# Configuring retention policies

> Configure retention policies in Action Center to automatically delete or archive completed tasks after a set number of days, either for individual action catalogs or for uncatalogued tasks.

If you're an administrator, you can establish rules for the retaining completed tasks, based on the policy you set for each action catalog to which the tasks belong. You can decide whether to delete or archive completed actions.

:::note
Incomplete tasks, including assigned and unassigned tasks are never archived or deleted.
:::

* If you choose deletion, completed tasks will be removed after a specific timeframe. This timeframe can be set anywhere between 1 to 180 days.
* If you decide to archive, completed actions will be stored away, in an Orchestrator storage bucket, after a certain timeframe. The timeframe for this can also be set anywhere between 1 to 180 days.

:::note
The default retention policy for completed tasks in an action catalog is 30 days. For tasks that are not part of an action catalog, the default retention policy is 180 days.
:::

## Default retention policies

* Actions not stored in any catalog are deleted after 180 days.
* The default setting for actions stored in a catalog, that has the **Delete retention** policy, is deletion after 30 days.
* If you use an Orchestrator storage bucket to archive catalog actions, either delete this bucket or set to read-only. Policies return to **Delete actions after 30 days**.

## Steps

The following steps apply if you want to configure retention policies for both a new or an existing action catalog.

1. In Action Center, navigate to **Admin Settings**.
2. Select **Add catalog** if you're creating a new action catalog. If you're configuring retention policies for an existing action catalog, find the catalog you want to edit, and select **Edit**.

   
3. Under **Completed actions**, choose either **Delete automatically** or **Archive automatically** as your retention policy:
   * If you choose **Delete automatically**: Enter a number between 1 and 180 in the **Delete completed actions after** field. This is the number of days after which completed actions will be automatically deleted.

     
   * If you choose **Archive automatically**:
     1. Select the **Bucket to archive completed actions** dropdown menu and choose an Orchestrator bucket for storing the actions.
     2. In the **Archive completed actions after** field, input a number between 1 and 180. This is the number of days after which completed actions will be automatically archived.