# 's3 disable cleanup' settings has a wrong description

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/s3-disable-cleanup-settings-has-a-wrong-description/155034
**Category:** UX
**Created:** [16 juni 2020 om 17:44 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/s3-disable-cleanup-settings-has-a-wrong-description/155034 "2020-06-16T17:44:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![iraszl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/iraszl/32/120318_2.png) [@iraszl](https://meta.discourse.org/u/iraszl)
#### Post date: [16 juni 2020 om 17:44 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/s3-disable-cleanup-settings-has-a-wrong-description/155034/1 "2020-06-16T17:44:25Z")

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Regardless if the checkbox for _ **s3 disable cleanup** - Disable the removal of backups from S3 when removed locally_ is enabled or disabled in settings, when I delete a backup locally it gets removed from the remote S3 bucket as well. I believe this is a bug, but if not please explain what am I missing. Thank you!

 ![feature](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/e/0/e0a57b0c7d317857a78be7628a7d12add86fcb43.png)

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### Author: ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/codinghorror/32/110067_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [16 juni 2020 om 19:21 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/s3-disable-cleanup-settings-has-a-wrong-description/155034/2 "2020-06-16T19:21:44Z")

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Have we checked this code path recently @gerhard?

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### Author: ![gerhard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/gerhard/32/119479_2.png) [@gerhard](https://meta.discourse.org/u/gerhard)
#### Post date: [17 juni 2020 om 12:05 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/s3-disable-cleanup-settings-has-a-wrong-description/155034/3 "2020-06-17T12:05:16Z")

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It’s not a bug, but the setting description is wrong. All it does is prevent Discourse from deleting old backups from S3 when there are more backups than `maximum_backups`.

> [@iraszl](#):
>
> when I delete a backup locally it gets removed from the remote S3 bucket as well

Backups do not work that way anymore. Depending on the value of the `backup_location` site setting, backups are _either_ stored locally _or_ on S3. When you delete a backup in the UI, it will delete that backup from local storage or S3 depending on that setting.

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### Author: ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/codinghorror/32/110067_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://meta.discourse.org/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [17 juni 2020 om 21:13 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/s3-disable-cleanup-settings-has-a-wrong-description/155034/4 "2020-06-17T21:13:26Z")

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OK! I’ve edited it to

> `s3_disable_cleanup: "Prevent removal of old backups from S3 when there are more backups than the maximum allowed."`

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### Author: ![philh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/philh/32/532740_2.png) [@philh](https://meta.discourse.org/u/philh)
#### Post date: [22 augustus 2026 om 21:56 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/s3-disable-cleanup-settings-has-a-wrong-description/155034/6 "2026-08-22T21:56:38Z")

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Please explain what “Prevent removal of old backups from S3 when there are more backups than the maximum allowed.” actually means.

this would be more helpful and prevent the brain bending over double negatives…just sayin’.

**Manage S3 backup retention externally**

> When enabled, Discourse will not automatically delete old S3 backups. Configure retention through your S3 provider. The “maximum backups” setting will not apply.

That removes the double negative and clearly explains the consequence.