> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://test.pzona.fun/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Container TTL and automatic expiration in mkdb

> mkdb containers expire after a configurable TTL (default: 2 hours). Set TTL at creation, extend running containers, and understand automatic cleanup behavior.

Every mkdb container has a time to live (TTL) — a countdown that starts when the container is created and ends when the container is automatically removed. TTL exists to prevent stale development databases from accumulating on your machine. When a container's TTL expires, mkdb stops and deletes it along with its volume. You can configure the TTL at creation time and extend it later if you need more time.

## Default TTL

The default TTL is **2 hours**. If you do not specify `--ttl` when creating a database, mkdb sets the expiration to 2 hours from the time of creation.

## Setting TTL at creation

Pass `--ttl` with a number of hours when running `mkdb start`:

```bash theme={null}
mkdb start --db postgres --name mydb --ttl 48
```

Common values:

| Hours | Use case                            |
| ----- | ----------------------------------- |
| `1`   | Short-lived test database           |
| `2`   | Default — quick development session |
| `48`  | Two-day development session         |
| `168` | One-week long-running database      |

## Extending TTL

If a container is still running and you need more time before it expires, use `mkdb extend` to add hours to its remaining TTL:

```bash theme={null}
mkdb extend --name mydb --hours 24
```

The `--hours` flag defaults to `1` if omitted:

```bash theme={null}
# Extend by 1 hour
mkdb extend --name mydb
```

## What happens when TTL expires

When a container's TTL reaches zero:

1. The container is stopped and removed from Docker.
2. The volume is **permanently deleted**, including all data it contains.
3. The container record is removed from the mkdb database.

There is no grace period and no recovery after expiry.

<Warning>
  Expired containers have their volumes deleted automatically. If you need the data inside a container, run `mkdb extend` before the TTL reaches zero. Check remaining time with `mkdb info --name mydb`.
</Warning>

## Automatic cleanup

mkdb runs a cleanup check automatically before every command you execute. You can also trigger cleanup manually:

```bash theme={null}
mkdb cleanup
```

The cleanup command finds all expired containers, prompts you to select which ones to remove, then deletes each selected container and its volume.