---
locale: "en"
updated_at: "2026-07-08T08:37:11.536Z"
canonical: "https://www.isdecisions.com/en/fileaudit/docs/guides/database/clean-records"
---

# Clean records

Permanently delete records from the production database to reduce its size.

## Before you begin

Cleaning permanently deletes records from your production database to reduce its size or comply with your data retention policies..
Deleted records **cannot be recovered**, and they are not copied anywhere first.

Before you clean, consider the alternatives:

- To reduce the production database while keeping your data, use [Archive database](/fileaudit/docs/guides/database/archive-database) instead. Archiving moves records to a separate database you **can still query**, rather than deleting them.
- If you are running low on space with the default SQLite or SQL Express database, the issue may be the database itself rather than the volume of records. Moving to a more robust database can be a better long-term fix: see [Database architecture](/fileaudit/docs/reference/database/architecture) Reference for the supported options, and [Migrate to another database](/fileaudit/docs/guides/database/migrate-to-another-database) to switch while keeping your data.

Only clean records once you are sure you no longer need the data and have ruled out archiving or changing the database.

## Clean the database

1. On the main screen, click the **Database & audit maintenance** tile. On the **Database manager** tab, click **Clean**.
2. In the **Operation** field, select what to delete:
  - **Erase records older than**: deletes records past the age you set.
  - **Clear all records**: deletes every record in the database.
3. If you selected **Erase records older than**, set the number of days of records to keep.
4. Click **Run**.

![Clean the database](https://a.storyblok.com/f/122374/943x593/7a511e9dec/clean-database.png)

## Schedule recurring cleaning

The **Scheduling** panel in Database manager runs cleaning automatically on a recurring basis.

1. In the **Operation** field, select **Erase records older than** and set the number of days to keep.
2. Set **Schedule task** to the frequency you want.
3. Set the **Start time**.
4. Select the **Days of week** to run the task.

To schedule archiving instead of deletion, see [Archive database](/fileaudit/docs/guides/database/archive-database).