Bulk API: New Retention Policy on Unused Definitions

With the arrival of Eloqua release 26B (May 2026), we will begin applying a new retention policy to Bulk API definitions that do not have an autoDeleteDuration set, were created at least one year ago, and have not been used in a sync for one year. This new retention policy will continue to be applied going forward from 26B.

What’s changing?

Currently, Bulk API definitions that do not have an autoDeleteDuration set are never removed.

Starting in 26B, and enforced in all future releases, retention will be applied to Bulk API definitions that do not have an autoDeleteDuration set, were created at least one year ago, and have not been used in a sync for one year. This retention policy will be implemented for all Bulk API definition types: export, import, and sync action.

Timeline

With the arrival of Eloqua release 26B (May 2026), a retention policy will be applied to Bulk API definitions that do not have an autoDeleteDuration set, were created at least one year ago, and have not been used in a sync for one year. This retention policy will remain in effect going forward.

Next Steps

If you need to retain any Bulk API definitions that do not have an autoDeleteDuration set, were created at least one year ago, and have not been used in a sync for one year, the following endpoints could be used to retrieve and store definitions prior to 26B:

These endpoints can be filtered by createdAt using the q URL parameter to retrieve definitions that will be evaluated with 26B. Since 26B is scheduled to release in May 2026, querying for definitions created before July 1, 2025 will return definitions that will be evaluated within the first month of the 26B release.

Example requests to retrieve definitions created before July 1, 2025:

  • GET /api/bulk/2.0/imports?q=createdAt<2025-07-01
  • GET /api/bulk/2.0/exports?q=createdAt<2025-07-01
  • GET /api/bulk/2.0/syncactions?q=createdAt<2025-07-01

To verify if a definition has been used in a sync within the last year, the Retrieve a list of syncs endpoint can be filtered by syncedInstanceUri using the q URL parameter. Multiple definitions can be included in the request up to the URL length limit of 2098.

Example request:

GET /api/bulk/2.0/syncs?q=syncedInstanceUri='/contacts/exports/1575' OR syncedInstanceUri='/contacts/imports/893' OR syncedInstanceUri='/customObjects/9/imports/897'

Note: Bulk API syncs have a one-year retention policy, so this endpoint will only return syncs created within the last year.

Steps to enable and configure

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key resources