cleanupPeriodDays
A Claude Code settings key, read out of the shipped bundle. It has been in the build since v2.1.138, including the newest one read.
What it is
Choose how many days Claude Code keeps [transcripts](/docs/en/data-usage#data-retention) before deleting them
Anthropic's own wording. Read off Claude Code settings reference, captured 2026-08-28.
Presence across releases
| Releases | Reading | Declared type | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.245 – 2.1.250 5 releases | never mined | — | — |
| 2.1.138 – 2.1.243 95 releases | in the build | — | — |
A row reading never mined is a release with no archived bundle behind it. Nothing was read out of it, so nothing here says whether the name was in it. A declared type or a default is only ever what that release's own bundle stated.
Changelog entries naming it
-
v2.1.248Transcripts owned by the Claude desktop app are exempt from the retention sweep
Desktop-owned transcripts survive the retention sweep, capped by a new desktopSessionCleanupPeriodDays setting.
named in this entry
-
v2.1.248Cleanup skip message names the setting at fault
When transcript cleanup skips, it now names the retention setting that failed validation.
named in this entry
-
v2.1.224Settings presence checks can read through the newer settings store
Checks for explicitly set settings keys can now read from the newer settings store.
named in this entry
Documentation pages
- Claude Code settings reference reference table Claude Code CLI
- Claude Code settings reference table Claude Code CLI
- Persist sessions to external storage mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Subagents in the SDK mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Agent SDK reference - TypeScript mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Orchestrate teams of Claude Code sessions mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Manage multiple agents with agent view mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Claude Code changelog mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Checkpointing mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Explore the .claude directory mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Manage costs effectively mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Data usage mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Hooks reference mentions it Claude Code CLI
- Deploy managed settings mentions it Claude Code CLI
A reference table page is one whose own table defines this name, and it is where the description above came from. A page that mentions it carries the name somewhere in its text and may say nothing about it at all. Every page carrying it.
Read out of the published npm bundle release by release, and out of Anthropic's own documentation as this site captured it. Nothing on this page is a description anybody here wrote about what the settings key does. All settings keys.