What it is
A lifecycle policy is a set of rules the store evaluates on each object based on its age or other attributes. Instead of a human remembering to move old data, the store does it on schedule.
Common actions
- Transition: move an object to a cheaper class after a set number of days, for example hot to cold after thirty days.
- Expire: delete an object after a retention period, such as logs after ninety days.
- Abort: clean up incomplete multipart uploads so dangling parts do not silently cost money.
- Version cleanup: remove old noncurrent versions after a grace window.
Why it matters
Lifecycle rules turn cost control into policy rather than toil. They run continuously, apply uniformly, and shrink the storage bill without any application code. The main risk is an overly broad rule that expires data someone still needs, so scoping rules by prefix matters.
Key idea
Lifecycle policies automate transitions and expirations by object age, turning storage cost control from manual toil into scoped, continuous rules.