S3 Lifecycle Policies
Automating the journey of your data from High Performance to Cost-Effective Archival.
The Policy Ingredients
Scope/Filters
Define which objects the policy applies to using Prefixes (folders), Object Tags, or the entire bucket.
Transitions
Rules that define when to move objects between storage classes (e.g., move to Glacier after 90 days).
Expiration
The final stage where objects are permanently deleted or versions are cleaned up to save costs.
The Lifecycle Workflow
Visualizing the automated transition timeline
S3 Standard
Day 0: Creation
High availability, frequent access. Highest storage cost.
Standard-IA
Day 30: Transition
Infrequent access. Lower storage price, retrieval fee applies.
S3 Glacier
Day 90: Archival
Long-term cold storage. Lowest cost, minutes to hours retrieval.
Expiration
Day 365: Cleanup
Objects are automatically deleted. Zero cost remaining.