: A user-friendly name for the rule. Avoid entering confidential information.
- Lifecycle Action:
  - If the rule target is Objects, Latest Version of Objects, or Previous Versions of Objects, select either Archive or Delete.
  - If the rule target is Uncommitted Multipart Uploads, Delete is the only option and is selected by default.
- Number of Days: The number of days until the specified action is taken.
- If the rule pertains to objects or object versions, you can edit, delete, or add prefix or pattern Object Name Filters.
- Enable or disable the rule using the State selector.
Click Save Changes.

To enable, disable, or delete a lifecycle policy rule

You can enable, disable, or delete a rule using the Console. The system stops the execution of disabled or deleted rules immediately.

Open the navigation menu. Under Core Infrastructure, click Object Storage.
Choose the compartment containing the bucket for which you want to enable, disable, or delete a lifecycle rule.
Click the bucket name.
Click Lifecycle Policy Rules under Resources to access the rule list.
Click the Actions icon (three dots) to the right of the rule that you want to manage, and then click one of the following:
- Enable (only displays if the rule is disabled)
- Disable (only displays if the rule is enabled)
- Delete

Using the Command Line Interface (CLI)

For information about using the CLI, see Command Line Interface (CLI). For a complete list of flags and options available for CLI commands, see the Command Line Reference.

To create or replace a lifecycle policy for a bucket

Note

To edit an existing lifecycle policy, you need to replace the policy with a new version that includes all the changed rules.

oci os object-lifecycle-policy put --namespace <object_storage_namespace> --bucket-name <bucket_name> --items <json_formatted_lifecycle_policy>

Tip

The --items option requires that you provide key-value pair input as valid formatted JSON. See Passing Complex Input and Using a JSON File for Complex Input for information about JSON formatting.

For example, the following lifecycle policy archives previous object versions with names that include the pattern *.doc after 30 days and deletes them after 180 days:

oci os object-lifecycle-policy put --namespace MyNamespace --bucket-name MyVersionedBucket --items
'[
      {
        "action": "ARCHIVE",
        "is-enabled": true,
        "name": "Archive-After-30-Days-Rule",
        "object-name-filter": {
          "exclusion-patterns": null,
          "inclusion-patterns": [
            "*.doc"
          ],
          "inclusion-prefixes": null
        },
        "target": "previous-object-versions",
        "time-amount": 30,
        "time-unit": "DAYS"
      },
      {
        "action": "DELETE",
        "is-enabled": true,
        "name": "Delete-After-180-Days-Rule",
        "object-name-filter": {
          "exclusion-patterns": null,
          "inclusion-patterns": [
            "*.doc"
          ],
          "inclusion-prefixes": null
        },
        "target": "previous-object-versions",
        "time-amount": 180,
        "time-unit": "DAYS"
      }
]'

For example, the following lifecycle policy deletes all uncommitted or failed multipart uploads after 5 days:

oci os object-lifecycle-policy put --namespace MyNamespace --bucket-name MyBucket --items
'[
    {
        "action": "DELETE", 
        "is-enabled": true, 
        "name": "DeleteAfter180Days", 
        "object-name-filter": null,
        "target": "multipart-uploads",
        "time-amount": 5, 
        "time-unit": "DAYS"
      }
]'

On Windows, to pass complex input to the CLI as a JSON string, you must enclose the entire block in double quotes. Inside the block, each double quote for the key and value strings must be escaped with a backslash (\) character.

For example:

oci os object-lifecycle-policy put --namespace MyNamespace --bucket-name MyBucket --items "[{\"action\":\"ARCHIVE\",\"is-enabled\":true,\"name\":\"Archive After 30 Days\",\"object-name-filter\":{\"exclusion-patterns\":[\"*.jpg\"],\"inclusion-patterns\":[\"*.doc\"],\"inclusion-prefixes\":[\"documents/\"]},\"time-amount\":30,\"time-unit\":\"DAYS\"},{\"action\":\"DELETE\",\"is-enabled\":true,\"name\":\"DeleteAfter180Days\",\"object-name-filter\":{\"exclusion-patterns\":null,\"inclusion-patterns\":null,\"inclusion-prefixes\":null},\"time-amount\":180,\"time-unit\":\"DAYS\"}]"

To delete a bucket's lifecycle policy

oci os object-lifecycle-policy delete --namespace <object_storage_namespace> --bucket-name <bucket_name>

When prompted, confirm the deletion.

To get a bucket's lifecycle policy

oci os object-lifecycle-policy get --namespace <object_storage_namespace> --bucket-name <bucket_name>

For example, to get the lifecycle policy that archives previous object versions after 30 days and then deletes those object versions after 90 days:

oci os object-lifecycle-policy get --namespace MyNamespace --bucket-name MyBucketWithVersioning
{
  "data": {
    "items": [
      {
        "action": "ARCHIVE",
        "is-enabled": true,
        "name": "Archive-After-30-Days-Rule",
        "object-name-filter": {
          "exclusion-patterns": null,
          "inclusion-patterns": null,
          "inclusion-prefixes": null
        },
        "target": "previous-object-versions",
        "time-amount": 30,
        "time-unit": "DAYS"
      },
      {
        "action": "DELETE",
        "is-enabled": true,
        "name": "Delete-After-90-Days-Rule",
        "object-name-filter": {
          "exclusion-patterns": null,
          "inclusion-patterns": null,
          "inclusion-prefixes": null
        },
        "target": "previous-object-versions",
        "time-amount": 90,
        "time-unit": "DAYS"
      }
    ],
    "time-created": "2020-10-26T18:35:06.940000+00:00"
  },
  "etag": "lifecycle-policy-b7844fc7-6e0c-4c50-8f4a-c3d430a2a1a5"
}

For example, to get the lifecycle policy that archives objects after 30 days:

oci os object-lifecycle-policy get --namespace MyNamespace --bucket-name MyBucketWithoutVersioning
{
  "data": {
    "items": [
      {
        "action": "ARCHIVE",
        "is-enabled": true,
        "name": "Archive-After-30-Days-Rule",
        "object-name-filter": {
          "exclusion-patterns": null,
          "inclusion-patterns": null,
          "inclusion-prefixes": null
        },
        "target": "objects",
        "time-amount": 30,
        "time-unit": "DAYS"
      }
    ],
    "time-created": "2020-10-27T17:56:27.085000+00:00"
  },
  "etag": "lifecycle-policy-a3f5d4a6-ca25-4a28-9eea-7d073f51e754"
}

Using the API

For information about using the API and signing requests, see REST APIs and Security Credentials. For information about SDKs, see Software Development Kits and Command Line Interface.

Use the following operations to manage object lifecycle policies:

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Documentation