Lifecycle Rules

Automate object transitions and expirations to reduce storage costs over time.

Lifecycle rules let you automatically transition objects to cheaper storage classes and expire them when they are no longer needed. The module accepts a list of rule maps via the lifecycle_rule variable.

Basic transition and expiration

The following rule transitions objects tagged with some=value through progressively cheaper storage and expires them after 90 days:

module "s3_bucket" {
  source = "terraform-aws-modules/s3-bucket/aws"

  bucket = "my-s3-bucket"

  versioning = {
    enabled = true
  }

  lifecycle_rule = [
    {
      id      = "log"
      enabled = true

      filter = {
        tags = {
          some    = "value"
          another = "value2"
        }
      }

      transition = [
        {
          days          = 30
          storage_class = "ONEZONE_IA"
        },
        {
          days          = 60
          storage_class = "GLACIER"
        }
      ]

      expiration = {
        days = 90
      }
    }
  ]
}

Noncurrent version management

For versioned buckets you can separately control what happens to older versions:

lifecycle_rule = [
  {
    id      = "noncurrent-version-management"
    enabled = true

    abort_incomplete_multipart_upload_days = 7

    noncurrent_version_transition = [
      {
        days          = 30
        storage_class = "STANDARD_IA"
      },
      {
        days          = 60
        storage_class = "ONEZONE_IA"
      },
      {
        days          = 90
        storage_class = "GLACIER"
      }
    ]

    noncurrent_version_expiration = {
      days = 300
    }
  }
]

Filter options

Filters control which objects a rule applies to. If filter is omitted the rule applies to all objects.

Prefix filter

filter = {
  prefix = "logs/"
}

Tag filter

filter = {
  tags = {
    Environment = "dev"
  }
}

Size + prefix + tags

filter = {
  prefix                   = "log1/"
  object_size_greater_than = 200000
  object_size_less_than    = 500000
  tags = {
    some    = "value"
    another = "value2"
  }
}

When more than one condition is present the module automatically wraps them in an and block.

Abort incomplete multipart uploads

Incomplete multipart uploads accrue storage charges indefinitely. Set abort_incomplete_multipart_upload_days to clean them up automatically:

lifecycle_rule = [
  {
    id      = "abort-multipart"
    enabled = true

    abort_incomplete_multipart_upload_days = 7
  }
]

Delete markers

When all versions of an object are expired, S3 leaves behind a delete marker. Remove it automatically:

expiration = {
  expired_object_delete_marker = true
}

Transition default minimum object size

By default S3 transitions only objects that are at least 128 KB (all_storage_classes_128K). You can change this behaviour with transition_default_minimum_object_size:

module "s3_bucket" {
  source = "terraform-aws-modules/s3-bucket/aws"

  bucket = "my-s3-bucket"

  transition_default_minimum_object_size = "varies_by_storage_class"

  lifecycle_rule = [ ... ]
}

Valid values:

Value	Description
all_storage_classes_128K	Objects smaller than 128 KB are never transitioned (default)
varies_by_storage_class	Each storage class applies its own minimum size threshold

Storage class reference

Storage class	Minimum storage duration	Typical use
STANDARD_IA	30 days	Infrequently accessed, rapid retrieval
ONEZONE_IA	30 days	Infrequent access, single AZ
INTELLIGENT_TIERING	None	Unknown or changing access patterns
GLACIER	90 days	Archive, minutes-to-hours retrieval
DEEP_ARCHIVE	180 days	Long-term archive, 12-hour retrieval

Complete multi-rule example

lifecycle_rule = [
  {
    id      = "log"
    enabled = true

    filter = {
      tags = {
        some    = "value"
        another = "value2"
      }
    }

    transition = [
      {
        days          = 30
        storage_class = "ONEZONE_IA"
      },
      {
        days          = 60
        storage_class = "GLACIER"
      }
    ]
  },
  {
    id      = "log1"
    enabled = true

    abort_incomplete_multipart_upload_days = 7

    noncurrent_version_transition = [
      {
        days          = 30
        storage_class = "STANDARD_IA"
      },
      {
        days          = 60
        storage_class = "ONEZONE_IA"
      },
      {
        days          = 90
        storage_class = "GLACIER"
      }
    ]

    noncurrent_version_expiration = {
      days = 300
    }
  },
  {
    id      = "log2"
    enabled = true

    filter = {
      prefix                   = "log1/"
      object_size_greater_than = 200000
      object_size_less_than    = 500000
      tags = {
        some    = "value"
        another = "value2"
      }
    }

    noncurrent_version_transition = [
      {
        days          = 30
        storage_class = "STANDARD_IA"
      }
    ]

    noncurrent_version_expiration = {
      days = 300
    }
  }
]