{"meta":{"title":"Configuring automatic deletion of your codespaces","intro":"Inactive codespaces are automatically deleted. You can choose how long your stopped codespaces are retained, up to a maximum of 30 days.","product":"Codespaces","breadcrumbs":[{"href":"/en/codespaces","title":"Codespaces"},{"href":"/en/codespaces/setting-your-user-preferences","title":"Setting your user preferences"},{"href":"/en/codespaces/setting-your-user-preferences/configuring-automatic-deletion-of-your-codespaces","title":"Configure automatic deletion"}],"documentType":"article"},"body":"# Configuring automatic deletion of your codespaces\n\nInactive codespaces are automatically deleted. You can choose how long your stopped codespaces are retained, up to a maximum of 30 days.\n\nBy default, GitHub Codespaces are automatically deleted after they have been stopped and have remained inactive for 30 days.\n\nHowever, because GitHub Codespaces incurs storage charges, you may prefer to reduce the retention period by changing your default period in your personal settings for GitHub Codespaces. For more information about storage charges, see [GitHub Codespaces billing](/en/billing/concepts/product-billing/github-codespaces#pricing).\n\n> \\[!NOTE]\n> Whether or not you have set a personal codespace retention period, it's a good idea to get into the habit of deleting codespaces that you no longer need. See [Deleting a codespace](/en/codespaces/developing-in-a-codespace/deleting-a-codespace).\n\nAutomatic deletion happens irrespective of whether a codespace contains unpushed changes. To prevent automatic deletion of a codespace, just open the codespace again. The retention period is reset every time you connect to a codespace, and the retention countdown restarts when the codespace is stopped.\n\nIf a repository belongs to an organization, the organization owner may have set a retention period for the whole organization. If this period is less than the default retention period in your personal settings then the organization retention period will apply to codespaces you create for this repository. See [Restricting the retention period for codespaces](/en/codespaces/managing-codespaces-for-your-organization/restricting-the-retention-period-for-codespaces).\n\nEach codespace has its own retention period. You may, therefore, have codespaces with different retention periods. For example, if:\n\n* You created a codespace, changed your default retention period, then created another codespace.\n* You created a codespace using GitHub CLI and specified a different retention period.\n* You created a codespace for an organization-owned repository that has a retention period configured in the organization settings. The ownership of the codespaces you create is shown on the [Your codespaces](https://github.com/settings/codespaces) page.\n\n> \\[!NOTE]\n> The retention period is specified in days. A day represents a 24-hour period, beginning at the time of day when you stop a codespace.\n\n\n\n\n\n## Setting a retention period for a codespace\n\nIf you have installed GitHub CLI, you can use it to work with GitHub Codespaces. For installation instructions for GitHub CLI, see the [GitHub CLI repository](https://github.com/cli/cli#installation).\n\nTo set the codespace retention period when you create a codespace, use the `--retention-period` flag with the `codespace create` subcommand. Specify the period in days. The period must be between 0 and 30 days.\n\n```shell\ngh codespace create --retention-period DAYS\n```\n\nIf you don't specify a retention period when you create a codespace, then either your default retention period, or an organization retention period, will be used, depending on which is lower. For information about setting your default retention period, click the \"Web browser\" tab on this page.\n\n> \\[!NOTE]\n> To learn more about GitHub CLI, see [About GitHub CLI](/en/github-cli/github-cli/about-github-cli).\n\n
\n\n\n\n## Setting the retention period\n\nYou can set your default retention period in your web browser, on GitHub. Alternatively, if you use GitHub CLI to create a codespace you can set a retention period for that particular codespace. For more information, click the appropriate tab above.\n\n## Checking whether codespaces will be autodeleted soon\n\nYou can check, in the Visual Studio Code desktop application, whether a codespace is due to be automatically deleted soon.\n\n1. In VS Code, in the Activity Bar, click the Remote Explorer icon.\n\n \n\n > \\[!NOTE]\n > If the Remote Explorer is not displayed in the Activity Bar:\n >\n > 1. Access the Command Palette. For example, by pressing Shift+Command+P (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux).\n > 2. Type: `details`.\n > 3. Click **Codespaces: Details**.\n2. Choose **GitHub Codespaces** from the dropdown menu at the top right of the Remote Explorer, if it is not already selected.\n3. Under \"GITHUB CODESPACES,\" position the mouse pointer over the codespace that you're interested in. A pop-up box is displayed showing you information about the codespace.\n\n If the codespace is nearing the end of its retention period, a line is included telling when this period is due to expire.\n\n \n\n
\n\n## Further reading\n\n* [Customizing your codespace](/en/codespaces/customizing-your-codespace)\n* [Managing your codespaces](/en/codespaces/managing-your-codespaces)"}